Alicante Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto de Alicante, Valencian: Aeroport d'Alacant), (IATA: ALC, ICAO: LEAL), originally named El Altet, is the sixth busiest airport in Spain based on passenger numbers, and the main airport for the Province of Alicante and the Region of Murcia. The airport is situated 9 km (5.6 mi) southwest of Alicante and 10 km (6.2 mi) east of Elche in the municipality of Elche on Mediterranean coast. Up to eighty percent of all passenger flights are international. The largest numbers of passengers arrive from the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands. Popular domestic destinations are Madrid, Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona. Both international and domestic passenger traffic have increased significantly in the last decade.
In 2011, Alicante Airport handled 9,913,764 passengers, 75,572 flight operations and 3,011 tonnes of cargo, making it the busiest airport in the Valencian Community by passenger numbers, and one of the 50 busiest in Europe. The airport is the fourth largest base for low-cost giant Ryanair with 59 destinations served by the airline. The largest number of passengers is carried by Ryanair (3,152,724 passengers in 2010), followed by EasyJet (1,337,350). Air Berlin (620,671) is the distant third.
In March 2011, the New Terminal Area of the airport was opened. All flights arrive and depart from this new terminal. Terminals 1 and 2, which were in service before the opening of the new terminal, are now closed.
Read more about Alicante Airport: History, Terminals, Statistics, Ground Transport
Famous quotes containing the word airport:
“Airplanes are invariably scheduled to depart at such times as 7:54, 9:21 or 11:37. This extreme specificity has the effect on the novice of instilling in him the twin beliefs that he will be arriving at 10:08, 1:43 or 4:22, and that he should get to the airport on time. These beliefs are not only erroneous but actually unhealthy.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1950)