Gibraltar International Airport or North Front Airport (IATA: GIB, ICAO: LXGB) is the civilian airport that serves the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It is owned by the Ministry of Defence for use by the Royal Air Force as RAF Gibraltar. Civilian operators use the airport; currently the only scheduled flights operate to the United Kingdom. Passengers depart and arrive through the civilian-operated terminal. NATS hold the contract for provision of air navigation services at LXGB.
In 2004 the airport handled 314,375 passengers and 380 tonnes of cargo. Winston Churchill Avenue (the main road heading towards the land border with Spain) intersects the airport runway, so consequently has to be closed every time a plane lands or departs. The History Channel programme Most Extreme Airports ranks it as the fifth most dangerous airport in the world and the most dangerous in Europe.
Monarch is currently the largest operator at Gibraltar International, operating 3 weekly flights to London Luton and Manchester Airport as well as 3 weekly flights to Birmingham from 23 March 2013. Both routes are operated by an Airbus A320-200. EasyJet operates 7 weekly flights to London Gatwick operated by Airbus A320 family aircraft. British Airways also operates 9 weekly flights to London Heathrow being operated by an Airbus A320-200.
Although located in Gibraltar, the airport is increasingly being used by people from or visiting neighbouring Spanish areas such as the Costa del Sol or the Campo de Gibraltar.
Read more about Gibraltar International Airport: History, Terminals, New Road Access, New Car Parks, Airlines and Destinations, Gallery
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)