Vitoria Airport Explained

Vitoria Airport
Image2-Width:250
Iata:VIT
Icao:LEVT
Pushpin Map:Spain Basque Country
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of the airport in the Basque Country
Pushpin Label:VIT
Pushpin Label Position:right
Type:Public
Owner-Oper:Aena
City-Served:Vitoria-Gasteiz
Location:Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Elevation-F:1682
Elevation-M:513
Website:https://www.aena.es/en/vitoria.html
R1-Number:04/22
R1-Length-F:11,483
R1-Length-M:3,500
R1-Surface:Concrete
Stat-Year:2023
Stat1-Header:Passengers
Stat1-Data:309,909
Stat2-Header:Passengers change 22-23
Stat2-Data:31.7%
Stat3-Header:Movements
Stat3-Data:14,185
Stat4-Header:Movements change 22-23
Stat4-Data:6.3%
Stat5-Header:Cargo (metric tons)
Stat5-Data:71,689
Footnotes:Source: Aena[1]

Vitoria Airport is an airport near Vitoria-Gasteiz, in the Basque Country of Spain. It is locally known as Foronda Airport due to its proximity to the hamlet of Foronda.[2] The airport has one terminal with 3 gates, 7 check-in counters and 16 stands for medium and light aircraft, and a 3.5 km long CAT II/III runway.[3] [4]

History

Before the current airport was built, Vitoria-Gasteiz was served by an . In 1970, due to the demographic growth of the city, the local chamber of commerce urged the to study the establishment of regular passenger flights. Due to the inadequacy of the existing infrastructure, preliminary studies for a new airport began in 1972. The 1976 project called for a 2200m (7,200feet) runway, but eventually a 3500m (11,500feet) runway was built.[5] The construction, which started in 1977, required the demolition of, a hamlet which would have been too close to the runway threshold. The airport opened on 16 February 1980.[6]

The provincial government, which had funded the construction, had envisioned the airport as the main gateway to the Basque Country. However, the initial offer of regular flights soon declined due to nearby Bilbao Airport being located closer to the main population centers.[6] DHL opened a logistics center at the airport in 1995, and a new cargo terminal was inaugurated in 2006.[7] Vitoria is currently the fourth airport in Spain by cargo traffic.[8]

In 2006 Ryanair began daily flights from London Stansted Airport,[9] a year later it started operating flights from Dublin Airport.[10] The airline left the airport in October 2007.[11] Air Nostrum terminated its two daily flights to Madrid in March 2011, leaving the airport without regular flights.[12] Helitt operated flights to Barcelona from October 2012 to January 2013,[13] but no other airline operated regular flights to Vitoria until 2017.[14] During this time, scheduled passenger flights were limited to charter operations during the summer season. During the summer of 2015, Air Nostrum offered flights to Palma de Mallorca, Mahón and Jerez.[2]

However, in 2016, Ryanair announced its return to Vitoria in March 2017 with year-round services to Bergamo and Tenerife.[14] In October 2017, twice-weekly flights to Cologne/Bonn and Seville were added,[15] with the aim of reaching 115,000 passengers per year.[16] Flights to Mallorca were added in April 2019,[17] at the same time Ryanair announced plans to expand their service to the airport by 40%, with the goal of reaching 160,000 passengers.[18] In October 2020, Ryanair decided to reinforce domestic routes by adding a twice-weekly connection to Alicante.[19] Ryanair's commercial contract was renovated in 2020, and a new route to Charleroi was added in April 2021.[20] Binter Canarias started operating flights to Gran Canaria and Tenerife in July 2020.[21] Binter's route to Tenerife was terminated in March 2022,[22] while the remaining one to Gran Canaria ended in October 2023.[23]

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Vitoria Airport:

Statistics

In 2019, the airport served passengers (37% international, 63% domestic), operated flights and processed tons of cargo.[4] The airport served passengers in 2022 (the highest number since 1993) and processed tons of cargo, the highest number in the airport's history.[24] [25]

Public transport

Accidents and incidents

External links

Notes and References

  1. Informe anual 2023 . Aena . 20 January 2024 . es.
  2. News: Canto . Alberto . Air Nostrum unirá Foronda en verano con Palma de Mallorca, Mahón y Jerez . El Correo . 5 May 2021 . es. 28 February 2015.
  3. Web site: Aeropuertos.net . Aeropuerto de Vitoria . 18 February 2010 . 5 May 2021 . Spanish.
  4. Vitoria Airport 2019 · 2020 . Aena . 4 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210505185806/http://www.aena.es/csee/ccurl/806/830/Vitoria%20Airport%202019%20%C2%B7%202020%20web.pdf . 5 May 2021 . 12.
  5. Web site: Historia - Aeropuerto de Vitoria . . 29 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151117014727/https://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite/Aeropuerto-Vitoria/es/Page/1048858933140/ . 17 November 2015 . es.
  6. News: Echeazarra . Saioa . Historia del aeropuerto de Vitoria - Foronda: un sueño que echó a volar en 1980 . 29 April 2024 . . February 2020 . es.
  7. News: DHL inauguró nueva terminal para península en aeropuerto Vitoria . 29 April 2024 . . . 24 October 2006 . es.
  8. News: dos Santos . Jon . Así se vive Foronda desde la torre de control . 29 April 2024 . . 8 January 2024 . es.
  9. News: Ryanair inaugura el primer vuelo barato de Vitoria a Londres el 17 de febrero . 4 September 2023 . . 9 December 2005 . es.
  10. News: Ryanair gestionará 120.000 pasajeros al año con la nueva ruta que unirá Vitoria y Dublín . 4 September 2023 . El Correo . Europa Press . 9 August 2006 . es.
  11. News: Ryanair dejará la ruta que unía el aeropuerto de Vitoria con Londres y Dublín . 10 May 2012 . El Correo Gallego . EFE . 14 August 2007 . es.
  12. News: López . Luis . Vitoria se queda sin vuelos regulares . 4 September 2023 . . 1 December 2010 . es.
  13. News: Gatón . Natxo . Helitt cierra definitivamente sin devolver el dinero a decenas de vitorianos . 4 September 2023 . GasteizHoy . 4 October 2014 . es.
  14. News: Berdonces . Juan Carlos . Milán y Tenerife serán los primeros destinos de Ryanair desde Foronda . 4 September 2023 . . 10 October 2016 . es.
  15. News: Ryanair estrena su vuelo de Vitoria a Colonia . 4 September 2023 . . 30 October 2017 . es.
  16. Web site: Ryanair presenta su calendario de vuelos de invierno 2017 para Vitoria . Ryanair's Corporate Website . . 5 May 2021 . 31 March 2017. es.
  17. News: Cuesta . Gabriel . Ryanair confirma su enlace con Mallorca desde Foronda . 4 September 2023 . . 19 November 2018 . es.
  18. Web site: Ryanair's Corporate Website . . Ryanair anuncia su calendario de invierno 2019 para Vitoria y aumentará su tráfico en el aeropuerto un 40% . 5 May 2021 . 5 April 2019. es.
  19. Web site: Ryanair's Corporate Website . . Ryanair reforzará la conectividad regional en España con 4 nuevas rutas domésticas . 5 May 2021 . 20 October 2020. es.
  20. News: Echezarra . Saioa . Ryanair volará desde Foronda 4 años más y sumará una nueva ruta a Bruselas . 4 September 2023 . . 26 November 2020 . es.
  21. News: Echezarra . Saioa . Binter adelanta al 22 de julio sus vuelos a Tenerife desde Foronda . 4 September 2023 . . 23 June 2020 . es.
  22. News: Carazo . Ander . Álava descontará a Binter los vuelos que «no cumpla» tras suspender la conexión con Tenerife . 4 September 2023 . . 22 March 2022 . es.
  23. News: del Campo . José Luis . Ortega . David . Binter dejará de operar desde Foronda después del verano . 4 September 2023 . Noticias de Álava . 13 June 2023 . es.
  24. News: Bravo . Oier . Datos de récord en Foronda en 2022 . 4 September 2023 . GasteizHoy . 10 January 2023 . es.
  25. Estadísticas diciembre 2022 . Aena . 4 September 2023 . 2 . es.
  26. News: Carazo . Ander . Goitia . Jon Ander . La afluencia por Semana Santa y la escasez de buses desbordan el parking de Foronda . 4 September 2023 . . 17 April 2022 . es.
  27. Web site: Special buses to the airport . Website of the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council . 4 September 2023.
  28. News: Echezarra . Saioa . Álava y Bizkaia gestionarán los autobuses entre las capitales y abrirán una línea Vitoria-Loiu en 2024 . 6 September 2023 . . 10 October 2022 . es.
  29. Web site: ASN Aircraft accident Convair CV-580F SCD EC-899 Vitoria Airport (VIT) . 4 September 2023 . aviation-safety.net.

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