When it comes to holiday destinations in Europe, Spain is one of the best and one of the most popular. Millions of people land in Alicante airport every year for holidays and for business trips and it is easy to see why! Anyone that is going to visit the Region of Murcia is likely to use this airport as it has some of the best transport links in the region.
Alicante Airport was originally named “El Altet” but this quickly changed. Alicante is an extremely popular destination, making the airport itself the 6th most used airport in Spain. For people that are visiting the Province of Alicante, this is certainly the airport of choice.
As far as location goes, the airport is extremely well placed. In fact, it sits just 9km from Alicante and 10km east of Elche, meaning that travellers can get to their chosen destination extremely easily.
The airport itself serves all kinds of passengers. Whilst it serves both national and international flights, the majority of traffic comes from the likes of the United Kingdom, Germany and even France. The most popular destinations for people using Alicante airport include the likes of Mallorca and the famous Barcelona.
The El Altet airport was built and eventually opened on May 4, 1967. This airport was to spark new interest in Spain and take over the service of the La Rabassa airport that had served the country so well since 1936. The name derives from the place it resides in; the Elche countryside.
Whilst it was designed to be a fairly domesticated type of airport, things soon changed. Sooner than most people knew it, Alicante airport was making regular connections with Iberia, starting in 1969. Traffic through the airport quickly grew to a point where in the 70s; traffic was reported to be in excess of 1,000,000!
Of course, with such major traffic, it was only natural that the airport needed to take drastic measures. This eventually led to the construction of a brand new passenger terminal, which would enable the airport to service a much larger number of passengers. To complement this, Alicante airport was extended on the runway side of things as well; extending to a massive 3km. This was in an effort to service more air traffic on a daily basis.
Ryanair were one of the first major airlines to set up camp in Alicante airport. They set up their base with 59 routes going in and out by 2007. This led to further development allowing the airport to service even MORE passengers.
Growth is something that Alicante airport is certainly used to. By 2010 the airport had developed strong relationships with airlines, with over 74,000 different flights and 3,000 tonnes of cargo. On the passenger side of things, 2010 was also a good year with the airport nearing 10,000,000 in passengers!
Ryanair still managed to put their stamp on the airport in 2010. They carried over 2.3 million passengers. Rival air lines such as Easyjet managed just over 1.4 million, whilst Air Berlin managed just over 690,000.
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