Ibiza Airport (IBZ)

Ibiza Airport is an international destination, and serves the islands of Ibiza and Formentera in Spain. It is a destination mainly characterized by seasonal traffic, due to the large numbers of European visitors who spend the summer on the island, and is a hub for the airline company of Vueling. The site is located approximately 7 km, or 3.4 miles to the southwest of Ibiza Town, and is also found nearby San José, and a number of other popular towns and villages. Ibiza is one of Spain’s Balearic Islands, along with Mallorca, and covers an area of around 572 square kilometres. It has a population of approximately 110,000, and is a very popular holiday destination. The airport therefore serves as an important gateway for tourists seeking sandy beaches, sun and nightlife, as well as historical and family attractions.

The airport of Ibiza is easily accessed by motorcar, as the E-20 is the major road leading up to the site. However, an alternative possibility by road is via the PM-803, or the Ibiza-San José motorway. From this road, motorists will take the kilometre 4 exit. The motorway leading to the airfield, and along the northern perimeter of the grounds is also referred to as the PM-801, or the Carretera de Ibiza-Aeropuerto. The PM-803 joins the PM-801 at Ca’n Escandell, as well as at other points along the way. Some of the important areas located nearby to the airport are the Playa d’en Bossa to the north-east, Sa Caleta to the west and Can Trontoll, Coves des Formenter and Sant Jordi are found just to the north. Towards the south, visitors will find the popular beaches of Ses Salines, as well as the natural park. For motorists with a satellite navigation system, the coordinates of 38°52′22″N 01°22′33″E can be used to more easily locate the departure point.

The summer months of Ibiza, and the peak traffic months for the airport, are from May to October. Over 85% of the total traffic is handled during this time, while during the rest of the year, the majority of passengers are simply travelling locally between the island and other destinations in Spain. Many of the airline companies at Ibiza Airport offer only seasonal flights during the busier tourist season, however, throughout the year, there are flights to Barcelona, Madrid, Alicante, Palma de Mallorca, Valencia, Paris-Orly, Rome-Fiumicino, Frankfurt and Toulouse, by the airline companies of Vueling, for which the location is a hub, Swiftair, Spanair, Iberia and Air Europa.

Ibiza Airport is also served by a number of low-cost airline carriers, such as Easyjet, Ryanair, Air Berlin, Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomson Airways. Ryanair, often referred to as the world’s favourite airline company, offers both year-round and seasonal flights, to destinations such as Birmingham, Milan-Orio al Serio, Bremen, Glasgow-Prestwick, Hahn, Rome-Ciampino, Liverpool and Venice-Treviso. The other low-cost carriers operate to destinations that include Belfast-International, the London airports of Gatwick, Luton and Stansted, Manchester, Doncaster-Sheffield, Naples and Venice-Marco Polo.

The airport began as a temporary military airfield in an area known as ‘Es Codolá’, and was put to use in 1949. This little airfield then handled national and international civil tourist air traffic, and also served as a stopover for international flights, but two years later it was closed due to insufficient facilities. When air traffic started to become more popular on the other Balearic Islands of Spain, such as Mallorca, plans were made to improve Ibiza’s airport. In 1958, work began to re-open the site and to make it sustainable for the growing tourism industry. In April 1958, flights began once more from Ibiza, mainly to Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona and Madrid, on Bristol 170 aircraft, and shortly thereafter, Iberia began their flights to similar regions. Over the next few years’ improvements were made to the runway, and a control tower was brought in from the Palma de Mallorca Airport. Extensions were made to the passenger terminal, handling domestic traffic, and in July 1964, the airport received a VHF radiogoniometer for the control tower and lighting for the runway and aircraft platforms.

1966 was an important year for the airport, as in July; it was opened for international traffic, with a customs area operational 24 hours a day, which allowed for non-stop international flights. A new terminal was completed in 1973, which was initially used only for international traffic, but now includes domestic traffic as well, and the old terminal was converted to technical and administrative centre. Through the 1970’s, improvements also included a larger car parking area and work on the runway allowed for the landing of Boeing 747s. In 2002, extensions were made to the arrival and departure waiting lounges, as well as to the check-in areas.
 
By 1997, Ibiza Airport was handling over three and a half million passengers per year, and had hit the four million mark by the end of 1999. Passenger traffic almost passed four and half million in the following two years, but then saw a slight decline until 2006. From 2007 onwards, the destination never had less than four and a half million passengers, and in 2010, handled a total of 5,040,800 passengers. The airport is also reasonably significant for cargo traffic, with approximately three thousand tons per annum.

The airport consists of a single terminal building, with check-in facilities and ticket sales offices on the ground floor, and boarding areas on the upper floor. All arrival traffic is handled from the ground floor. The terminal is fully equipped to welcome disabled passengers, and features a number of facilities, include banking and currency exchange services, ATMs, a variety of shops and restaurants, a lost and found office, a post office, internet connections and pharmacy and medical services.

You can see below a selection of nonstop flights covered from Ibiza with approximate times.