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Bilbao Airport

Coordinates: 43°18′04″N 02°54′38″W / 43.30111°N 2.91056°W / 43.30111; -2.91056
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Bilbao Airport

Bilboko aireportua
Aeropuerto de Bilbao
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorAena
ServesBilbao metropolitan area
LocationLoiu and Sondika, Biscay, Spain
Opened19 September 1948; 76 years ago (1948-09-19)
Operating base for
Elevation AMSL42 m / 137 ft
Coordinates43°18′04″N 02°54′38″W / 43.30111°N 2.91056°W / 43.30111; -2.91056
Websitewww.aena.es/en/bilbao.html
Map
BIO/LEBB is located in the Basque Country
BIO/LEBB
BIO/LEBB
Location of airport in the Basque Country
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
10/28 2,000 6,562 Asphalt
12/30 2,600 8,530 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Passengers6,336,441
Passenger change 17-18Increase10.0%
Aircraft Movements49,966
Movements change 17-18Increase6.3%
Cargo (t)1,216
Cargo change 17-18Decrease 37.8%
Sources: Passenger Traffic, AENA[1]
Spanish AIP, AENA[2][3]

Bilbao Airport (IATA: BIO, ICAO: LEBB) is a minor international airport located 9 km (5.6 mi) north[4] of Bilbao, in the municipality of Loiu, in Biscay. It is the largest airport in the Basque Country and northern Spain, with 6,336,441 passengers in 2023. It is famous for its new main terminal opened in 2000 designed by Santiago Calatrava.

History

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Foundation and early years

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After various aeronautic experiments in the province of Biscay, in October 1927 steps were taken by the Union of Public Works to establish an airport in Bilbao. A Provincial Board was created to study the possible location of the airport. It was not until 1936 that the General Aeronautics Management authorised the installation of an airport in Sondika. However, due to the site's many deficiencies, the airport was not considered of interest. Bilbao is surrounded by mountains and a flat valley without significant population had to be found.[citation needed]

The construction works commenced during the Civil War but during this time and until June 1937 the airport was only used as a base for military activities. In 1938, the second stage of the airport's development began. The council resumed procedures with the government to modify the primitive project of 1936 and the drafting of a new project was authorised and later approved by the General Management of Infrastructure.[citation needed]

In 1940, it was decided by common agreement with the local organisations affected to build a civilian airport in Sondika. The construction works progressed slowly and on 19 September 1948, the airport was at last opened to daytime traffic with the establishment of an air path to Madrid by Aviación y Comercio, SA. Two years later, the terminal, named Carlos Haya after the well-known pilot from Bilbao, began to give service.[citation needed] At this time, the airport had an asphalt runway, the 11/29 (measuring 1,440 by 45 m (4,724 by 148 ft)), another earth runway (measuring 1,500 by 150 m (4,921 by 492 ft)), a taxiway, a passenger terminal, a tower control, a radio beacon, a direction finder as well as police, post office, weather, health, fuel and telephone services. In 1955, a taxiway was built to link the runway with the parking stands and terminal. An apron measuring 124 by 60 m (407 by 197 ft), a hangar for the Royal Flying Club of Vizcaya and permanent facilities for Campsa were also built.[citation needed]

Between 1964 and 1965, an instrumental ILS landing system and a meteorological radio for storm detection were installed; the runway was extended to 2,000 m (6,562 ft) and the apron to 12,000 m2 (130,000 sq ft). In 1975, the runway was surfaced and its orientation became 10/28 due to the change in magnetic declination.[citation needed] In 1977, the parking stand was extended, a link road was built and an ILS system was installed. The runway 12/30, measuring 2,600 m (8,530 ft) long, was opened the same year and the airport was classified as first category the following year. As a result of the population density of the area, approaching planes may have to fly over the extensive Derio cemetery.[citation needed]

During the 1980s, the ILS landing system entered into service for runway 10/28; the communication centre, passenger terminal and parking facilities were enlarged; and a fire service building and cargo terminal were constructed.[citation needed]

On 19 February 1985, an Iberia flight from Madrid crashed into Mount Oiz, all passengers and crew died.[5]

Development since 1990

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In 1996, a new taxiway with two rapid exits and a new aircraft parking apron were built. The works required the removal of tons of soil poisoned with lindane residues. In May 1999, the new tower control was put into service, which allowed for a more centred vision of the airfield and at the same time facilitated airport operations. On 19 November 2000, a new terminal area was opened in the north zone, consisting of a new terminal building, with a surface area of 32,000 m2 (340,000 sq ft), a car park with 3,000 parking spaces measuring 95,000 m2 (1,020,000 sq ft) and a north apron for aircraft parking to serve the new terminal area.

In February 2009, plans were announced to expand the terminal building, the facilities and the car parking so as to double the current capacity to 8 million passengers. The work was expected be finished in 2014 and cost €114 million but in 2010 the Spanish Government announced the project would be delayed by at least 5 years due to spending cuts and a decline in passenger numbers.[6]

Design of the passenger terminal

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Bilbao Airport interior
Bilbao Airport jetway
Control tower

The terminal has a sleek design, with two symmetrical "wings" and a sharp tip at its center which is especially visible when approaching the terminal from the sides. This original design has granted the building the nickname of La Paloma ("The Dove").[7] White concrete and glass have been used. The interiors are open and luminous spaces, distributed in two floors, the upper one for departures (check-in counters and gates) and the lower for arrivals.

There has been some criticism of Santiago Calatrava's design by Aena, the Spanish airport authority, because it seems difficult to make further enlargements in the terminal's capacity because the design is too closed. In spite of this, modifications took place in 2005–2006 in the check-in area to provide enhanced shopping facilities for travellers, which almost doubled the retail space now being offered.

Users of the airport widely complained about its lack of an arrivals area, since once passengers cleared customs, they stepped directly outside, and there they were often exposed to the elements. The airport built a glass-walled shelter to remedy this problem.[7]

Traffic

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The airport has seen a constant increase in its traffic numbers, the old terminal was already saturated and obsolete in 1990, although it had been renewed only a few years earlier.[citation needed] At the present day Bilbao is the most important hub in northern Spain and the number of passengers using the new terminal continues to rise, especially after the increased tourist interest in the city since the opening of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.[citation needed]

With the past increase of traffic, the terminal would have become saturated again in a year because it is designed to handle about 4.5 million passengers per year, in 2007 it went nearly to its maximum capacity. However, the Great Recession reversed the situation by early 2009, decreasing the number of passengers by 24% in January compared to previous year. In 2014 traffic is on the rise again and saw the recovery of passengers up to 5.4 million passengers by 2018.[8]

Airlines and destinations

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

AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Seasonal: Athens[citation needed]
Aer Lingus Dublin
Seasonal: Cork (begins 16 April 2025)[9]
Air Arabia Tangier,[citation needed] Tetouan
Air Cairo Cairo, Hurghada,[10] Luxor[11]
Air Europa Lanzarote, Madrid,[12] Palma de Mallorca,[13] Tenerife–North[14]
Seasonal: Ibiza, Menorca
Air France Paris–Charles de Gaulle[15]
Azores Airlines Seasonal: Ponta Delgada[16]
Brussels Airlines Brussels[17]
easyJet Geneva, Manchester
Seasonal: Basel (begins 13 March 2025),[18], Bristol, Milan–Malpensa
Edelweiss Air Zurich[citation needed]
Eurowings Düsseldorf
Seasonal: Berlin (begins 13 March 2025),[19] Hamburg,[citation needed] Stuttgart[citation needed]
Iberia Madrid,[20] Santiago de Compostela, Valencia
Seasonal: Funchal,[21] La Palma, Vigo
KLM Amsterdam[22]
Lufthansa Frankfurt,[23] Munich
Norwegian Air Shuttle Seasonal: Copenhagen,[24] Oslo, Stockholm–Arlanda (begins 14 June 2025)[25]
Scandinavian Airlines Seasonal: Copenhagen (begins 27 June 2025)[26]
Smartwings Seasonal charter: Sal,[27] Tirana[28]
TAP Air Portugal Lisbon
Transavia Eindhoven
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
United Airlines Seasonal: Newark (begins 31 May 2025)[29]
Volotea Alicante, Florence, Gran Canaria, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Paris–Orly, Porto, Rome–Fiumicino, Seville, Tenerife–South, Valencia, Venice
Seasonal: Athens, Castellón, Faro, Ibiza, Lyon, Marrakesh, Menorca, Murcia,[30] Naples, Olbia,[31] Palermo (resumes 12 April 2025),[32] Santorini[33]
Vueling Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Fuerteventura, Granada, Gran Canaria, Hamburg, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Lisbon, London–Gatwick, Málaga, Menorca, Milan–Malpensa, Marrakesh, Palma de Mallorca, Paris–Orly,[34] Porto, Prague, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Tenerife–North, Valencia
Seasonal: Almería,[citation needed] Budapest,[citation needed] Copenhagen,[citation needed] Faro, Florence, Jerez de la Frontera, Malta, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Rome–Fiumicino, Zurich
Wizz Air Vienna[35]
Seasonal: Warsaw–Chopin[36]

Statistics

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Annual passenger traffic at BIO airport. See Wikidata query.
Passengers Change from previous year Aircraft movements Change from previous year Cargo (tonnes) Change from previous year
2000 2,556,373 Steady 45,506 Steady 4,038 Steady
2001 2,491,770 Decrease02.5% 44,166 Decrease03% 3,674 Decrease09,1%
2002 2,463,698 Decrease01.1% 39,832 Decrease09.9% 3,699 Increase00.6%
2003 2,850,524 Increase015.7% 44,009 Increase010.4% 3,813 Increase03.1%
2004 3.395,773 Increase019.1% 50,361 Increase014.4% 4,152 Increase08.9%
2005 3,843,953 Increase013.2% 56,285 Increase011.8% 3,956 Decrease04.7%
2006 3,876,072 Increase00.8% 58,574 Increase04.1% 3,417 Decrease013.6%
2007 4,286,751 Increase010.6% 63,076 Increase07.7% 3,230 Decrease05.5%
2008 4,172,903 Decrease02.7% 61,682 Decrease02.2% 3,178 Decrease01.1%
2009 3,654,957 Decrease012.4% 54,148 Decrease012.2% 2,691 Decrease015.3%
2010 3,888,969 Increase06.4% 54,119 Decrease00.1 2,547 Decrease05.4%
2011 4,045,613 Increase04.0% 54,432 Increase00.6% 2,633 Increase03.4%
2012 4,171,092 Increase03.1% 50,030 Decrease08.1% 2,663 Increase01.1%
2013 3,800,789 Decrease08.9% 42,683 Decrease014.7% 2,536 Decrease04.8%
2014 4,015,352 Increase05.6% 42,590 Decrease00.2% 2,855 Increase012.6%
2015 4,277,430 Increase06.5% 43,862 Increase03% 2,872 Increase00.6%
2016 4,588,265 Increase07.3% 45,105 Increase02.8% 2,974 Increase03.6%
2017 4,973,712 Increase08.4% 46,989 Increase04.2% 1,956 Decrease034.2%
2018 5,469,453 Increase010% 49,966 Increase06.3% 1,216 Decrease037.8%
Source: Aena Statistics[1]

Top Carriers

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Rank Carrier Passengers 2021 % Passenger %
Change 2020		 Passenger %
Change 2019
1 Vueling 1,351,077 52.35 Increase 71.4 Decrease 42.1
2 Iberia 259,469 10.05 Increase 50.5 Decrease 52.5
3 Volotea 238,769 9.25 Increase 65.9 Decrease 5.7
4 Lufthansa 211,203 8.18 Increase 80.1 Decrease 62.2
5 Air Europa 187,969 7.28 Increase 33.2 Decrease 59.1
6 KLM 80,009 3.10 Increase 36.3 Decrease 60.1
7 Air Nostrum 55,831 2.16 Increase 47.2 Decrease 63.8
8 Air France 43,708 1.69 Decrease 30.2 Decrease 79.6
9 Brussels Airlines 23,864 0.92 Decrease 22.7 Decrease 84.6
10 Eurowings 22,051 0.85 Increase 23.0 Decrease 82.9
Source: Aena Statistics[1]

Busiest routes

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Busiest european routes from BIO (2023)
Rank Destination Passengers Change 2022 / 23
1 London-Gatwick 346,237 Increase 38%
2 Amsterdam 249,852 Increase 35%
3 Munich 249,224 Increase 23%
4 Frankfurt 246,794 Increase 5%
5 Paris-Charles de Gaulle 237,398 Increase 44%
6 Lisbon 151,299 Increase 38%
7 Brussels 95,469 Increase 49%
8 Dublin Airport 90,202 Increase 11%
9 Porto 76,850 Increase 29%
10 Manchester 61,176 Increase 12%
11 Düsseldorf 57,787 Increase 3%
12 Istanbul 50,800 Increase 46%
13 Athens 49,478 Increase 162%
14 Milan-Malpensa 45,342 Increase 121%
15 Copenhagen 39,962 Increase 117%
16 Rome-Fiumicino 35,312 Steady New route
17 Florence 34,480 Steady New route
18 Eindhoven 33,743 Increase 7%
19 Zurich 32,894 Increase 74%
20 Warsaw-Chopin 27,032 Steady New route
Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo[37]
Busiest intercontinental routes from BIO (2023)
Rank Destination Passengers Change 2022 / 23
1 Marrakech 19,433 Steady New route
2 Tangier 18,839 Increase 24%
3 Cairo 8,087 Increase 250%
4 Luxor 7,787 Increase 272%
5 Algiers 1,119 Increase 36%
Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo[37]
Busiest domestic routes from BIO (2023)
Rank Destination Passengers Change 2022 / 23
1 Madrid 780,296 Increase 20%
2 Barcelona 653,728 Increase 24%
3 Seville 382,575 Increase 24%
4 Málaga 329,166 Increase 19%
5 Palma de Mallorca 306,392 Increase 9%
6 Valencia 193,808 Increase 23%
7 Tenerife-North 190,670 Increase 5%
8 Alicante 189,624 Increase 1%
9 Menorca 139,367 Increase 4%
10 Lanzarote 133,360 Decrease 1%
11 Gran Canaria 132,841 Increase 6%
12 Ibiza 123,858 Increase 4%
13 Santiago de Compostela 78,988 Increase 34%
14 Fuerteventura 39,589 Decrease 11%
15 A Coruña 29,480 Increase 10%
16 Granada 23,925 Decrease 32%
17 Jerez de la Frontera 18,464 Decrease 2%
18 Almería 17,971 Increase 21%
19 La Palma 8,788 Increase 57%
20 Vigo 8,738 Increase 22%
Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo[37]

Public transport

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Bus

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  • BizkaiBus:
    • A bus line (A3247) connects Bilbao city center (Moyúa square) and the city bus station with the airport. Buses depart every 15 minutes from April to October and every 20 minutes the rest of the year.[38]
    • A bus line (A2153) connects Bilbao city center (San Jose square) with Larrabetzu stopping at the airport. Buses depart every hour.[39]
  • Lurraldebus:
    • DO04 bus line operated by Lurraldebus to Donostia-San Sebastián; its only stop is at Zarautz - adjacent to one of the town's two Euskotren stations (at the eastern end of the town). Buses depart every hour and every 30 minutes in July and August.
    • DG12 bus line operated by Lurraldebus to Mondragón with stops in Eibar and Bergara; the last daily service continues until Oñati. There are 6 buses departing from Bergara every day, and a single bus from Oñati.
  • Starting in 2025, a bus line will connect Vitoria-Gasteiz city center with Bilbao airport, buses will depart every 2 hours, stopping at Vitoria bus station, Vitoria Airport and Bolueta metro station in Bilbao.[40]

Metro extension

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There is a project to extend Metro Bilbao's Line 3 to the airport in the near future, but there is no official timetable yet.

Accidents and incidents

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  • On 15 September 1975 British Airways flight NS552 operated by Trident 1E G-AVYD was written off at Bilbao while taking off. The aircraft came off the runway following the commander's decision to abort the take-off on a wet runway at or close to V1.[41]
  • On 19 February 1985, Iberia Flight IB610 from Madrid crashed into Mount Oiz. All 148 passengers and crew on board were killed.
  • On 7 February 2001, Iberia Flight IB1456 arriving from Barcelona encountered wind shear while landing and suffered collapsed landing gear. All people on board survived but 25 people were injured.[42]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c AENA passenger statistics and aircraft movements
  2. ^ Spanish AIP (AENA) Archived 13 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Bilbao".
  4. ^ EAD Basic
  5. ^ The Associated Press (20 February 1985). "48 Are Killed As Spanish Jet Hits Mountain". The New York Times.
  6. ^ García, Josu (19 November 2010). "La ampliación del aeropuerto de Bilbao se retrasa al menos 5 años". El Correo (in Spanish). Vocento. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  7. ^ a b Daley, Suzanne (13 September 2013). "A Star Architect Leaves Some Clients Fuming". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  8. ^ "'La Paloma' pierde un 24% de pasajeros en el primer mes de un año "difícil"". Archived from the original on 1 August 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  9. ^ "Aer Lingus unveils brand new routes from Cork to Bilbao and Bordeaux for summer 2025". 10 December 2024.
  10. ^ "AIR CAIRO NS23 NETWORK ADDITIONS – 13OCT22". aeroroutes.com. 14 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Air Cairo Adjusts Spain Service in NW22".
  12. ^ "Air Europa Moves 737 MAX Service Entry to March 2025".
  13. ^ "Air Europa Moves 737 MAX Service Entry to March 2025".
  14. ^ "Air Europa Moves 737 MAX Service Entry to March 2025".
  15. ^ "Air France NS24 Paris European Frequency Variations – 21JAN24". Aeroroutes.
  16. ^ "Azores Airlines Adds Bilbao Service in 3Q23".
  17. ^ "Brussels Airlines NW24 Europe Frequency Changes – 26MAY24". Aeroroutes.
  18. ^ "Nueva ruta desde el aeropuerto de Bilbao con Basilea". 19 December 2024. (begins 4 April 2025)
  19. ^ "Eurowings ab Berlin mit mehr Europa- und weniger Deutschland-Flügen". 21 November 2024.
  20. ^ "IBERIA NW24 Madrid – Europe Frequency Changes – 26MAY24". Aeroroutes.
  21. ^ "Iberia expands seasonal Funchal service in 3Q23". aeroroutes. 29 November 2022.
  22. ^ "KLM/SAS Begins Codeshare Service From Sep 2024". Aeroroutes.
  23. ^ "THAI Expands Lufthansa European Codeshare Service from late-July 2024".
  24. ^ "Norwegian NS24 Network Additions – 14NOV23". AeroRoutes.
  25. ^ "Norwegian NS25 Network Additions – 08DEC24". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  26. ^ "SAS NS25 Intercontinental Network Update; Summer Holidays Addition". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  27. ^ "Smartwings Adds Bilbao – Ilha Do Sal Charters in NS24". AeroRoutes.
  28. ^ "Bilbao has more passengers in June than any other month to date; gained nine airlines since 2020". 24 July 2023.
  29. ^ "United Airlines Bets on Offbeat Destinations, Adds Mongolia and Greenland for 2025". Skift. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  30. ^ "Volotea NS24 Network Expansion Summary – 04FEB24".
  31. ^ "Volotea, è Olbia la più grande base italiana nel 2023. Scalza Venezia". 26 January 2023.
  32. ^ "Nueva ruta Bilbao-Palermo: Volotea conectará Euskadi con Italia dos veces por semana desde abril– 13NOV24". 13 November 2024.
  33. ^ "Volotea unirá este verano Loiu con la ciudad portuguesa de Faro y Santorini". 30 November 2022.
  34. ^ "Vueling NW24 Bilbao Network Additions". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  35. ^ "Vienna: Wizz Air starts Bilbao and Kuwait City". 14 December 2022.
  36. ^ "Wizz Air launches new routes from Warsaw to Valencia and Bilbao". 8 August 2022.
  37. ^ a b c "Inicio". aena.es. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  38. ^ Moovit, A3247: Aireportua/Aeropuerto (Etorrerak/Llegadas) (1003)→Bilbao Intermodal (2877), accessed 18 March 2021
  39. ^ Bizkaiko Foru Aldundia, LINEAREN XEHETASUNAK: A2153 - BILBAO - TXORIERRI - LARRABETZU, accessed 3 May 2023
  40. ^ Gasteiz Hoy Hasta 13 autobuses diarios desde el centro de Vitoria al aeropuerto de Bilbao , accessed 3 May 2023
  41. ^ "Accident description in the Aviation Safety Network". Archived from the original on 24 May 2005.
  42. ^ "Accident description on the Aviation Safety Network website". Archived from the original on 10 March 2005.
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Media related to Bilbao Airport at Wikimedia Commons

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