Santa Cruz - La Palma, Spain
N 28° 37.316 W 017° 45.148
28R E 230883 N 3169197
Tourism as an aid to the economy is essential for many communities world wide. The Canary Islands is a convenient holiday destination for many Europeans and La Palma has one of the most modern airports in Spain.
Waymark Code: WMMNZJ
Location: Islas Canarias, Spain
Date Posted: 10/16/2014
Views: 22
If you are visiting La Palma you have most likely arrived by air and will have experienced the newly built airport. Located 8 kilometres outside Santa Cruz de la Palma, it is a modern airport fully equipped to contribute to the economic growth and development of tourism in the region it serves. For the tourist a visit to the airport is a very pleasant experience when compared to some other holiday destinations. But what is most striking is how quiet and calm it appears, both when arriving and when leaving.
The airport’s web page gives a lot of information about how it operates with links to other useful sites. Internal Spanish domestic traffic centres around the airports of Tenerife Norte, Gran Canaria and Madrid-Barajas. Its international origins and destinations are principally Germany, the Netherlands and United Kingdom.
In 2013, the airport dealt with just over 800,000 passengers, this contrasts with over 1,200,000 in 2007 with a gradual decline since then year by year. Cargo traffic totaled 577 only tonnes in 2013. Which small when compared with other international airports.
The original airport of Santa Cruz de la Palma was constructed during the 1950s on a small plain just to the west of the capital and was called Buenavista. The strip of land used was only 1,100 metres long and was 350 metres above sea level; the airport had to be closed frequently due to rain and cross winds. It was surrounded by mountains over 2,300 metres high.
It was clear that a different site was needed for the island’s airport and an area of land on the coast in the municipality of Mazo was chosen, but still quite close to Santa Cruz. Construction of the new runway was completed in 1970 and an extension to it, built on land reclaimed from the sea, was opened on 1st April 1980 and can easily accommodate large international jet planes.
One of the posted photos is taken from a place which deserves to have more visitors; there is a large area of constructed gardens with seating. It is a really good spot to see the airport and watch planes landing and taking off. What is interesting and must be a concern to the local economy is how few international flights in or out there are. The airport terminal building is relatively new having only been completed during the last few years and is one of the most modern in Europe. It is disappointing therefore that it is so little used.