Malaga Airport News

Malaga Airport
Malaga Airport

Malaga Airport News

September 2022

The Spanish Ministry of Transport awarded the detailed design contract for 1.5m € for the drafting of the layout and land expropriation for the future construction of the 'Northern access to Malaga airport from the junction at km 230 of the A-7 Malaga western bypass. The contract was awarded to the joint venture between Cemosa SA and Urci Consultores SL and will take two years to complete.

The project includes the upgrade of the km 230 junction to an elliptical roundabout, as well as a new 1.7km dual carriageway access road connecting with the current access road to Malaga airport from the south. It predicts about 12.000 vehicles a day will use the new road and this will mainly benefit those travelling to Malaga airport from further afield.

The project was envisaged as part of the works associated with Terminal 3 and second runway construction in 2000s but was shelved due to the financial crisis. The construction was actually awarded in 2018 to Acciona Construcción and Jiménez y Carmona for 27m € and a completion in 36 months however the work was never started. The current estimated cost is 42 million euros.

June 2022

The new runway has been in use most of every day since Friday 25th March in 2022. This was just before the start of the summer schedules. Departing planes generally use the old runway 13 taking off into the the prevailing wind over the sea. Aircraft landing at Malaga generally do so on the new runway 12. On some days when the wind is in the other direction amd off the land new runway 30 is used for departing planes and the old runway 31 is operating for planes positioned to arrive from over the sea. AENA repeated to us that new runway has always been open and operational for whenever the traffic demand required it. The use of the new runway was increased from 8 days in 2015 to 81 days in 2016 following complaints from the Air traffic controler's trade union (UCSA) (see October 2015 below) and questions in Parliament (see Feb 2016). In 2017 it was used on 196 days. In 2018 and 2019 it was used every weekend in March and every day from April. Clearly 2022 is following this pattern. 

01-06-2022 Official Data by INE for 4 months up to April 2022 released today recorded 2.3m international arrivals to Andalucia compared to 3.2m in 2019. When will Andalucia’s international tourism return to pre-pandemic normality?

The sub-delegate of the national Government in Malaga, Javier Salas, anounced that during the summer period "the number of police officers at Malaga airport will be increased, with 34 new agents for the summer". This is following passenger social media critism and airline formal complaints of the queues a passport control at Malaga and other airports principally from UK citizens who since Brexit use the Non EU channel.

April 2022

A Rolls Royce Trent 900 engine is a new exhibit at the Malaga airport museum. After finishing service on the wing of the Airbus 380 and after 12 years of flights.

The transfer from Toulouse (France) to the Malaga airport museum of this 4.5 metres long and 2.9 metres in diameter propulsion giant, began to take shape in 2018, a year after its last flight, which was on 3 July 2017, after 1,796 hours and 19 minutes of operation in its 724 ignitions.

The engine - a high-bypass turbofan, with a thrust of between 300 and 400 kilonewtons – headed for a fate that would have turn it into forgotten parts but  by chance, and above all by personal interest of a Álvaro Rojas, a young aeronautical engineer from Malaga but working for Rolls Royce, "changed that fate that would turn it into forgotten parts.

Thus, in autumn 2018, the possibility was raised that this "jewel of engineering" could have its "golden retirement" in Malaga and Rojas presented the British company with the first proposal to send the engine to Malaga airport.  That became a reality on 7 April 2022, when the Trent 900 set off on its journey by road to Malaga.

To fit the new exhibit in the Malaga museum, the roof of the building was dismantled to introduce the engine from above.  

February 2022

AENA anounced that the contract for special private transfer parking places at Malaga, Madrid and Barcelona airport had begun. It was announced last November that the contract had been adjucicated to UBER. The public tender documents placed the cost at 21% of the fare. In Malaga 34 parking places are reserved for UBER in the Express parking on the departure level. Uber clients will be directed to this location via the UBER phone app.

January 2022

Taro fog
“The taro” is the name of a fog caused by a large difference between the temperature of the water and the air. On occasions this phenomenon is observed off the coast at Malaga. Those travelling on the A-7 above Benalmadena rise above the ‘taro’ and look down under a blue sky on the thick white carpet of low level sea mist. Air traffic at Malaga was disrupted by the taro on 04-01-0222 where a dozen flights had delays of up to two hours. Low visibility has prevented flights from departing from 07.00. At around 08.10 the fog began to ease and the departures were able to begin. Service returned to normal by 09.00. The only flight cancelled was that of the inbound helicopter from Ceuta which had started its service from Algeciras.

 

Report published on serious incident at Malaga
The official investigation by Spain’s civil aviation authority just published reveals that on 11 September 2019 at 19.50 hrs an air traffic controller at Malaga Airport had given one Ryanair flight permission to land on a runway from which another Ryanair flight had been given permission to take off.

“The investigation has determined that the incident occurred because an aircraft was given clearance to land on a runway that was occupied by another aircraft in the process of taking off, without respecting the regulatory distances,” concluded the report.

The distance between the Boeing 737s flown in from Germany, carrying 186 people on the runway was, at its closest, 520 metres to the one taking off was bound for Liverpool, with 185 aboard. The minimum recommended safety margin, which was the length of the 3200m runway.

The report also showed that weather and visibility had been good at the time of the incident, while the volume of flights coming in and out of Malaga was not deemed to be a factor.

October 2021

Malaga airport 70 Year Aniversary
It is the 70 year anniversary since October 1959 when Captain Oli Mäkinen and co-pilot Antti Waris flew a twin turboprop Convair Metropolitan CV – 440 nicknamed ‘El Combi’ into El Rompedizo (as Malaga airport was then called) after a 3.000 km Kar-Air charter flight from Helsinki with 48 passengers having made refuelling stops at Gothenburg, Copenhagen and Barcelona. They were met by civic dignitaries and this first ever package tour flight was a milestone for Malaga airport and the Costabella as the Costa del Sol was then known. This plane can be seen Malaga airport museum.

From 15 October, companions of travellers will be allowed to access the airport terminals. Entry will, however, be limited during moments of significant passenger flows to prevent crowds. Previously as a Covid measure it was not posible without pre-authorisation (for assisted passengers) for friends and relatives to acompany passengers into the terminal.

Malaga airport achieves a five star anti-covid score

August 2021
Malaga Airport has achieved the highest anti-COVID score of five stars for its hygiene and safety processes. The COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating is assessed through the effectiveness and consistency of an airport’s anti-COVID measures in areas such as terminal cleanliness, cleaning and disinfection procedures, organisation and control of passenger flows around the airport, and control of social distancing and face mask usage (amongst other things). Malaga is amongst six of Aena airports to be awarded this score.

March 2021

On the 25-03-2021 Malaga airport came to halt for a few minutes when an Airbus A380 flying from the the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France, undertook manouvers over Malaga airport. The A380 in Airbus livery simulated a landing (from the sea) on runway 31, just before reaching the runway threshold it took off again into the sky, giving the airport a friendly wing roll on itw way up.

Toilets to be remodelled

October 2020
The airport operator of Malaga airport, Aena, has invested almost 2.5 million euros to remodel the airport’s toilets.

In addition to all airport toilets being updated, two specialised toilets will be built. One toilet will be specially designed for families, and one will bd optimized for accessibility, with adapted toilets and more spacious cubicles.

This contract, for which a total of six companies submitted offers, will take 23 months to complete and will affect more than a dozen services in certain areas of the airport, particularly in public access areas and shipping docks. Disruption will be kept to a minimum, however.

September 2020

Canal Sur TV and Radio studios located next to the old N-340 coast road on the line of second runway at Malaga Airport is now reducing the height of its 42m communications mast to 17m. The Dirección General de Aviación Civil began a compulsory expropriation process for this tower as well as two rooftop billboards nearby. Since the runway opened in 2012 it could only be used for landings and take-offs to be at the north end of the runway. Since 2018 the runway has been operationally continually open but in practice only used at peak periods. The removal of the obstacles will allow more flexibility in the runways use.

Malaga airport relocates the arrivals area

August 2020
Malaga Airport has relocated its arrivals waiting area to an open-air courtyard. It is no long possible to enter the terminal building without a boarding pass. The new meeting and waiting point is easy to locate, as it can be seen from a distance and from all points of the arrivals area. A recovered aeronautical beacon is at the centre of the square, serving as a memorable landmark.

These aeronautical beacons were used until the 1950s. In the case of the beacon installed in the arrivals square, it would have emitted a blue or white flashing light. It was used primarily to indicate the position of the airport and announce to the pilots if the landing area had adequate visibility. It had the added feature of being able to rotate at different speeds, which allowed coded messages to be emitted.

Centenery marks a record number of passengers at Malaga airport

December 2019
Malaga Airport has surpassed its own records, finishing 2019 with more than 19.8 million passengers. This marks an increase of 4.4 per cent since 2018. Operations also saw an increase, with just under 145,000 take-offs and landings. The increase in traffic was due to the sustained growth of both domestic and international air travel, with numbers of passengers increasing by 7.5 per cent and 4 per cent respectively. This is an auspicious announcement, coming on the 100 year anniversary of the airport’s establishment. Officials were happy to announce that since 1919, the airport has now served more than 400 million passengers.

Centenary Celebrations

March 2019
Malaga Airport celebrates its centenary with a commemorative flight. At 10.30 hrs local time on 9 March 1919, the airports first test flight was carried out. To commemorate one hundred years of Malaga airport, two small planes flew the same route. On their descent, the two planes flew under plumes of water expelled by firefighter vehicles, in a ceremony known as the ‘water salute’. The director of the Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport, Salvador Merino, welcomed the crews of both teams and made this statement: “This year, in Malaga, we are celebrating. It is a century since one of the most important public infrastructures in the province and the region was established and became the engine of economic development and guarantor of social cohesion.”

Second Runway

In 2014, the level of utilisation of the second runway was less than 0.6% of the airport's total service time, according to the CCOO and UGT unions. In 2015, the new runway operated only eight days in the morning in the whole year, and in 2016 it had activity 81 days in the 214 days of summer high season airline schedules which is from the last weekend of March until the last in October. Source

April 2016

The second runway at Malaga airport is now open at weekends. This is an unusual event, as it is the first time in its history that this infrastructure is operational in April.   AENA explained that the operation of the second runway is carried out according to the scheduled flight operations. It has always opened during the busiest months at the capital's airport, which is during the summer period.

The second runway at this facility is expected to remain open at weekends until Saturday 30 April. This date has been set by those in charge based on the flight operations that have been programmed.  The volume of aircraft movements, which is what marks the opening of the second runway has not grow at the same rate as passengers. 108,897 flight operations were recorded in 2016.   The second runway will continue to operate only intermittently. Aena is convinced that it is not yet necessary to be used permanently.  Source

January 2016

The ongoing situation regarding the non use of the second runway at Malaga airport has lead to Juan Antonio Castro, deputy for left wing coalition group ‘por Andalucia’ to table a parliamentary question. (22-02-2016)
“Complaints and claims have been received from different sectors - economic, tourist and trade union - regarding the under-utilisation of the second runway at Malaga airport. and trade unions, regarding the under-utilisation of the second runway at Malaga airport. The trade unions have denounced the deficient management and disuse of the second runway, and in particular, the CC.OO has alerted us that runway 12/30, which cost more than 624 million euros, is used almost residually and is abandoned most of the time is abandoned most of the year.
In view of this situation, and taking into account the increase in passengers and aircraft that is taking place, we join the demand to AENA for the total opening of the second runway, thus obtaining a significant improvement in the safety of air operations as well as in the quality of service, which would benefit passengers, airlines and the Malaga and Andalusian economies.
The reasons put forward by AENA for not opening the second runway are based on economic savings and staff cuts. The opening of this second runway would also allow to increase the fire protection of terminals, car parks, car parks and fire protection of terminals, car parks and hangars, as well as an incentive for airlines to relocate new routes and increase the number of flights.
What is the Regional Ministry's opinion and position on the under-utilisation of the second runway at Malaga airport and its consequences?
Does the Regional Ministry intend to get involved in demanding that AENA make full use of the infrastructure at Malaga airport?”

Second Runway

October 2015
The second runway, costing more than 470 million euro to build, increases the number of flight movements from 37 to 72 per hour. It was  officially opened on the 26th June 2012. On September 30th 2012 is was closed to save money. It is now reopened on Saturdays and Sundays in July and August and September and certain days over the Christmas period. On the 1 August 2015 a record 457 flights (landing and takeoff) were recorded in a single day.  In October 2015 the air controler's trade union (UCSA) called for the permanent opening of the runway. Statistics have shown that traffic was also high on other days when the runway was closed and delays were caused. They also cited incidents of when the main runway had to be closed and flights were diverted to Seville. On 24 October 2014 an object on the runway caused delays and on the 7th September 2015 heavy rain cause the ILS (instrument landing system) to become inoperative.  Source

New Pharmacy open in Termina Three 

June 2015  
There is now an extra pharmacy located in terminal three. It can be found opposite check-in desk, next to the Iberia sales desk. This is convenient for those who do not wish to walk all the way to terminal one.  

Free Wifi extended to 30 minutes

Jan 2015
30 minutes of free Wi-Fi will now be availble to all passengers and visitors to the airport. This has been extended from 15 minutes of connection. You have to register and give an email and will have the chance to pay extra for more time and faster speeds. There is two hour 'free' access in the VIP lounge.  

Malaga Airport uses GBAS technology

May 2014
Malaga Airport became the 1st airport in Spain and the second in Europe to use the new landing precision system known as GBAS (Ground Based Augmentation System). At 04.30 hrs on 6th  May 2014 an Air Berlin flight arriving from Palma de Mallorca used the new technology to land at Malaga AGP. The technology consists of a station on the ground which references antennae on the runway in order for the pilot to establish an extremely precise guidance signal. This would be particularly useful during bad weather.

Free wifi now available at Malaga Airport

July 2013
It was announced on 25 July that from that 15 minutes of free Wi-Fi will now be available to all passengers and visitors to the airport. This follows the news from April 2013 when it was announced that Kubi Wireless had won a bid to provide the internet. Users will not have to pay anything for the first 15 minutes of connection but will have the chance to pay extra for more time and faster speeds.

Vueling to fly all year round between Cardiff and Malaga

May 2013
Due to a successful 2012 summer season, Vueling will now start offering flights all year round between Cardiff and Malaga in 2013. Flights between the Welsh capital and the Costa del Sol will now operate year round on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with an extra flight on Wednesdays during August and September. The airline is also adding the additional flights to their schedule between Cardiff and Alicante. The new winter flights are on sale as of Thursday 23rd May.

Work starts on exclusive airport shopping and restaurant area

May 2013
Work has started to transform a 210 square metre area of the airport into an boutique shopping precinct. The zone will house designer labels such as Gucci and Loewe (other brands to be confirmed) and double Michelin star chef Dani Garcia's lastest haute cuisine restaurant.The transformation will mean that Malaga will join Madrid and Barcelona as one of the few airports to cater to big-spending travellers.

The project will create 50 new jobs during the construction stage and although works will not affect normal activity at the airport, they will be put on hold during the busy summer season between July and September. If all goes to plan, the shops and restaurant will be open to the public by March 2014.

Free Wi-Fi to be available in Malaga Airport

April 2013
AENA announced this week that all travellers at Malaga airport will soon have access to 15 minutes of free Wi-Fi.The company Kubi Wireless won a bid to offer the service at 28 airports across Spain, including five in the region of Andalucia: Malaga, Sevilla, Frederico García Lorca Granada-Jaen, Jerez and Almería.

After the primary 15 minutes of Wi-Fi usage, users will have the opportunity to pay for extra time with higher internet speeds.

Ryanair set to link Málaga AGP with Baden-Baden Germany

November 2011
How would you like to fly to Germany for just 9,99€? That is how Ryanair has chosen to announce upcoming service between Baden-Baden Germany and Málaga Airport. The tickets are part of the low-cost carrier’s promotional strategy for flights that are set to begin at the end of March 2012.

If all goes well, Ryanair will connect the two destinations with weekly flights every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The reason for the increased service to and from Germany is none other than recognition of the country’s economic importance even during times of financial upheaval. It is hoped that the new connection will encourage Germans to take advantage of low cost flights to Spain as they seek to escape the cold in search of warm sunny beaches.

The MÁlaga Airport Museum Serves Local Schools

October 2011
Thousands of school children have visited the Málaga Airport Museum and enjoyed a wide range of educational activities offered by the facility. In June 2009, the 10,000th student passed through the doors. Since then, educators continue to arrive with busloads of students ready to learn more about airports, aviation and particularly the history of both in Málaga.

Currently the museum offers educational tours and programs for children and young people aged 4 to 18 years old. The entire experience takes about 2.5 hours and includes educational materials. For more information, ring 952 048 799.

Moroccan Airlines Flies into the 2011/12 Winter Season

October 2011
Good news for passengers flying between Málaga Airport and Casablanca, Morocco. Royal Air Maroc has announced it will increase the number of winter flight connections between the two cities during the 2011/2012 season beginning November 1st.

Normally Air Maroc reduces the number of weekly flights from seven to five flights per week after the summer. This year, however, winter will continue to see daily flights to Morocco seven days a week. Once in Casablanca, travelers enjoy connections to other cities throughout the country as well as continuing flights across Africa.

AENA

AENA (Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea) is the 51% state owned company that manages 45 airports in Spain including Malaga - Costa del Sol. Since 2015 49% of the shares have been traded on the Madrid Stock exchange.

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