Gran Canaria Airport

Gran Canaria Airport is the fifth-busiest airport in Spain and the principal aviation gateway to the Canary Islands, serving 59 airlines on 231 routes to 123 nonstop destinations. Located on the eastern shore of Gran Canaria island in the Atlantic Ocean 18 km (11 mi) south of Las Palmas, LPA sits at just 78 ft (24 m) of elevation on a narrow coastal strip between the sea and the island's central massif, and its year-round warm climate drives one of the most pronounced seasonal tourism flows in the European network — with winter traffic from northern Europe rivaling summer peaks. LPA is the historic base of Binter Canarias, the interisland regional carrier whose ATR 72 fleet stitches together the archipelago's seven islands on a dense high-frequency network, and a major operating base for Ryanair, easyJet, Vueling, and Iberia Express. The airport handles roughly half of all air traffic in the Canary Islands, with the remainder split between Tenerife South (TFS), Tenerife North (TFN), Lanzarote (ACE), and Fuerteventura (FUE). During World War II and the Cold War, the airport (then known as Gando) hosted a significant Spanish Air Force base, and the military remains a co-tenant today — military and civilian operations share both runways. LPA operates two parallel asphalt runways — 03L/21R and 03R/21L, each 10,171 ft (3,100 m) long and 148 ft (45 m) wide — permitting independent simultaneous operations. The current T1 terminal was expanded in 2014, and a major third runway and new passenger pier are in long-term planning to raise capacity past 22 million annual passengers. The airport is administered by AENA, Spain's national airport operator. Because the Canaries are geographically African but politically European, LPA is the westernmost point in the European Schengen Area, 210 km (130 mi) west of the Moroccan coast.