The Canarian archipelago lies in the Atlantic Ocean, quite far from the coast of Spain, to which it belongs. Naturally, the main form of communication between it and mainland Europe in our age of space exploration is air transport.
The Canary Islands is a popular tourist destination that does not know the concept of "low season". But where do travelers land, which airport? The Canary Islands are an archipelago. It includes seven fairly large areas of land, not counting small rocks. The main island in the archipelago is Gran Canaria. Naturally, here is the international airport. It is called simply and simply - Gran Canaria. So passengers know immediately which island they have landed on. But this is not the only airport in the archipelago. For information on how to fly to the Canary Islands and travel between the islands, read the article.
Gran Canaria Airport
Let's start our review of the air harbors of the archipelago from the main one. This airport has international status and receives flights from many countries, including Russia. But that's not all. The main air harbor of Gran Canaria ranks fifth in terms of passenger traffic among the airports in Spain (after the capital of the country, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Malaga). It is located on the eastern tip of the island of the same name, near the ocean. If you are flying with Aeroflot, then most likely you will land at this airport.
The Canary Islands have two capitals. Once every four years, the title of the main city passes either to Santa Cruz de Tenerife or to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. This last resort is located just twenty kilometers north of the airport. The hub is a haven not only for civil aviation. It also houses the base of the Spanish Air Force. And one of the airport lanes is even capable of receiving a NASA shuttle during an emergency landing. The air harbor terminal is connected by a bus route to the city. Check-in for passengers traveling abroad starts 2 or 2.5 hours before departure.
Yuzhny Airport
The largest island of the archipelago is called Tenerife. It is very popular with tourists. Therefore, it has two international airports - on the northern and southern ends of the island. The largest of them is the second. Previously, it was named after Queen Sophia, who in November 1978 solemnly cut the red ribbon at its opening.
Nowthe annual passenger traffic of this major transport hub is about seven and a half million. South Airport is located in Granadilla de Abona, sixty-one kilometers from the main city of Tenerife. If you are flying from Sheremetyevo or St. Petersburg, then land at Yuzhny.
Los Rodeos
Now this hub is officially called North Airport.” The Canary Islands have a busy air transport connection between themselves. Of course, the North airport, like the South one, has international status. Aircraft to Europe and South America start from it. But the busiest route (forty flights a day) is Tenerife - Gran Canaria.
It should be noted the convenient location of the North Airport. Los Rodeos is located a couple of kilometers from the main city of the island and sometimes the capital of the entire archipelago, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The harbor handles more than four million passengers annually.
Fuerteventura
Only some flights from Western European countries are accepted by this international airport. The Canary Islands experienced a tourist boom in the 1950s and 1960s. It is not going down even now. But the popularity of Fuerteventura led to the construction of an airport on the third largest island in the archipelago. The location of the air harbor is very convenient - five kilometers from the city of Puerto del Rosario. This hub mainly serves flights between the islands.
Other airports in the Canary Islands
Inhabitants of the archipelago prefer airmaritime transport. Therefore, on all more or less significant islands there are airports. Even tiny Hierro has his own hub. For its small size, it is called "Crab Airport". Its capacity is one hundred and seventy-odd thousand passengers. The most popular flights are to Tenerife, Gran Canaria and La Palma.
La Gomera is another small airport in the archipelago. It is located on the island of the same name near the village of Alakhero, thirty-five kilometers from the main city. The hub consists of one terminal and accepts only domestic flights. La Palma is located on a piece of land of the same name and eight kilometers south of the main city of Santa Cruz. Despite the modest size of the harbor, its passenger traffic is one million sixty-seven thousand people annually. It accepts seasonal charters and, more recently, regular flights from Europe. The largest of the small airports in the archipelago is Lanzarote. It is located five kilometers from Arrecife. The airport serves five million travelers annually. Recently, the old terminal of this air harbor has been turned into an entertaining Aviation Museum.
