San Sebastian Airport
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The San Sebastián airport is a Spanish Aena airport located in the municipality of Fuenterrabía (Guipúzcoa), 20 kilometers from the city of San Sebastián, next to the border between Spain and France. The companies Iberia, Air Nostrum (Iberia Regional), Volotea, Vueling, Binter and British Airways are the airlines that currently operate in San Sebastián on a regular basis.
History
The airport was inaugurated on August 22, 1955 and was officially opened to both national and international tourist air traffic on August 29, 1955. The airline Aviaco was the first to operate at the airport, starting on August 2 September 1955. The runway originally measured 1200 meters and its orientation was 05/23. This orientation forced the planes to fly over French territory, which produced immediate protests by this government. On the other hand, the lack of airport facilities forced a nearby canning factory to be converted into a passenger terminal.
In July 1957, the meeting between the Spanish and French delegations culminated in an agreement on limits for the operation of the airport. This agreement, which came into force in June 1959, allowed the establishment of the airport's aeronautical easements but imposed a prohibition on the use of the airport by jet aircraft.
In July 1961, the work to expand the runway was completed, making it 1,500 meters long from the initial 1,200 meters.
Between 1964 and 1965, the aircraft parking lot was expanded, the control tower was built and the airport officially received its current name (San Sebastián Airport). In 1967, work began on the construction of the passenger terminal, which was inaugurated in 1968. In December 1969, the airport was closed to traffic to proceed with a new extension to 1,754 meters. Even so, in the press of the time there are constant references to the limitations of the airport and the need for its expansion or even another location, for which even Gipuzkoan business sectors paid for a study in 1972 that advocated moving it to Usurbil.
On March 18, 1992, Spain and France signed a new agreement. With it, the ban on jet aircraft flights was lifted while the daily number of movements, outside of nighttime hours, was limited to 12 MD-88 and 12 BAE-146.
In July 2009, a new project was presented to expand the runway. It allowed the incorporation of safety strips on each side of the track. The runway would thus be extended by 200 meters: 150 towards Irún and another 50 towards the sea, making the operational length from 1,754 to 1,954 meters. However, numerous groups are opposed to this extension: neighbors (who will see how the airport expands towards the city, in addition to the inconvenience due to noise, among others), or Berdeak-Los Verdes, which denounce that the expansion will be carried out in an area recovered with LIFE funds and that it is a SPA, RAMSAR wetland and belongs to the Natura 2000 network. For all these reasons, the Green party also proposes the elimination of the airport.
In August 2017, the San Sebastian airport carried out the works that required it to shorten its runway by 300 meters to comply with the safety standards imposed by Europe and implemented a special groove to facilitate the operation of aircraft on such a runway. short, leaving a track with the following declared distances:
> LDA (LANDING DISTANCE AVAILABLE) 1,427 meters > TORA (TakeOff Run Available) 1,591 meters > TODA (TakeOff Distance Available) 1,754 meters > ASDA (Accelerate Stop Distance Available) 1,591 meters
After this cut, however, the operation of the runway is limited to a few models of commercial aircraft and for example the main operator of the airport (Air Nostrum) that previously could operate the Bombardier CRJ200 and CRJ900 and the ATR72, in Currently only the latest model can operate.
Throughout August 2019, Vueling, after rehearsing operations with the Airbus A320neo for a week, announces that this aircraft model may be certified to operate on the 1,754 m runway in Hondarribia. Thus, on October 25, it was officially announced that said aircraft model is certified to replace the Airbus A319 when necessary. A great step to avoid the continuous detours to Bilbao that had been occurring regularly.
Infrastructures
- A landing strip of 1,754 x 45 meters of total surface (including safety strips). 1,577 / 1.427 meters useful surface for takeoff and landing respectively.
- A passenger terminal, with six check-in counters, six boarding doors, two baggage pick-up racetracks and one for special luggage.
- Parking for 228 places.
Transportation to the airport
There are several ways to get to Fuenterrabía airport.
Buses:
- E20 Line Ekialdebus: San Sebastián's connection line with the airport of Fuenterrabía, passing through the municipalities of Pasajes and Rentería. The frequency with which they leave from Plaza Guipúzcoa de San Sebastián and from the center of Fuenterrabía is 30 minutes from Monday to Friday. Saturdays and Sundays maintain the frequency of 30 minutes, but the line becomes the E27, and also passes through the municipality of Irún.
- E21 Ekialdebus Line: San Sebastian Line with Fuenterrabía Airport, via highway. This line departs from the center of San Sebastian, passes through the central Donostiarra neighborhoods of Amara and Riberas de Loyola and joins you directly with the airport of Fuenterrabía without making any more stops along the way. The frequency with which they leave is one hour every day of the week.
- E23 Line Ekialdebus: Line departing from the neighborhood El Antiguo de San Sebastián, passes through the city center, Amara and Riberas de Loyola and finally joins you with the airport of Fuenterrabía via highway. Frequency of one hour from Monday to Friday. This line only offers this service in the first two services of the day; after these first two services, the line is called E28.
- E25 Line Ekialdebus: Line that connects the airport with the city of Irún. Frequency of 15 minutes from Monday to Friday and 20 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays.
- E77 Line Ekialdebus: Join the airport with San Sebastian at night also passing through the municipalities of Irún, Rentería and Pasajes. Fridays are up to 1:00 every hour from Fuenterrabía and up to 1:50 from San Sebastian. On Saturdays there are up to 5:00 in the morning every hour from Fuenterrabía and until 5:50 in the morning from San Sebastian.
- E78 Line Ekialdebus: Join the city of Irún with the airport at nights on Saturdays all year and Friday July, August and September. The frequency is 40 minutes, with exits from Fuenterrabía and Irún.
Taxis
At the airport itself there is a taxi service in the parking lot, while to go from any other city in Gipuzkoa territory, just call any taxi company in the municipality in question.
Renfe
On the other hand, if you want to access from or to the airport taking municipalities in the interior of Guipúzcoa as a reference, such as municipalities in the Tolosaldea or Goyerri regions, the easiest thing is to take Cercanías Renfe and make the most appropriate transfer by then taking one of the lines mentioned above. To go to or come from the airport, you must transfer in Irún, Rentería, Pasajes or San Sebastián, since they are municipalities where the bus lines that connect with the airport pass. The easiest transfer is to Pasajes, since the bus stop to the airport is right in front of the Cercanías Renfe station in the municipality of Pasajes.
Euskotren
For now there is no line that reaches the airport, although it is planned for the future. In this case, Euskotren suffers the same problem as Cercanías Renfe. Euskotren offers the inhabitants of the regions of Urola Costa, Bajo Deva and Alto Deva the same option that Renfe offers to the regions of Tolosaldea and Goyerri. The transfers to be made will be the same, and can be done in Irún, Rentería, Pasajes and San Sebastián, the simplest being those in Pasajes and Irún, since the Euskotren stations in these towns are located in front of the station where the buses stop. airport.
Private vehicle
If you want to access it by private vehicle, you can take the AP-8 highway and leave it at the exit marked Irún-Fuenterrabía. The airport has more than 200 parking spaces for private vehicles.
Aircraft used by each airline
Air Nostrum: ATR 72 Binter CanariasEmbraer E-195E2.svg){kind=small}
British AirwaysEmbraer E-190 (operated by BA CityFlyer) Iberia: Airbus A319, Airbus A320* and Airbus A320neo Volotea: Airbus A319 and Airbus A320* Vueling: Airbus A319 and Airbus A320neo
♪ Airbus A320 operates with weight limitations
Airlines and destinations
News on destinations, operations, frequencies and airlines
| City | Model Aircraft | Operator | Home / End | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | E-190SR | BA CityFlyer | W23 | Seasonal to annual route (round year) |
| Sevilla | Airbus A319 | Volotea | W23 | Seasonal to annual route (round year) |
| Valencia | Airbus A319 | Volotea | W23 | Seasonal to annual route (round year) |
Last update: 09/28/2023
National destinations
Legend: The red point represents San Sebastian Airport, the greens to regular destinations, the blues to seasonal destinations and the violets to new destinations.
| Cities | Airport name | Airlines | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
 Barcelona | Airport Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat | Vueling | L M X J V S D |
 Las Palmas | Airport of Gran Canaria | Binter | LX J V S D |
 Madrid | Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport | Iberia | L M X J V S D |
 Malaga | Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport | Volotea (season) | L M X J V S D |
 Menorca | Menorca Airport | Volotea (season) | L M X J V S D |
| Palma de Mallorca | Palma de Mallorca-Son Sant Joan Airport | Volotea (season) | LX J V S D |
| Sevilla | Sevilla-San Pablo Airport | Volotea | L M X J V S D |
.svg){kind=small} Valencia | Valencia-Manises Airport | Volotea | L M X J V S D |
International destinations
Legend: The red point corresponds to Donostia-San Sebastián Airport, the greens to regular destinations, the blues to seasonal destinations and the purples to new destinations.
| Cities | Airport name | Airlines | Frequency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | ||||
| United Kingdom
| ||||
| London | London City Airport | British Airways | LM X JV S D | |
Statistics
 |
Annual data • Period 2015-2023
| Year | Passengers | Dif. Year Previous | Operations | Dif. Year Previous | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | 255.077 |  3.9 % | 6.807 |  12.4 % | ||
2016 | 264.422 | 3.7 % | 6.954 | 2.2% | ||
2017 | 281.859 | 6.6% | 6.925 | 0.4 % | ||
2018 | 289.440 | 2.7% | 6.415 | 7.4% | ||
2019 | 320.440 | 10.7 % | 6.473 | 0.9 % | ||
2020 | 83.869 | 73.8 per cent | 2.321 | 64.1 % | ||
2021 | 155.329 | 85.2 % | 3.119 | 34.4 % | ||
2022 | 383.584 | 146.9 % | 5.579 | 78.9 % | ||
2023 | 411.208 | - | 5.356 | - | ||
| Source: AENA | ||||||
Monthly data • Year 2023
| Month | Passengers | Dif. s/2022 | Operations | Dif. s/2022 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27.736 | 96.1 per cent | 343 | 23.8 per cent | |||||
| February | 24.966 | 47.2% | 340 | 38.2 per cent | |||||
| March | 31.641 | 47.8% | 423 | 45.4 per cent | |||||
| April | 39.553 | 36,0% | 535 | 39.7 per cent | |||||
| May | 44.827 | 23.1 per cent | 569 | 1.2% | |||||
| June | 47.612 | 22.1 per cent | 621 | 8.2 per cent | |||||
| July | 52.218 | 20.4 per cent | 733 | 5.8 per cent | |||||
| August | 49.332 | 16.8% | 602 | 0.5% | |||||
| September | 48.274 | 11.6% | 624 | 5.1 per cent | |||||
| October | 45.049 | 25.5 per cent | 566 | 4.4% | |||||
| November | |||||||||
| December | |||||||||
| Totals | 411.208 | 27.8 per cent | 5.356 | 12.5 per cent | |||||
| Source: AENA | |||||||||
Future of the airport
After the uncertainty regarding the implementation of security strips ended and the runway was reduced, Ortzibia (Hondarribia Airport Promotion Company - San Sebastián) set the objective of maintaining the airport's operation, which was finally achieved. 80% when the Air Nostrum company replaced its CRJ200 and CRJ900 jets with the ATR72 on its route to Madrid but with a notable reduction in frequencies and effectiveness in the event of unforeseen events on the part of the Airline. In addition, new operators have been able to incorporate such as Volotea (seasonal operation) and Vueling with a route to Barcelona that predict a good future for this infrastructure. The latest great achievement has been the incorporation of the long-awaited route to London that British Airways will begin operating during the months of July and August 2022 to the London City Airport (London-City) with its Embraer E-190 since That airport also has very limited operations due to its location in the city center and the length of its runway.
At the same time, other projects such as flat-rate flights on the Madrid and Barcelona routes through a fledgling airline company (flyboga) begin their journey
In 2020 Air Nostrum is replaced by Iberia, returning again on the line with Madrid, which is now operated by the Airbus A319, gradually achieving passenger numbers close to 2019 with only 2 daily frequencies and gaining in speed and quality of service.. The forecast for 2022 is to work on an increase in these frequencies with Ibera on A319 and A320neo.
In 2021, the airport has been equipped with the RNP satellite approach system that will minimize deviations due to meteorological causes and improve the precision of the approach to both headland 22 and headland 04.