Airport Guide

History of Gran Canaria Airport

The first flights from the site of what is now Gran Canaria Airport took off in 1919, with the island serving as a stopping-off point for a Toulouse-Casablanca service.

However, it was only in 1930 that the aviation facilities located there were named as an official airport by Spanish king Alfonso XIII, with the first Madrid-Canary Islands service launched just five years later.

Following the passing of a decree declaring it an international airport in 1946, the next couple of decades saw work carried out to extend the runway and improve passenger facilities, culminating in the opening of a new terminal in 1973 and a second runway in 1980.

At the start of the 1990s, this terminal was enlarged and upgraded, while the boom in bargain flights seen over recent years has prompted a spate of projects aimed at offering passengers state-of-the-art facilities.

Travelling to Gran Canaria Airport

Gran Canaria Airport is located just 12 miles south of the city Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and 16 miles from the popular tourist resorts on the south of the island.

Despite there being no rail link in place, travelling between the terminal buildings and both the heart of the island's capital and the numerous resorts is both quick and easy.

Regular bus and taxi services take passengers from the airport to the most popular destinations at frequent intervals, with ongoing upgrades to the GC1 motorway ensuring quick and efficient links to the island as a whole.

Airlines Flying From Gran Canaria Airport

As befitting Gran Canaria's status as one of Europe's most-popular holiday destinations, the island's airport welcomes more than a dozen airlines offering flights to numerous domestic and international destinations.

At present, Spanish national carrier Iberia offers services to just Madrid and Dakar, though through Iberworld it flies to Basel, Cork, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and Turku.

Meanwhile, fellow Spanish carrier Spanair offers services to Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, Malaga, Santiago de Campostela, Seville and Vigo.

Over recent years, the Canary Islands have welcomed growing numbers of international holidaymakers, thanks largely to a boom in bargain flights, and low-cost carriers now dominate the tarmac at Gran Canaria Airport.

Irish budget carrier Ryanair, for example, offers more than a dozen international services, including flights to Birmingham, Bristol, Dublin, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Pisa, alongside domestic services to Barcelona and Madrid.

TUIfly offers bargain flights to Germany, including services to Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, Munich and Stuttgart, while Transavia flies to Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Maastricht and Rotterdam in Holland.

Thomas Cook Airlines, meanwhile, offers flights to Gran Canaria from most major UK cities, while Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia and Norwegian Air Shuttle links the islands with northern Europe.
Additionally, Mauritania Airlines flies to North Africa, Neos to Italy and Niki to Austria, while the likes of Jet2.com, Monarch, Swiss Airlines, and Vueling also jet to and from Gran Canaria Airport.