Bilbao Airport

Bilbao Airport (IATA: BIO, ICAO: LEBB) is a minor international airport located 9 km (5.6 mi) north^[4] of Bilbao, in the municipality of Loiu, in Biscay. It is the largest airport in the Basque Country and northern Spain, with 6,336,441 passengers in 2023. It is famous for its new main terminal opened in 2000 designed by Santiago Calatrava.

Bilbao Airport Bilboko aireportua Aeropuerto de Bilbao
IATA: BIO ICAO: LEBB
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	Aena
Serves	Bilbao metropolitan area
Location	Loiu and Sondika, Biscay, Spain
Opened	19 September 1948; 76 years ago (1948-09-19)
Operating base for	Volotea Vueling
Elevation AMSL	42 m / 137 ft
Coordinates	43°18′04″N 02°54′38″W
Website	www.aena.es/en/bilbao.html
Map
BIO/LEBB Location of airport in the Basque Country
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 10/28 2,000 6,562 Asphalt 12/30 2,600 8,530 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Passengers 6,336,441 Passenger change 17-18 10.0% Aircraft Movements 49,966 Movements change 17-18 6.3% Cargo (t) 1,216 Cargo change 17-18 37.8%
Sources: Passenger Traffic, AENA[1] Spanish AIP, AENA[2][3]

History

Foundation and early years

After various aeronautic experiments in the province of Biscay, in October 1927 steps were taken by the Union of Public Works to establish an airport in Bilbao. A Provincial Board was created to study the possible location of the airport. It was not until 1936 that the General Aeronautics Management authorised the installation of an airport in Sondika. However, due to the site's many deficiencies, the airport was not considered of interest. Bilbao is surrounded by mountains and a flat valley without significant population had to be found.^{[citation needed]}

The construction works commenced during the Civil War but during this time and until June 1937 the airport was only used as a base for military activities. In 1938, the second stage of the airport's development began. The council resumed procedures with the government to modify the primitive project of 1936 and the drafting of a new project was authorised and later approved by the General Management of Infrastructure.^{[citation needed]}

In 1940, it was decided by common agreement with the local organisations affected to build a civilian airport in Sondika. The construction works progressed slowly and on 19 September 1948, the airport was at last opened to daytime traffic with the establishment of an air path to Madrid by Aviación y Comercio, SA. Two years later, the terminal, named Carlos Haya after the well-known pilot from Bilbao, began to give service.^{[citation needed]} At this time, the airport had an asphalt runway, the 11/29 (measuring 1,440 by 45 m (4,724 by 148 ft)), another earth runway (measuring 1,500 by 150 m (4,921 by 492 ft)), a taxiway, a passenger terminal, a tower control, a radio beacon, a direction finder as well as police, post office, weather, health, fuel and telephone services. In 1955, a taxiway was built to link the runway with the parking stands and terminal. An apron measuring 124 by 60 m (407 by 197 ft), a hangar for the Royal Flying Club of Vizcaya and permanent facilities for Campsa were also built.^{[citation needed]}

Between 1964 and 1965, an instrumental ILS landing system and a meteorological radio for storm detection were installed; the runway was extended to 2,000 m (6,562 ft) and the apron to 12,000 m² (130,000 sq ft). In 1975, the runway was surfaced and its orientation became 10/28 due to the change in magnetic declination.^{[citation needed]} In 1977, the parking stand was extended, a link road was built and an ILS system was installed. The runway 12/30, measuring 2,600 m (8,530 ft) long, was opened the same year and the airport was classified as first category the following year. As a result of the population density of the area, approaching planes may have to fly over the extensive Derio cemetery.^{[citation needed]}

During the 1980s, the ILS landing system entered into service for runway 10/28; the communication centre, passenger terminal and parking facilities were enlarged; and a fire service building and cargo terminal were constructed.^{[citation needed]}

On 19 February 1985, an Iberia flight from Madrid crashed into Mount Oiz, all passengers and crew died.^[5]

Development since 1990

In 1996, a new taxiway with two rapid exits and a new aircraft parking apron were built. The works required the removal of tons of soil poisoned with lindane residues.^{[citation needed]} In May 1999, the new tower control was put into service, which allowed for a more centred vision of the airfield and at the same time facilitated airport operations. On 19 November 2000, a new terminal area was opened in the north zone, consisting of a new terminal building, with a surface area of 32,000 m² (340,000 sq ft), a car park with 3,000 parking spaces measuring 95,000 m² (1,020,000 sq ft) and a north apron for aircraft parking to serve the new terminal area.^{[citation needed]}

In February 2009, plans were announced to expand the terminal building, the facilities and the car parking so as to double the current capacity to 8 million passengers. The work was expected be finished in 2014 and cost €114 million but in 2010 the Spanish Government announced the project would be delayed by at least 5 years due to spending cuts and a decline in passenger numbers.^[6]

Design of the passenger terminal

Bilbao Airport interior

Bilbao Airport jetway

Control tower

The terminal has a sleek design, with two symmetrical "wings" and a sharp tip at its center which is especially visible when approaching the terminal from the sides. This original design has granted the building the nickname of La Paloma ("The Dove").^[7] White concrete and glass have been used. The interiors are open and luminous spaces, distributed in two floors, the upper one for departures (check-in counters and gates) and the lower for arrivals.

There has been some criticism of Santiago Calatrava's design by Aena, the Spanish airport authority, because it seems difficult to make further enlargements in the terminal's capacity because the design is too closed. In spite of this, modifications took place in 2005–2006 in the check-in area to provide enhanced shopping facilities for travellers, which almost doubled the retail space now being offered.

Users of the airport widely complained about its lack of an arrivals area, since once passengers cleared customs, they stepped directly outside, and there they were often exposed to the elements. The airport built a glass-walled shelter to remedy this problem.^[7]

Traffic

The airport has seen a constant increase in its traffic numbers, the old terminal was already saturated and obsolete in 1990, although it had been renewed only a few years earlier.^{[citation needed]} At the present day Bilbao is the most important hub in northern Spain and the number of passengers using the new terminal continues to rise, especially after the increased tourist interest in the city since the opening of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.^{[citation needed]}

With the past increase of traffic, the terminal would have become saturated again in a year because it is designed to handle about 4.5 million passengers per year, in 2007 it went nearly to its maximum capacity. However, the Great Recession reversed the situation by early 2009, decreasing the number of passengers by 24% in January compared to previous year. In 2014 traffic is on the rise again and saw the recovery of passengers up to 5.4 million passengers by 2018.^[8]

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Bilbao Airport:

Airlines	Destinations
Aegean Airlines	Seasonal: Athens[9]
Aer Lingus	Dublin[10] Seasonal: Cork[11]
Air Arabia	Tangier[12]
Air Cairo	Cairo[citation needed], Hurghada,[13] Luxor[14]
Air Europa	Lanzarote, Madrid,[15] Palma de Mallorca,[16] Tenerife–North[17] Seasonal: Ibiza, Menorca
Air France	Paris–Charles de Gaulle[18]
Azores Airlines	Seasonal: Ponta Delgada[19]
Brussels Airlines	Brussels[20]
easyJet	Geneva,[21] Manchester[22] Seasonal: Basel/Mulhouse,[23] Bristol,[24] Milan–Malpensa[25]
Edelweiss Air	Zurich[26]
Eurowings	Düsseldorf[27] Seasonal: Berlin,[28] Hamburg,[29] Stuttgart[30]
Iberia	Madrid,[31] Santiago de Compostela, Valencia Seasonal: Funchal,[32] La Palma
KLM	Amsterdam[33]
Lufthansa	Frankfurt,[34] Munich[34]
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Seasonal: Copenhagen,[35] Oslo,[36] Stockholm–Arlanda (begins 14 June 2025)[37]
Scandinavian Airlines	Seasonal: Copenhagen (begins 27 June 2025)[38]
Smartwings	Seasonal charter: Sal,[39] Tirana[40]
TAP Air Portugal	Lisbon[41]
Transavia	Eindhoven[42]
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul[43]
United Airlines	Seasonal: Newark (begins 31 May 2025)[44]
Volotea	Alicante, Florence, Gran Canaria, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Paris–Orly, Porto, Rome–Fiumicino, Seville, Tenerife–South, Valencia, Venice Seasonal: Athens, Castellón, Faro, Ibiza, Lyon, Marrakesh, Menorca, Murcia,[45] Naples, Olbia,[46] Palermo,[47] Santorini[48]
Vueling	Alicante,[49] Amsterdam,[50] Barcelona,[49] Brussels,[50] Fuerteventura,[49] Granada,[49] Gran Canaria,[49] Ibiza,[49] Lanzarote,[49] Lisbon,[49] London–Gatwick,[49] London–Heathrow,[51] Málaga,[49] Menorca,[49] Milan–Malpensa,[49] Marrakesh,[50] Palma de Mallorca,[49] Paris–Orly,[52] Porto,[50] Prague,[49] Seville,[49] Tenerife–North,[49] Valencia[49] Seasonal: Faro[citation needed], Hamburg,[50] Jerez de la Frontera, Malta,[53] Paris–Charles de Gaulle[citation needed], Rome–Fiumicino,[50] Santiago de Compostela[50]
Wizz Air	Budapest (begins 1 July 2025),[54] Rome–Fiumicino (begins 7 July 2025),[55] Vienna[56] Seasonal: Warsaw–Chopin[57]

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at BIO airport. See Wikidata query.

	Passengers	Change from previous year	Aircraft movements	Change from previous year	Cargo (tonnes)	Change from previous year
2000	2,556,373		45,506		4,038
2001	2,491,770	02.5%	44,166	03%	3,674	09,1%
2002	2,463,698	01.1%	39,832	09.9%	3,699	00.6%
2003	2,850,524	015.7%	44,009	010.4%	3,813	03.1%
2004	3.395,773	019.1%	50,361	014.4%	4,152	08.9%
2005	3,843,953	013.2%	56,285	011.8%	3,956	04.7%
2006	3,876,072	00.8%	58,574	04.1%	3,417	013.6%
2007	4,286,751	010.6%	63,076	07.7%	3,230	05.5%
2008	4,172,903	02.7%	61,682	02.2%	3,178	01.1%
2009	3,654,957	012.4%	54,148	012.2%	2,691	015.3%
2010	3,888,969	06.4%	54,119	00.1	2,547	05.4%
2011	4,045,613	04.0%	54,432	00.6%	2,633	03.4%
2012	4,171,092	03.1%	50,030	08.1%	2,663	01.1%
2013	3,800,789	08.9%	42,683	014.7%	2,536	04.8%
2014	4,015,352	05.6%	42,590	00.2%	2,855	012.6%
2015	4,277,430	06.5%	43,862	03%	2,872	00.6%
2016	4,588,265	07.3%	45,105	02.8%	2,974	03.6%
2017	4,973,712	08.4%	46,989	04.2%	1,956	034.2%
2018	5,469,453	010%	49,966	06.3%	1,216	037.8%
Source: Aena Statistics[1]

Top Carriers

Rank	Carrier	Passengers 2021	%	Passenger % Change 2020	Passenger % Change 2019
1	Vueling	1,351,077	52.35	71.4	42.1
2	Iberia	259,469	10.05	50.5	52.5
3	Volotea	238,769	9.25	65.9	5.7
4	Lufthansa	211,203	8.18	80.1	62.2
5	Air Europa	187,969	7.28	33.2	59.1
6	KLM	80,009	3.10	36.3	60.1
7	Air Nostrum	55,831	2.16	47.2	63.8
8	Air France	43,708	1.69	30.2	79.6
9	Brussels Airlines	23,864	0.92	22.7	84.6
10	Eurowings	22,051	0.85	23.0	82.9
Source: Aena Statistics[1]

Busiest routes

Busiest european routes from BIO (2023)

Rank	Destination	Passengers	Change 2022 / 23
1	London-Gatwick	346,237	38%
2	Amsterdam	249,852	35%
3	Munich	249,224	23%
4	Frankfurt	246,794	5%
5	Paris-Charles de Gaulle	237,398	44%
6	Lisbon	151,299	38%
7	Brussels	95,469	49%
8	Dublin Airport	90,202	11%
9	Porto	76,850	29%
10	Manchester	61,176	12%
11	Düsseldorf	57,787	3%
12	Istanbul	50,800	46%
13	Athens	49,478	162%
14	Milan-Malpensa	45,342	121%
15	Copenhagen	39,962	117%
16	Rome-Fiumicino	35,312	New route
17	Florence	34,480	New route
18	Eindhoven	33,743	7%
19	Zurich	32,894	74%
20	Warsaw-Chopin	27,032	New route
Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo[58]

Busiest intercontinental routes from BIO (2023)

Rank	Destination	Passengers	Change 2022 / 23
1	Marrakech	19,433	New route
2	Tangier	18,839	24%
3	Cairo	8,087	250%
4	Luxor	7,787	272%
5	Algiers	1,119	36%
Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo[58]

Busiest domestic routes from BIO (2023)

Rank	Destination	Passengers	Change 2022 / 23
1	Madrid	780,296	20%
2	Barcelona	653,728	24%
3	Seville	382,575	24%
4	Málaga	329,166	19%
5	Palma de Mallorca	306,392	9%
6	Valencia	193,808	23%
7	Tenerife-North	190,670	5%
8	Alicante	189,624	1%
9	Menorca	139,367	4%
10	Lanzarote	133,360	1%
11	Gran Canaria	132,841	6%
12	Ibiza	123,858	4%
13	Santiago de Compostela	78,988	34%
14	Fuerteventura	39,589	11%
15	A Coruña	29,480	10%
16	Granada	23,925	32%
17	Jerez de la Frontera	18,464	2%
18	Almería	17,971	21%
19	La Palma	8,788	57%
20	Vigo	8,738	22%
Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo[58]

Public transport

Bus

• BizkaiBus:
  • A bus line (A3247) connects Bilbao city center (Moyúa square) and the city bus station with the airport. Buses depart every 15 minutes from April to October and every 20 minutes the rest of the year.^[59]
  • A bus line (A2153) connects Bilbao city center (San Jose square) with Larrabetzu stopping at the airport. Buses depart every hour.^[60]

• Lurraldebus:
  • DO04 bus line operated by Lurraldebus to Donostia-San Sebastián; its only stop is at Zarautz - adjacent to one of the town's two Euskotren stations (at the eastern end of the town). Buses depart every hour and every 30 minutes in July and August.
  • DG12 bus line operated by Lurraldebus to Mondragón with stops in Eibar and Bergara; the last daily service continues until Oñati. There are 6 buses departing from Bergara every day, and a single bus from Oñati.

• Starting in 2025, a bus line will connect Vitoria-Gasteiz city center with Bilbao airport, buses will depart every 2 hours in the winter months, and every hour in the busier months, stopping at Vitoria bus station, Vitoria Airport and Bolueta metro station in Bilbao.^[61]

Metro extension

There is a project to extend Metro Bilbao's Line 3 to the airport in the near future, but there is no official timetable yet.

Accidents and incidents

• On 15 September 1975 British Airways flight NS552 operated by Trident 1E G-AVYD was written off at Bilbao while taking off. The aircraft came off the runway following the commander's decision to abort the take-off on a wet runway at or close to V1.^[62]
• On 19 February 1985, Iberia Flight IB610 from Madrid crashed into Mount Oiz. All 148 passengers and crew on board were killed.
• On 7 February 2001, Iberia Flight IB1456 arriving from Barcelona encountered wind shear while landing and suffered collapsed landing gear. All people on board survived but 25 people were injured.^[63]

See also

• List of airports in Spain