A bulldozer and steamroller being used during the construction of a new aerodrome on Gibraltar, November 1941 Winston Churchill Avenue crossing the runway with the rock in the background Runway overviewConstruction

The first attempt of passenger air traffic from Gibraltar was made in 1931 by Gibraltar Airways Ltd, using the territory's race course on the North Frontier, however the service closed after only three and a half months.[1] The actual airport was constructed during World War II upon the former race track, when Gibraltar was an important naval base for the British. Opened in 1936, at first it was only an emergency airfield for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA).[1] In 1940, a landing strip was made and the airfield was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm, mostly for anti-U-boat patrols and convoy protection.[1] However, the runway was extended in 1942-1943 by reclaiming some land from the Bay of Gibraltar using rock blasted from the Rock of Gibraltar while carrying out works on military tunnels.[1] By April 1942, the runway was extended to 1,150 yards (3,450 feet; 1,050 metres), by November 1942 to 1,550 yards (4,650 feet; 1,420 metres), and by July 1943 to 1,800 yards (5,400 feet; 1,600 metres).[1] This last major extension of the runway allowed larger aircraft to land at Gibraltar.[1]

Business development 2000-2009

On 3 November 2003, Monarch Airlines announced a new route from Gibraltar to Manchester Airport.[2] It was the first route from Gibraltar to operate to the North of England. However, on 19 July 2006, Monarch withdrew the route due to the cost. On 21 April 2008, Monarch announced it would resume the services to Manchester from 12 September 2008. The route operated three to five times a week: every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in winter season, as well as on Thursdays and Sundays in the summer season.

By late 2005 and early 2006, the implementation of a new agreement was one of the main topics of the Gibraltar Trilateral Forum being held between the Governments of Gibraltar, Spain, and the United Kingdom. As a result, the Córdoba Accord was signed on 18 September 2006 by all parties. This ended all discriminatory restrictions on civilian flights to Gibraltar International, including the prohibition of flights over Spanish soil, and exclusion of Gibraltar from all EU agreements on air transport, allowing civilian flights from all nations into Gibraltar International.[3]

On 17 November 2006, Iberia Airlines announced that it would start flights from Madrid to Gibraltar using an Airbus A319 aircraft. This was a landmark move, as no Spanish airline had flown to Gibraltar since 1979, because of its disputed status. Iberia began flights to Gibraltar International on 16 December 2006, with a flight from Madrid that included some members of the Spanish Government on board. GB Airways flew a one-off flight in the other direction with a group of children from the Gibraltar area making up the passengers. In May 2007, GB Airways (flying as a British Airways franchisee) also began operating the route between Madrid and Gibraltar, however, this was discontinued on 30 September, leaving Iberia to work the route alone. On 22 September 2008, Iberia announced that it would cease its flights to Madrid by 28 September due to "economic reasons", namely, lack of demand. This left Gibraltar, once again, without any air links with Spain.[4]

In April 2009, Ándalus Líneas Aéreas restored Gibraltar's air link with the Spanish capital.[5] In July 2009, Ándalus also began scheduled flights to Barcelona, increasing the destinations in Spain to two.[6] However, the airline ceased to serve this route in September 2009 due to a lack of demand.[7] In April 2010, it was confirmed that Ándalus flights to and from Gibraltar had been indefinitely suspended.[8] And now yet again, Gibraltar has no direct air links to Spain. Ándalus Líneas Aéreas ceased operations on 13 August 2010.

In 2009, British Airways moved its flights from Gatwick to its main base at London Heathrow.

Business development 2010-2019

From 2011 until October 2012, easyJet offered thrice-weekly service from Gibraltar to Liverpool, but it was eventually cancelled due to lack of demand.

On 18 May 2011, Bmibaby announced that it would launch flights from Gibraltar to East Midlands Airport from 31 March 2012. This was the first time that an airline has operated that route. The route operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, using a Boeing 737-300. However, on 3 May 2012, it was announced that Bmibaby was to be closed by the International Airlines Group after the group failed to find a buyer for the airline. Bmibaby operated its last service to Gibraltar on 8 September 2012, and the airline operated its last flight the following day.

On 10 January 2012, Gibraltar was selected as one of the 'World's Scariest Airport Landings and Take-offs' in the travel section of the Daily Telegraph due to its runway which extends into the sea.[9]

On 14 August 2012, Monarch announced it would launch a new route to Birmingham, operating three times a week; every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The route began on 23 March 2013, but changed to running on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.[10]

In the summer of 2014, services between Gibraltar and Marrakech were operated by Royal Air Maroc Express on behalf of a local travel company, Your Flight.[11] However, the services, which were operated on a charter basis, and could not be booked via global distribution system channels or on a connection basis, terminated after just three months due to insufficient demand.[12]

In November 2014, easyJet announced that it would begin a new route to Bristol Airport which commenced on 19 April 2015.[13]

Royal Air Maroc (RAM) announced in November 2014 that after many years, it would restore the short intercontinental air connection between Gibraltar and Tangier in March 2015 on a twice weekly basis. Unlike the previous Marrakech flights, these would be operated by RAM for themselves, and offer connecting flights to their Casablanca hub and onwards, and be available via normal sales channels.[14]

Overnight work to resurface the runway started on the evening of 4 September 2015, and the work was completed in January 2016.

In November 2015, easyJet announced that it would begin a new route to Manchester Airport twice weekly, making this the first time two airlines have competed against each other on the Manchester-Gibraltar route. The new route commenced on 3 July 2016. During the same month, Monarch announced a new route from Gibraltar to London Gatwick, beginning on 1 May running four times a week.[15]

On 2 October 2017, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confirmed that Monarch Airlines had ceased operations with immediate effect and had entered administration. All flights were cancelled. Monarch operated about a third of the airports movements prior to shutting down.

On 12 July 2018, easyJet announced a twice-weekly new route to London-Luton, restoring the link between the two airports. The restored route started in December 2018.[16]

On 11 December 2019, easyJet announced a new twice-weekly service to Edinburgh, making it the first time that Gibraltar had a direct link to Scotland. The route was due to start in March 2020,[17] but was delayed until 5 June 2021 by the COVID-19 pandemic. EasyJet resumed services from Manchester on 20 July, Gatwick on 25 July, and Bristol on 4 August. The airline's service to Luton was axed as a result of the pandemic, and from increased competition by Wizz Air who began serving the route in December 2020.

Business development 2020-current

In October 2020, Hélity announced a new route to Málaga beginning 30 October, with flights operating three times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.[18] The service ceased in November due to Covid restrictions.

On 4 February 2021, Eastern Airways announced two new routes to Southampton and Birmingham from 24 and 28 May. This marked the first time that Eastern Airways were to operate scheduled flights from the airport, as well as the first ever route to Southampton and the resumption of the Birmingham service that was lost after Monarch's collapse in October 2017.[19] Both routes ceased in 2022.

June 2021 saw a new EasyJet route to Edinburgh. Other EasyJet routes being London Gatwick, London Luton, Manchester and Bristol.[20]

2023 saw EasyJet flying to London Gatwick, Manchester and Bristol.