João Paulo II Airport

Ponta Delgada-João Paulo II Airport
Aeroporto João Paulo II
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Government of Portugal
Operator ANA Aeroportos de Portugal
Serves Ponta Delgada
Location Relva
Elevation AMSL 79 m / 259 ft
Coordinates 37°44′31″N 025°41′52″W / 37.74194°N 25.69778°W / 37.74194; -25.69778Coordinates: 37°44′31″N 025°41′52″W / 37.74194°N 25.69778°W / 37.74194; -25.69778
Website ana.pt
Map
LPPD
Location of Ponta Delgada-Joao Paulo II in the archipelago of the Azores
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
12/30 2,497 8,192 Asphalt
Statistics (2017)
Passengers 1,849,504
Passengers change 16-17 Increase22.0%
Aircraft Movements 22,813
Movements change 16-17 Increase18.6%
Sources: ANAC, Portuguese AIP[1]
ANA

João Paulo II Airport (IATA: PDL, ICAO: LPPD), named after Pope John Paul II, is an international airport located on the island of São Miguel, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. Situated 2 km (1.2 mi) west of the city centre of Ponta Delgada, it is the primary (and busiest) airport in the Azores, as well as the fifth largest infrastructure managed by ANA Aeroportos de Portugal; with the construction of the terminal in 1995, by 2005 the airport served a total of 873,500 passengers.[1] It has scheduled domestic flights to all islands of the Azores, plus Madeira and the mainland, namely (Lisbon, Porto and Faro). João Paulo II Airport also accommodates international flights to and from Europe and North America. The airport is the major hub for the SATA Group of airlines, which includes both inter-island SATA Air Açores and international Azores Airlines,[2] and since April 2015 as a base for Ryanair.[3]

History

The airport was inaugurated on 24 August 1969 by President Admiral Américo Tomás, after its construction was planned six years earlier, in 1963.[4] Transferred from Santana, at the time of its opening, the runway was 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) long and was then referred to as the Aeroporto da Nordela, owing to its location at the extreme northwest of Ponta Delgada.[4] It was built in order to serve inter-island connections and the continent, using a single Boeing 737 from the national flag carrier (TAP33).[4]

Yet, it was only two years later that first regular flights to Lisbon were initiated.[4]

In May 1995, at the inauguration of the actual airport terminal, the facility received the designation João Paulo II, in honour of the visit of the Pope to the Azores in 1991.

"This airport, is part of the integrated history and economic and social development of the Azores, in particular of the Micaelenses, and constitutes an relevant equipment at the service of air transport, not just of the passengers, but also the transport and mail. It is the infrastructure with the largest expression of air traffic in the autonomous region of the Azores, reaching in 2011 935,000 passengers."

Along with the airports in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Flores, Santa Maria, Horta and Beja, the airport's concessions to provide support to civil aviation was conceded to ANA Aeroportos de Portugal on 18 December 1998, under provisions of decree 404/98.[5] With this concession, ANA was also provided to the planning, development and construction of future infrastructures.[5]

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Azores Airlines Boston, Funchal, Frankfurt, Gran Canaria, Lisbon, Porto, Praia, Toronto–Pearson
Seasonal: London–Gatwick, Montréal-Trudeau, Providence
Delta Air Lines Seasonal: New York–JFK
Germania Seasonal: Düsseldorf (ends 31 October 2018)
Ryanair Lisbon, London–Stansted, Porto
Seasonal: Hahn, Manchester[6]
SATA Air Açores Corvo, Flores, Graciosa, Horta, Pico, Santa Maria, São Jorge, Terceira
TAP Air Portugal Lisbon, Porto[7]
TUI fly Belgium Seasonal: Brussels
TUI fly Netherlands Seasonal: Amsterdam

Busiest routes

Busiest routes from João Paulo II Airport (2010)[8]
Rank Country City Passengers Carriers
1 Portugal Lisbon 340,634 Azores Airlines, TAP Air Portugal
2 Portugal Terceira 103,293 SATA Air Açores
3 Portugal Porto 80,454 Azores Airlines
4 Portugal Santa Maria 51,799 SATA Air Açores
5 Portugal Horta 48,652 SATA Air Açores
6 United States Boston 41,632 Azores Airlines
7 Canada Toronto 34,556 Azores Airlines
8 Portugal Pico 27,691 SATA Air Açores
9 Portugal Flores 20,587 SATA Air Açores
10 Portugal Funchal 18,568 SATA Air Açores

See also

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 AIP Part 3 - AD 2 Aerodromes Archived 15 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ SATA Press Kit (2009), p.8
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Fátima Cerqueira Dias (2010)
  5. 1 2 ANA Aeroportos: Relatório de Gestão e Contas (2011) (PDF), Lisbon, Portugal: ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, SA, 2011, p. 1115, archived from the original (PDF) on 2 January 2014, retrieved 2 January 2014
  6. ↑ https://corporate.ryanair.com/news/ryanair-announces-300m-additional-investment-with-3-new-aircraft-at-manchester/
  7. ↑ TAP Air begin service between Porto and Ponta Delgada
  8. ↑ Annual Traffic Statistics
Sources
  • Dias, Fátima Cerqueira (2010), O Aeroporto de Ponta Delgada - João Paulo II, 40 anos de História (in Portuguese), Ponta Delgada (Azores), Portugal

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