A cultural taste of Málaga

MÁLAGA AIRPORT TIMELINE

MÁLAGA AIRPORT – THE BEGINNING

1919 – On March 9, 1919 a Salmson 2A airplane flies over Málaga looking for a place to land – chooses farm called El Rompedizo. Pierre Latécoère – looking to set up air bases in Spain to establish a commercial connection between France and French colonies then later on to South Americas.

On September 1st of this year, after months of test flights, Didier Daurat (future director of Málaga Airport) inaugurated regular service between Toulouse, Barcelona, Alicante, Málaga, Tánger and Casablanca.

MÁLAGA AIRPORT AND THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR

1936 – On July 18th of this year, Civil War breaks out in Spain and Málaga airport becomes an airbase for the Republican Army under the leadership of Don Abelardo Moreno Miró.

1937 – Málaga Airport is still an airbase, but no longer under Republican control. On February 18th Franco’s forces take Málaga capital and the airport immediately changes hands and roles. From this point on, the airport is no longer in “active duty” because it’s so far away from the war front. Instead, Franco’s forces use it more for logistical purposes.

1938 – Franco’s forces finally have a clear purpose for Málaga Airport and they open a training facility for flight crews, military observers and other specialists. The airport also gets a new control tower. During this phase of the airport’s history, you could see planes like the Heinkel HE-46 and 43, the Bucker BU-131 and Junkers JU-52. These planes were used for training students at the on-site facilities. A year before the war ends, the Italian airline Ala Littoria establishes flight service to and from Málaga.

MÁLAGA AIRPORT POST-CIVIL WAR

After the Spanish Civil War, Málaga Airport remains under military control, functioning as an airbase.

1946 – On July 12th, the Málaga airport begins to offer national and international flights and is equipped with customs officers. However, all passenger services are still provided by the airbase until 1948 when the civil passenger facilities are opened.

1950’s – Military training operations start to be either closed down or transferred to the Air Base Academy located at “Virgen del Camino”. However, the airport will still host the air force until 1973.

MÁLAGA AIRPORT AND THE TOURIST BOOM

1960’s – During this decade, Málaga airport expanded to handle a booming tourist industry as visitors from all over Europe began to flock to the sunny south of Spain. The airport expanded runways and built a new terminal north of the original terminal (which became the General Aviation Terminal for years and is now the museum). Eventually Málaga airport would also get a new parking area for aircraft as well as a modern control tower, an electric power station, a new passenger terminal building and high tech navigation equipment such as VASIS, VOR and later ILS systems.

1965 – Málaga airport receives a change of name. Until then, the facility was called “El Rompedizo” after the original farm it was built on, or “García Morato”. But this year, the government officially changed the name to Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport.

1968 – This year the new passenger terminal was inaugurated in order to handle all national and international flights.

1970 – Málaga airport is equipped with a radar system.

June 30, 1972 – Málaga airport is under such pressure to handle a growing number of tourists that authorities are hard pressed to meet the demands. Finally, on this date in 1972, a new terminal building is inaugurated. It’s called the “Modular Station for Non-Regular Traffic”.

MÁLAGA AIRPORT RECENT HISTORY

30 November 1991 – This is indeed an exciting date in the history of Málaga airport because this is the day the largest-to-date, most modern-to-date terminal was inaugurated. The Pablo Ruiz Picasso Terminal has today been incorporated into the even newer, larger and greater Terminal 3. In 1991, however, it was still a towering tribute to the Costa del Sol’s tourist boom. The spacious two story building was designed by Ricardo Bofill and incorporated the old international terminal when it was built.

1995 – This was the year Málaga Airport welcomed its first parking garage, complete with an underground tunnel that connects to the passenger terminal. This year the old, original passenger terminal was also remodeled for use as the General Aviation Terminal.

1996 – This year a new maintenance hangar and a cargo terminal open their doors at Málaga Airport.

1997 – Aircraft at Málaga Airport enjoy an expanded parking area with upgraded re-fueling service stations.

November, 2002 – Málaga gets a new control tower, equipped with the latest and greatest VICTOR system that makes is possible to visualize all data on a single screen. Air traffic control just got easier at Málaga International.

MÁLAGA AIRPORT TODAY

Today Málaga is a thriving, modern facility that handles ------ passengers per year and boasts ------ airlines serving ----- destinations.

2010 – Terminal 3 is opened on March 15th by their Royal Highnesses, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain. The magnificent structure covers 250,000 square meters of land and flashes a gleaming façade to arriving and departing passengers.

2012 – A second runway is built at a non-parallel angle to the original runway due to land acquisition issues. Costing more than 470 million Euros to build, it increases the number of flight movements from 37 to 72 per hour. It is officially opened on the 26th June by the Minister for Public Development, Ana Pastor, making Málaga airport the fifth in Spain to have more than one runway. On September 30th, after just six months, the new runway is closed to save money. It is, however, reopened and used over the busy Christmas period.