Wikipedia

Zaragoza Airport

For the Zaragoza Air Base, see Zaragoza Air Base.

Zaragoza Airport (Aragonese and Spanish: Aeropuerto de Zaragoza; IATA: ZAZ, ICAO: LEZG) is an international airport near Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain. It is located 16 km (9.9 miles) west of Zaragoza, 270 km (170 miles) west of Barcelona, and 262 km (163 miles) northeast of Madrid. In addition to serving as a major cargo airport, it is also a commercial airport and, as Zaragoza Air Base, is the home of the Spanish Air and Space Force 15th Group.

Zaragoza Airport

Aeropuerto de Zaragoza
Summary
Airport typePublic and military
Owner/OperatorAena
LocationZaragoza, Aragón, Spain
Elevation AMSL263 m / 863 ft
Coordinates41°39′58″N 01°02′30″W / 41.66611°N 1.04167°W / 41.66611; -1.04167
Websiteaena-aeropuertos.es
Map
ZAZ is located in Spain
ZAZ
ZAZ
Location within Spain
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
12R/30L 3,718 12,200 Concrete
12L/30R 3,024 9,921 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Passengers467,774
Passengers change 18-19Decrease 4.4%
Movements10,797
Movements change 18-19Increase 10.7%
Cargo (t)182,659
Cargo change 18-19Increase 9.5%
Sources: AENA [1]

The airport has a number of passenger airlines serve it, but is mostly known as a cargo operations hub.

History

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Aerial view
 
Airport diagram

During the Cold War, the United States Air Force (USAF) used the facility as Zaragoza Air Base.

The construction work on Zaragoza Airport began in September 1954 with the enlargement and improvement of the existing Spanish Air Force Base located there. United States Navy engineers upgraded the facility for temporary or intermediate use as a war standby base. The first U.S. construction project included strengthening the existing 3,024 m (9,921 ft) runway and adding 304 m (1,000 ft) overruns at each end. Work on a new concrete runway, 61 by 3,718 metres (200 ft × 12,200 ft), with 61 m (200 ft) overruns at each end, began in 1956 and was completed in 1958.

Zaragoza was one of three major USAF Cold War airbases in Spain, the others being Torrejón Air Base near Madrid and Morón Air Base near Seville.

The airport was also used by NASA as a contingency landing site for the Space Shuttle in the case of a Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL). Zaragoza was chosen as a NASA Space Shuttle TAL site due to its long runway, which needs be longer than 7,500 feet, its pleasant weather, and alignment with Shuttle launches to the high-inclination International Space Station orbit. The base also has a military-grade navigation system called a TACAN—"Tactical Air Navigation"—that can adapt to the special guidance devices NASA used with its shuttles.[1]

Airlines and destinations

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Passenger

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AirlinesDestinations
Binter Canarias Gran Canaria, Tenerife–North
Iberia Seasonal: Gran Canaria,[2] Ibiza,[3] Menorca[2]
Ryanair[4] Beauvais, Bergamo, Charleroi, London–Stansted, Marrakesh, Santiago de Compostela,[5] Treviso[6]
Seasonal: Bologna, Fez,[7] Palma de Mallorca[8]
Volotea Seasonal: Menorca
Vueling[9] Palma de Mallorca
Wizz Air Bucharest–Otopeni, Cluj-Napoca

Cargo

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AirlinesDestinations
Air China Cargo[10]Amsterdam, Shanghai–Pudong, Tianjin
Atlas Air[11] Almaty, Amsterdam, Baku, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Delhi, Dubai–Al Maktoum, Istanbul, Liège, Mexico City, Mexico City–AIFA, Miami, Riyadh, Seoul–Incheon, Sharjah, Tel Aviv, Zhengzhou
Avianca Cargo[12]Amsterdam, Bogotá, Miami
Geo-Sky[13]Türkmenabat[14]
Cargolux[15]Luxembourg
China Cargo Airlines[16]Amsterdam, Shanghai–Pudong
Emirates SkyCargo[17] Dubai–Al Maktoum, Mexico City, Quito
Ethiopian Cargo[18]Addis Ababa, Bogotá, Guangzhou, Liège, Mexico City, Miami
Qatar Airways Cargo[19]Beirut, Chicago–O’Hare, Dhaka, Doha, Houston–Intercontinental, Los Angeles, Luxembourg, Mexico City, New York-JFK, Quito
Saudia Cargo[20]Dammam, Riyadh

Statistics

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Zaragoza Airport – Traffic Information
Year Passengers (change) Movements (change) Cargo tons (change)
2011 751,097 (+24.0%) 11,970 (-5.9%) 48,609 (+14.3%)
2012 551,406 (-26.6%) 9,268 (-22.6%) 71,094 (+46.1%)
2013 457,284 (-17.1%) 7,597 (-18.3%) 71,661 (+0.7%)
2014 418,576 (-8.5%) 7,039 (-7.3%) 86,311 (+20.4%)
2015 423,873 (+1.3%) 7,050 (+0.1%) 85,741 (-0.8%)
2016 419,529 (-1.0%) 7,269 (+3.1%) 110,564 (+29.0%)
2017 438,035 (+4.4%) 7,965 (+9.6%) 142,185 (+29.1%)
2018 489,064 (+11.6%) 8,991 (+12.9%) 166,834 (+17.3%)
2019 467,774 (-4.4%) 8,770 (-2.5%) 182,659 (+9.5%)
2020 172,344 (-63.2%) 6,559 (-25.2%) 143,600 (-21,4%)

Busiest routes

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Busiest international routes from ZAZ (2023)
Rank Destination Passengers Change 2022 / 23
1   London-Stansted 74,057   4%
2   Bucharest-Otopeni 905,422   10%
3   Bergamo 51,316   11%
4   Cluj-Napoca 46,501   9%
5   Charleroi 34,755   16%
6   Beauvais 34,249   9%
7   Marrakech 33,885   29%
8   Treviso 25,539   New route
9   Bologna 21,398   0%
10   Lisbon 7,960   29%
Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo[21]
Busiest domestic routes from ZAZ (2023)
Rank Destination Passengers Change 2022 / 23
1   Palma de Mallorca 121,366   12%
2   Tenerife-North 53,980   4%
3   Gran Canaria 27,705   6%
4   Santiago de Compostela 26,806   New route
5   Menorca 18,381   3%
Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo[21]

Ground transport

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Currently, the airport is connected to the city center by a bus line (501), which goes from the Puerta del Carmen square, downtown, to the airport, also stopping at the city's main railway station: Zaragoza-Delicias. This train station is an important hub for long-distance trains, AVE high-speed trains and the commuter line of Cercanías Zaragoza, which takes passengers underground through the city and overground in the metropolitan area. In February 2023, Zaragoza mayor's office confirmed plans to create a direct bus service "on demand" [22] from June 2023. This line will be serviced by electric buses to start and will significantly reduce journey distances and the duration (it will be about 12 or 13 kilometers depending on the direction). Schedules of these buses will be coordinated with those of the flights scheduled at the airport.

References

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  1. ^ "Space Shuttle Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) Sites" (PDF). NASA. December 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "IBERIA NS23 DOMESTIC / SPAIN NETWORK ADDITIONS".
  3. ^ "Air Nostrum conectará Zaragoza e Ibiza en verano con dos frecuencias semanales" [Air Nostrum will connect Zaragoza and Ibiza in summer twice weekly]. Air Nostrum (in Spanish). 15 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Flights". Ryanair.
  5. ^ "Ryanair NS23 Network Additions Summary – 26MAR23". Aeroroutes.
  6. ^ "RYANAIR NS23 NETWORK ADDITIONS – 05DEC22".
  7. ^ "Ryanair Morocco NS24 Network Expansion". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  8. ^ "Ryanair NW23 Network Changes – 17SEP23".
  9. ^ "Home". Vueling.
  10. ^ "Freight Network". Air China Cargo Co. Ltd.
  11. ^ "Atlas Air Schedule". Atlas Air. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  12. ^ "News". Avianca Cargo.
  13. ^ "News". THP. 14 October 2023.
  14. ^ "Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map".
  15. ^ "Network & Offices". Cargolux.
  16. ^ "China Cargo Airlines flight CK218". FlightRadar24.
  17. ^ "Air network". Emirates SkyCargo.
  18. ^ "Cargo Network". Ethiopian Airlines. Archived from the original on 29 April 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Winter 2019 Freighter Schedule Issue 3: January to March 2020" (PDF). Qatar Cargo. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Winter 2019-2020 Schedule". Saudia Cargo. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020.
  21. ^ a b "Inicio". aena.es. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  22. ^ Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza, Oficina de Participación, Transparencia y Gobierno. "La nueva línea específica al Aeropuerto de Zaragoza será operada con autobuses de hidrógeno por el grupo ALSA. Noticia. Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza". www.zaragoza.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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  Media related to Zaragoza Airport at Wikimedia Commons

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