Palma de Mallorca Airport

Early years The interest of the Spanish Government in developing airmail during the first decades of the 20th century, led to a study of the possibility of establishing an air mail line to the Balearic Islands. Finally, in 1921, the company Aeromarítima Mallorquina established the postal line Barcelona – Palma, which used seaplanes in the port of Palma de Mallorca. Before the creation of this airline, trials were complete in two flat fields: Son Sant Joan and Son Bonet, both of which were later chosen for the construction of aerodromes. In 1934, the company Aero-Taxi de Mallorca was created with the intention of starting tourist flights to the island, establishing a flight school in Son Sant Joan. A year later, another one was founded in Son Bonet. while Son Sant Joan was beginning to be used by the military. Through the years, Son Bonet became the main civilian airport in the island, while the creation of Son Sant Joan Air Force Base limited further civilian enterprises at the aerodrome. Growth since the 1960s In 1980, passenger growth led to the construction of yet another new terminal building, the current central terminal building. This building is now the airport's primary entrance and exit and houses the airport's checkin and baggage claim areas. Construction started in mid-1993 and it was designed by the Majorcan architect Pere Nicolau Bover. During the construction in 1995, passenger numbers exceeded 15 million. The new terminal finally opened in 1997. Development since 2000 Following a decline in passenger numbers at the airport following the September 11 attacks in 2001, passenger numbers rose steadily between 2002 and 2007 when traffic peaked at 23.2 million passengers. From 2007 onward there was a decline in passenger numbers, with 21.1 million using the airport in 2010. with 178,253 aircraft movements, mostly to mainland Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom. In November 2015, Air Berlin (1978–2017) announced that it would shut down its hub operations at the airport which it had maintained for over ten years. All seven domestic connection routes to the mainland, such as flights to Valencia, Bilbao and Sevilla, as well as the route to Faro in Portugal ceased during spring 2016. In June 2024, torrential rains flooded the airport, leading to delays. ==Terminals==

Palma de Mallorca Airport occupies an area of . Due to rapid growth of passenger numbers, additional infrastructure was added to the two terminals A (1965) and B (1972). This main terminal was designed by local architect Pere Nicolau Bover and was officially opened on 12 April 1997. The airport now consists of four modules: Module A (the former Terminal A Building), Module B (the former Terminal B Building), Module C and Module D (the last two were completely new sets of buildings and gates that opened along with the new central terminal and check in area in 1997). The airport can handle 25 million passengers per year, with a capacity to dispatch 12,000 passengers per hour. Module A The former Terminal A Building is located in the north of the airport and has blue signs. It has 28 gates eight of which have airbridges. This is the only module that has double airbridges attached to gates. The Pier is mainly used by flights to non-Schengen destinations, including the UK and Ireland. This part of the terminal building used to be closed during winter months and is only used in the summer. For winter 2018/2019 it remained open. Module B The former Terminal B Building is the smallest module, located in the north east and has green signs. It has eight gates located on the ground floor, none of which have airbridges. It is used by regional aircraft of Air Nostrum. Module C The largest of the modules located in the east and has purple signs. It has 33 gates, nine of which have airbridges. It is used mainly by Eurowings and Condor along with EasyJet and Norwegian Air Shuttle flights to Schengen destinations. The southern area of the module was worked on and reopened in May 2010. The refurbishment and expansion is so that the module can handle more flights, and to improve ways to get into the pier as it is the longest walk from security control. There will also be a further eight gates with airbridges, but there will still be 33 in total. Module D This is located in the south and has orange signs. It has 19 gates of which 10 have airbridges. All odd numbered gates are gates with a bus transfer. During the closure of the southern area of Module C, it was used mainly for flights to Europe. On 4 November 2025, Module D closed for roof renovations and an interior refurbishment. It is planned to reopen in April 2026. ==Other facilities==

Previously Spanair (1986–2012) had its head office in the Spanair Building on the airport property. Both Futura International Airways and Iberworld had large operational offices on the premises of the airport but these are no longer in use. ==Airlines and destinations==

Passenger The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Palma de Mallorca Airport: Cargo ==Statistics==

Annual traffic Busiest routes Passengers by airline ==Accidents and incidents==

• On 4 January 1991, Douglas DC-3 EC-EQH of Aeromarket Express overran the runway on a cargo flight to Menorca Airport and was damaged beyond repair. • On 8 March 1993, Douglas C-47A EC-FAH of Aeromarket Express crashed on take-off while on a cargo flight to Madrid–Barajas Airport. Both crew were killed. • On 12 April 2002 Tadair Flight 306 operated by a Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner EC-GKR a cargo flight from Madrid–Barajas Airport to Palma de Mallorca. Flight 306 crashed on landing on runway 24L, killing both pilots. • In June 2024, sudden floods shut down the airport. The water damaged the runways and terminal building. • On 5 July 2025, Ryanair Flight 2484 to Manchester experienced a false fire alert while taxiing for take off which caused panic among the passengers with some attempting to evacuate the aircraft. 18 individuals sustained light injuries. ==See also==