Vitoria Airport (
IATA: VIT,
ICAO: LEVT) is an airport near
Vitoria-Gasteiz, in the
Basque Country of
Spain. It is locally known as Foronda Airport due to its proximity to the hamlet of
Foronda.[2] The airport has one terminal with 3 gates, 7 check-in counters and 16 stands for medium and light aircraft, and a 3.5 km long CAT II/III runway.[3][4]
History
In 2006
Ryanair began daily flights from
London Stansted Airport,[5] a year later it started operating flights from
Dublin Airport.[6] The airline left the airport in October 2007.[7]Air Nostrum terminated its two daily flights to
Madrid in March 2011, leaving the airport without regular flights.[8]Helitt operated flights to
Barcelona from October 2012 to January 2013,[9] but no other airline operated regular flights to Vitoria until 2017.[10] During this time, scheduled passenger flights were limited to charter operations during the summer season.[citation needed] During the summer of 2015, Air Nostrum offered flights to Palma de Mallorca, Mahón and Jerez.[2][importance?]
However, in 2016, Ryanair announced its return to Vitoria in March 2017 with year-round services to
Bergamo and
Tenerife.[10] In October 2017, twice-weekly flights to
Cologne/Bonn and
Seville were added,[11] with the aim of reaching 115,000 passengers per year.[12] Flights to
Mallorca were added in April 2019,[13] at the same time Ryanair announced plans to expand their service to the airport by 40%, with the goal of reaching 160,000 passengers.[14] In October 2020, Ryanair decided to reinforce domestic routes by adding a twice-weekly connection to
Alicante.[15] Ryanair's commercial contract was renovated in 2020, and a new route to
Charleroi was added in April 2021.[16]Binter Canarias started operating flights to
Gran Canaria and
Tenerife in July 2020.[17] Binter's route to Tenerife was terminated in March 2022,[18] while the remaining one to Gran Canaria ended in October 2023.[19]
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Vitoria Airport:
In 2019, the airport served 174,000 passengers (37% international, 63% domestic), operated 10,800 flights and processed 64,500 tons of cargo.[4] The airport served 235,000 passengers in 2022 (the highest number since 1993) and processed 73,600 tons of cargo, the highest number in the airport's history.[25][26]
A bus line connects the airport with the city. The line operates only when regular flights arrive or depart.[30][31] Starting in 2024, a bus line will connect the airport with Vitoria-Gasteiz,
Bilbao and
Bilbao Airport.[32]
Accidents and incidents
On 19 May 1995, a
Convair CV-580 operated by
Swiftair made a wheels-up landing during a training flight. All four occupants survived, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.[33]
Notes
^
abThe sources give a slightly different figure for the year 1999, the highest of the two is shown in the table.
Vitoria Airport (
IATA: VIT,
ICAO: LEVT) is an airport near
Vitoria-Gasteiz, in the
Basque Country of
Spain. It is locally known as Foronda Airport due to its proximity to the hamlet of
Foronda.[2] The airport has one terminal with 3 gates, 7 check-in counters and 16 stands for medium and light aircraft, and a 3.5 km long CAT II/III runway.[3][4]
History
In 2006
Ryanair began daily flights from
London Stansted Airport,[5] a year later it started operating flights from
Dublin Airport.[6] The airline left the airport in October 2007.[7]Air Nostrum terminated its two daily flights to
Madrid in March 2011, leaving the airport without regular flights.[8]Helitt operated flights to
Barcelona from October 2012 to January 2013,[9] but no other airline operated regular flights to Vitoria until 2017.[10] During this time, scheduled passenger flights were limited to charter operations during the summer season.[citation needed] During the summer of 2015, Air Nostrum offered flights to Palma de Mallorca, Mahón and Jerez.[2][importance?]
However, in 2016, Ryanair announced its return to Vitoria in March 2017 with year-round services to
Bergamo and
Tenerife.[10] In October 2017, twice-weekly flights to
Cologne/Bonn and
Seville were added,[11] with the aim of reaching 115,000 passengers per year.[12] Flights to
Mallorca were added in April 2019,[13] at the same time Ryanair announced plans to expand their service to the airport by 40%, with the goal of reaching 160,000 passengers.[14] In October 2020, Ryanair decided to reinforce domestic routes by adding a twice-weekly connection to
Alicante.[15] Ryanair's commercial contract was renovated in 2020, and a new route to
Charleroi was added in April 2021.[16]Binter Canarias started operating flights to
Gran Canaria and
Tenerife in July 2020.[17] Binter's route to Tenerife was terminated in March 2022,[18] while the remaining one to Gran Canaria ended in October 2023.[19]
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Vitoria Airport:
In 2019, the airport served 174,000 passengers (37% international, 63% domestic), operated 10,800 flights and processed 64,500 tons of cargo.[4] The airport served 235,000 passengers in 2022 (the highest number since 1993) and processed 73,600 tons of cargo, the highest number in the airport's history.[25][26]
A bus line connects the airport with the city. The line operates only when regular flights arrive or depart.[30][31] Starting in 2024, a bus line will connect the airport with Vitoria-Gasteiz,
Bilbao and
Bilbao Airport.[32]
Accidents and incidents
On 19 May 1995, a
Convair CV-580 operated by
Swiftair made a wheels-up landing during a training flight. All four occupants survived, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.[33]
Notes
^
abThe sources give a slightly different figure for the year 1999, the highest of the two is shown in the table.