Castellón Airport ( es, Aeropuerto de Castellón, ca-valencia, Aeroport de Castelló), is an airport serving the city of

Castellón de la Plana Castellón de la Plana (officially in ca-valencia, Castelló de la Plana), or simply Castellón ( ca-valencia, Castelló, link=no) is the capital city of the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east ...

, located near

Vilanova d'Alcolea Vilanova d'Alcolea ( es, Villanueva de Alcolea) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Castellón (province), Castelló, Valencian Community, Spain. The town is located inland 36 km northeast of the town of Castelló de ...

, Benlloc and Cabanes in the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

History

The airport was officially declared "open" by local authorities in March 2011, shortly before regional elections and as total cost reached €150 million, despite having neither airlines signed up to land there nor government approval to operate. Delayed for several years, commercial flights were due to begin on 1 April 2012, but the first commercial flight to the airport landed on 15 September 2015. In February 2012, it was reported that modifications would have to be made to the runway before the airport could be brought into use. It was then later reported that the runway was to be dug up entirely. The airport has become a symbol of the wasteful spending that has helped sink Spain deep into a recession and a banking crisis. For instance, the company in charge of running the airport, Aerocas, was found to have spent 26 million euros, a sixth of the cost of the airport, on sponsoring various sports teams in its region. Also, a $375,000, 24-metre-tall statue, often interpreted as a representation of Carlos Fabra, the formerly powerful local politician who was the driving force behind its construction, was erected just outside the airport. Fabra has been under judicial investigation in connection with several cases of corruption and tax evasion, and was sentenced to four years in prison for tax fraud in December 2014. On 14 January 2014, nearly four years after the formal opening of the airport, a first flight departed from Castellón-Costa Azahar.

Air Nostrum Air Nostrum, legally incorporated as ''Air Nostrum Líneas Aéreas del Mediterráneo, S.A.'', is a Spanish regional airline based in Valencia. It currently operates as a franchisee of Iberia as Iberia Regional and an affiliate member of the On ...

charter flight YW2003 carried the

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, ...

football team, which is sponsored by the airport itself, to San Sebastián for their Copa del Rey match against Real Sociedad. The first regular scheduled, albeit seasonal, flights from Castellón-Costa Azahar to

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and

London Stansted London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acros ...

, operated by Ryanair, began in September 2015. The European Union has opened a formal investigation into whether both the Canadian company that manages the airport (

SNC-Lavalin SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. is a Canadian company based in Montreal that provides engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services to various industries, including mining and metallurgy, oil and gas, environment and water, infrastructure, a ...

) and Ryanair are receiving illegal subsidies from the regional government. Between August and November 2020, three

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...

Boeing 747 aircraft that were retired were transported to Castellón-Costa Azahar Airport for dismantling. One aircraft, registration G-CIVD, caught fire and was severely damaged. During the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

, Castellón-Costa Azahar Airport became a storage facility for

Ukraine International Airlines Ukraine International Airlines PJSC, often shortened to UIA ( uk, Авіакомпанія Міжнародні Авіалінії України, Aviakompaniya Mizhnarodni Avialiniyi Ukrayiny, ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of ...

fleet of six

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...

aircraft. In 2022, a number of airlines scheduled new routes from the airport. These included Wizz Air to Budapest, Ryanair to Dublin and Brussels South Charleroi and

connecting the airport domestically to Madrid.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Castellón–Costa Azahar Airport:

References

External links

Official website
Airports in the Valencian Community Transport companies of Spain Airports established in 2011 {{Spain-airport-stub