Introduction

Córdoba airport, situated six kilometres from the city centre, it is used at present for agricultural treatment companies, transfers of organs to and from the transplant centre at the Reina Sofía hospital, military flights, charter passenger flights, aerial photography, flying courses, parachuting schools and other types of aerial work.

The passenger terminal is situated on the ground floor of the main building and comprises departures and arrivals halls, cafeterias, services and offices. The airport also has a service building and a specific area for general aviation with hangars, warehouses and offices. The existing traffic at Córdoba airport is predominantly general aviation flights, with a marked concentration in the summer months.

In 2005 it handled 20,594 passengers and the aircraft movements totalled 9,380 operations.

History

In the year 875, Abbas Ben Firnas from Ronda, equipped with jointed wings, threw himself off the top of the Cordovan valley of la Ruzafa, and descended by gliding for a good distance. He suffered a minor mishap when he landed, but he came out of the experience unharmed. This was the first gliding flight recorded in history.

More than a thousand years would have to pass before another human being flew over Cordoba again. The next flight took place during the aviation fiestas held in May 1910. On 19th of the month, an aviator named Barrier flew over an improvised field next to La Electro-Mecánica factory. During the thirties an airdrome was installed here, because during the war Breguet XiX, Nieuport-52 and Aero-101 aircraft operated from it on support missions.

At the end of the fifties, different organisations and private individuals in the city promoted a public campaign to request the construction of a commercial airport. The frosty welcome the initiative received in the Air Ministry obliged City Hall to undertake the construction of the airport at its own expense. City Hall obtained the authorisation for its project from the Cabinet on 14 September 1956, provided that both the structures and facilities, as well as the land, were ceded to the State once the work was complete.

Cordoba airport was opened on 25 May 1958. However, the official authorisation for it to open to civil air traffic, full domestic traffic, international tourism and technical stop overs of international traffic was not given until October.

On 5 November, Aviaco started the first air route with the Madrid-Cordoba service, using a 12 seater, four-engine Heron. This aircraft was subsequently replaced by a DC-3. The route was joined by that of Cordoba-Jerez in 1960, but owing to its scant profitability the Regional Council and City Hall were obliged to subsidise Aviaco with the cost of covering 50 per cent of the seats in order to keep it running.

State Heritage

On 5 March 1965, by virtue of the agreement that authorised its construction, the airport became part of the State Heritage, being ascribed to the Air Ministry. A year later, and despite the financial support of these Cordovan public institutions, the Madrid route began to suffer serious economic difficulties, that resulted in the suspension of all flights to Cordoba by Aviaco in 1967.

However, the Regional Council, who considered these flights to be of great interest for the province, negotiated with Aviaco to reconsider the agreement to bear 60 per cent of the aircraft occupancy. Thus the Malaga-Cordoba-Madrid route came about, and was inaugurated in 1969 with 19 seater Twin otter aircraft that were soon replaced by Fokker F-27s.

In 1980, Aviaco definitively suspended its route with Cordoba, which for several years had a frequency of two daily flights to Madrid. That same year the terminal building was remodelled and extended.

New negotiations by the Regional Council, in this case with the Majorcan airline Air Condal, reached an agreement that not only enabled flights to be restarted to Madrid, but also a weekly flight to Palma de Mallorca, departing on Fridays and returning on Mondays. These services, both provided by Hawker Siddeley aircraft, began in 1983 and were suspended two years later.

In 1995, the runway was further extended and the aircraft parking platform was increased.

Cordoba Airport - AENA airport

Address:

14071 Córdoba

Telephone: 957 214 110
Fax: 957 214 143

URL: http://www.aena.es/cordoba

AENA accepts no responsibility for the information posted at this site neither for the possible damages caused for the use of this information.

Navaids

Navaids

Cordoba Airport - AENA airport

The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2006.
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