Planes / Trains, Gibraltar

Although I didn't fly to Gibraltar I decided to write a tip about it, because everybody who visits Gibraltar will definitely come across the airport.

Gibraltar's airport has probably one of the most unusual locations.

Its runway was built completely across the peninsula. This means that all pedestrians and vehicles to the town have to cross the runway. The road is closed whenever there is a plane landing or departing.

Another interesting fact about the airport is that with only 500 m it is the closest international airport to the city that it serves. Up to now Gibraltar is only served by flights from the United Kingdom.

Gibraltar has its own airport which is also used by the RAF Gibraltar and the Royal Air Force. The only flights which are scheduled by civilian operators (Easy Jet being the largest) are to and from the UK and Spain. Other operators are British Airways and Monarch. You won’t have far to travel once you arrive as the airport is only around 500 metres from the town. Don’t be shocked to see planes crossing the main entrance into Gibraltar, traffic at these times are halted by barriers.

Flying to Gibraltar is expensive as the airport is a military airport under the control of the RAF, and the landing fees for commercial flights is high. But do compare with Malaga and Jerez and sometimes you get good offers to Gibraltar. The landing strip is short but is sufficient for an aircraft to stop before you go swimming. At the moment the only airlines who fly to Gibraltar on a daily basis are Monarch (Luton and Manchester) and British Airways (Gatwick), EasyJet (Gatwick) and a new airline called Andalus Airlines which will fly to Madrid twice daily, they will shortly be also starting flights to Bilbao and Barcelona have a look at www.andalus.es.

We flew with Monarch Scheduled from Manchester. Monarch fly 3 times a week from Manchester, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
You can get some cheap deals depending what dates you want.They no longer provide the inclusive meal though and the drinks. Competition with these airlines is so stiff that you are now having to pay £4.00 for the meal. Although it is usually a nice meal. Drinks are extra.
The flight is about 2hr 40 mins from Manchester.
Telephone No. of Monarch in Gibraltar is 350 47477
Headphones given out free for inflight entertainment.
Monarch also fly there everyday from Luton, and British Airways also fly there each day from Gatwick.

Unfortunately Monarch are ending their flights to Gibraltar from July 2006 from Manchester airport. Something to do with landing costs. It maybe that some other airline may pick up this route. We will have to see.

Getting from the airport to Gibraltar, you can either get the bus, taxi (see my other tips) or walk. This involves walking across the airstrip and to the hotel where we stayed its approximately 20 minutes walk.

We flew from London with GB Airways, a subsidiary of British Airways, for 62 pounds single. This was my first time on a BA flight and it was pretty impressive, a definite step up from Ryanair or Easyjet, what with the electronic check-in, free newspapers, drinks and food. I'd recommend getting a window seat, as when landing in Gibraltar the views of the Rock are excellent.

I haven't flown in to Gibraltar, but the experience must be amazing, especially if you get a window seat. The planes I saw landing, came in such that the best views would have been if you sat on the right hand side of the plane. So try and get a window seat there (Note however that wind direction can cause landing patterns to change, so this may not always hold true!)

Because Gibraltar is so small, the airport is close to everywhere, so there will be no need to have an expensive transfer. It is not worth renting a car if you only intend to stay in Gibraltar, as you could probably just get by with cheap taxis and the cable car!

Thanks to the British Royal Air Force visitors can fly directly to Gibraltar, a runway has been extended on an artificial island out into the sea, near the border between Gibraltar and Spain.

However it is a small airport and flights are limited. British Airways operates flights daily from London Heathrow and Gatwick, and Monarch offer daily flights from Luton and Manchester.

If you're arriving from outside of Britain then your next choice is Malaga airport. This is the Costa del Sol's airport, located about 1.5hours drive north from Gibraltar. A new toll road between La Linea and Malaga shortens the journey somewhat, but the scenery is less attractive. A bus service operates from Malaga to La Linea (the Spanish city just over the border).

The only road out of Gibraltar crosses this Runway, and when flights approach barriers drop until the planes have landed. The airport, whilst small, has a shop and information centre. Taxis are normally to be found outside the airport.

At The moment Monarch Airlines does a good flight deal of only £39.00 to get to Gibraltar from the Uk.

We did not fly to Gibraltar we drove, but I did have a photo of the run way (~_~)

The runway also doubles as the mainroad and pedestrian access in to Gibraltar. Quite Bizarre really, but it seems to work well.