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Región de Murcia International Airport

Coordinates: 37°48′09.3″N 01°07′31.4″W / 37.802583°N 1.125389°W / 37.802583; -1.125389
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This article is about the current airport open since 2019. For its predecessor, see Murcia–San Javier Airport.
Región de Murcia
International Airport

Aeropuerto Internacional
Región de Murcia
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerComunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murcia
OperatorAena
ServesRegion of Murcia
LocationValladolises, Murcia
Opened15 January 2019; 5 years ago (2019-01-15)[1]
Elevation AMSL193 m / 633 ft
Coordinates37°48′09.3″N 01°07′31.4″W / 37.802583°N 1.125389°W / 37.802583; -1.125389
Websitewww.aena.es/es/aeropuerto-region-murcia/index.html
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
05/23 3,000 9,843 Asphalt
Statistics (2023)
Passengers878,193
Movements6,700
Source: Spanish AIP at EUROCONTROL, Aena[2]

Región de Murcia International Airport (IATA: RMU, ICAO: LEMI), informally also known as Murcia-Corvera, is an international airport in southeast Spain. It opened in January 2019 and replaced Murcia–San Javier Airport. It is situated between the villages of Corvera, Los Martínez del Puerto and Valladolises within the municipality of Murcia.

Development

[edit]

Tourism to the Murcia region has grown steadily for several decades, becoming popular as a less expensive alternative to established holiday areas such as the Costa del Sol. Expansion of the airport serving the area, Murcia–San Javier Airport, was becoming impractical due to its primary function as a military airfield and component of the Academia General del Aire, the officer training school of the Spanish Air Force.

In 2002 the company Aeromur (Aeropuertos de la Región de Murcia) was formed as a vehicle for investment, finance and promotion of a new regional airport. In 2006, the regional government put construction and operation of the airport out to tender. The Aeromur consortium, now including construction firm Sacyr, won the tender for a term of 40 years and announced it would invest 550 million Euros in the project.

Construction work began in July 2008, with the opening of the airport planned for 2010. In 2009 building stopped as Sacyr had run out of money. As banks were not willing to loan the funds to Sacyr, the regional government stepped in and guaranteed 200 million Euros of credit. The airport was completed in 2012, but did not become operational until 2019, after years of contractual wrangling between the regional government, Aeromur and Sacyr.[3][4][5][6][7] Before opening, the concession for operating the airport was withdrawn from Aeromur and awarded to Aena.

The airport was officially opened on 15 January 2019 by the King of Spain as Aeropuerto Internacional de la Región de Murcia – Juan de la Cierva, named after the Spanish aeronautical pioneer who invented the autogyro. The first flight to arrive at the airport was Ryanair flight FR1824 from East Midlands Airport.[1]

Criticism

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The airport has faced considerable controversy and criticism due to significant cost overruns and unmet expectations. The Regional Assembly of Murcia approved a commission in 2024 to investigate the “failed settlement for damages” in the airport’s construction and operation. Key criticisms include the closure of the nearby San Javier Airport—previously serving over 2 million passengers in 2007—in favor of Corvera Airport, which only surpassed 800,000 passengers in 2023.[8] Despite earlier promises that the new infrastructure would cost "not a single euro" to the citizens of Murcia, the airport has allegedly incurred costs exceeding 300 million Euros as of 2024.[9] Additionally, initial projections that the airport would support 16 flights per hour and create 20,000 jobs[10][11] have not materialized, as current operations and employment figures fall far below these targets.[12]

Despite its low utilization, Corvera Airport has faced significant issues with flight punctuality, making it the least punctual airport in Spain, with only 64.5% of flights departing on time. This has added to the ongoing concerns about its efficiency and viability as a regional transport hub.[13]

Facilities

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The airport has a single passenger terminal of 28,500 m2 and a single runway 3,000 metres long and 45 metres wide. Its initial capacity is 3 million passengers and 23,000 movements per year, with options for an increase to 5 million passengers. The terminal has 9 boarding gates, 25 check-in desks and 4 baggage reclaim belts. The runway has one rapid-exit taxiway (RET) and 4 holding bays. It is equipped with precision approach instrument ILS CAT I at threshold 23 and non-precision instrument DVOR/DME.[citation needed]

Airlines and destinations

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The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Región de Murcia Airport:

AirlinesDestinations
Air Arabia Oujda
Binter Canarias[14] Gran Canaria
easyJet[15] London–Gatwick
Seasonal: Bristol, London–Luton,[16] Manchester[17]
Ryanair[18] Birmingham, Dublin, Manchester, Marrakesh[19]
Seasonal: Bournemouth, East Midlands, Glasgow–Prestwick, London–Luton, London–Stansted[20]
Smartwings Brno, Prague
TUI fly Belgium[21] Seasonal: Brussels,[22] Ostend/Bruges
Volotea[23] Barcelona,[24] Madrid[25]
Seasonal: Asturias, Bilbao,[26] Menorca, Santander

Statistics

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Annual traffic

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Traffic by calendar year
Passengers Movements Cargo (kilos)
2019 1,090,712 7,976 0
2020 217,912 2,812 0
2021 283,488 3,365 0
2022 839,166 6,663 0
2023 878,193 6,700 0
Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo[27]

The year 2020 saw a decline in passengers and operations, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions that were implemented globally. A total of 217,912 passengers in 2,812 operations passed through the airport, which represented a decrease of 80% and 64.7%, respectively, compared to 2019.[28]

Busiest routes

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Busiest international routes from RMU (2023)
Rank Destination Passengers Change 2022 / 23
1 London-Gatwick 158,072 Decrease 3%
2 Manchester 108,657 Increase 32%
3 London-Stansted 108,053 Increase 10%
4 London-Luton 76,859 Increase 59%
5 Dublin 72,639 Increase 26%
6 Birmingham 50,242 Increase 52%
7 East Midlands 49,009 Increase 5%
8 Bristol 34,697 Decrease 33%
9 Bournemouth 26,245 Decrease 11%
10 Oujda 23,340 Decrease 24%
Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo[27]
Busiest Spanish routes from RMU (2023)
Rank Destination Passengers Change 2022 / 23
1 Gran Canaria 32,273 Increase 16%
2 Palma de Mallorca 18,043 Decrease 22%
3 Asturias 10,826 Increase 13%
4 Santander 9,698 Increase 16%
5 Menorca 8,925 Steady 0%
Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo[27]

Access

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The airport is 25 kilometres (16 mi) from the city of Murcia and 35 kilometres (22 mi) from Cartagena. It has direct access to the Autovía A-30 highway that runs between the two cities.[29] There are several public bus routes connecting the airport to its surrounding areas.[29]

In 2009, plans were revealed for the AVE high-speed rail network to serve the airport via a proposed Murcia to Cartagena line.[30] This plan appears to have been abandoned.

References

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  1. ^ a b "First passengers at Corvera airport will arrive from East Midlands and Bristol". Murcia Today. Spain Online SL. 3 January 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  2. ^ EAD Basic[1][2]
  3. ^ ""Corvera Airport Open 2017" - Tumbit News Story". tumbit.com.
  4. ^ "Corvera airport management contract withdrawn from Aeromur". murciatoday.com.
  5. ^ "Murcia's Corvera Airport 'Will NOT open 2016' - Tumbit News Story". tumbit.com.
  6. ^ "Murcia president reiterates the need for Corvera airport to open". murciatoday.com.
  7. ^ murciatoday.com
  8. ^ Ferrán, Jaime (2024-10-29). "El aeropuerto de la Región de Murcia aterriza en la Asamblea con una comisión de investigación". La Opinión de Murcia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  9. ^ "PSOE: "El aeropuerto es una muestra más de que el despilfarro del PP han llevado a la Región a la ruina económica"". EuropaPress. 2024-09-03. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  10. ^ Gil, María José (2019-01-15). "La Región toca el cielo con la apertura de Corvera". La Opinión de Murcia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  11. ^ Valenzuela, A. G. (2017-12-20). "El aeropuerto de Corvera, adjudicado a Aena, creará 20.000 empleos en 25 años". www.larazon.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  12. ^ Gonzálvez, Paula M. (2023-03-19). "El aeropuerto de Corvera no levanta cabeza: San Javier registraba el doble de viajeros". La Opinión de Murcia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  13. ^ EFE (2024-01-24). "Los vuelos de Corvera son los menos puntuales de todos los aeropuertos españoles". La Opinión de Murcia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  14. ^ "Binter comenzará a operar dos vuelos semanales entre Pamplona y Gran Canaria". La Provincia (in Spanish). Editorial Prensa Canaria, S.A. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  15. ^ "Timetables". easyjet.com. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  16. ^ "EasyJet expands summer 2023 capacity".
  17. ^ "EasyJet PLC : EasyJet : Expands its base and network at Manchester Airport". 29 November 2022.
  18. ^ "Rayanir website". Ryanair.com. [not specific enough to verify]
  19. ^ "Ryanair Morocco NS24 Network Expansion". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Ryanair NS23 A320 Network Additions – 05FEB23". Aeroroutes.
  21. ^ "Murcia Corvera Flight Plan". tuifly.be.
  22. ^ Liu, Jim. "TUIfly Belgium Resumes Brussels – Corvera From Aug 2024". Aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  23. ^ "Destinations". volotea.com. 23 October 2021.
  24. ^ "Flights for 50 euros between Corvera Airport and Barcelona and Madrid launched by Volotea airlines".
  25. ^ "Flights for 50 euros between Corvera Airport and Barcelona and Madrid launched by Volotea airlines".
  26. ^ "Volotea NS24 Network Expansion Summary – 04FEB24".
  27. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Inicio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ "Estadísticas de tráfico aéreo". Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  29. ^ a b aena.es - Transport and car park retrieved 19 January 2019
  30. ^ "La estación de tren del aeropuerto de Corvera será subterránea". La Verdad. 9 November 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
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Media related to Aeropuerto Internacional Región de Murcia at Wikimedia Commons

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