IATA Code: ALC
Address: 03071 Alicante
Terminal Guide: At www.aena.es
Distance from City: 9km
Day Trip possible: Yes
Overview: A late starter in Ryanair terms – they did not have a base here until 2007, Alicante has nevertheless enjoyed good growth, with passenger numbers doubling the the last 10 years to roughly 10 million, making it the sixth busiest airport in Spain. Improvements have been late, but are in the pipeline – a new terminal (presumably for low-costs) has been opened, with a high-speed rail link to the national network in place. The range of destinations is vast; although only European ones.
Getting there: At only 9km from the city, getting to the airport is very quick and easy; the C6 bus is cheap and relatively regular. With a lot of people on package holidays having already organised transfers, this might not be the crush it is at some other airports. There are also longer-distance buses to the nearby tourist resorts of Benidorm and Murcia (although Murcia has it’s own airport). Taxi is available at good rates if you’re sharing, as well as car hire.
General Tips: Considering that this airport will receive the bulk of it’s traffic in the tourist season, it can get very busy at these months with big queues for just about anything. This has been alleviated to an extent with Ryanair and Easyjet being shifted to Terminal 2 (although both Terminals lead to the same departure lounge). The two terminals are closely located to one another with Terminal 1 being far bigger. Shopping is well catered for here with plentiful shops selling a wide range of goods – but be aware that most of these lie airside beyond security.
Budget Travellers Guide: This is a destination that varies quite a lot in price. During the summer months, it’s unlikely that there will any cheap fares here; it will be full of holiday makers. However, the frequencies are much better and it is possible to turn it around in a day. Out of season, the number of destinations served by the airport drops markedly and frequencies are cut as well. It’s then when is the best chance of getting something. With Ryanair serving a good range of destinations, it’s perhaps better to use this as a stop onto somewhere else if you’re not staying here. However, the proximity of the beach and town make this a compelling reason to stay.
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