Palma de Mallorca Airport

Early years

The interest of the Spanish Government in developing airmail during the first decades of the 20th century, led to a study of the possibility of establishing an air mail line to the Balearic Islands. Finally, in 1921, the company Aeromarítima Mallorquina established the postal line Barcelona – Palma, which used seaplanes in the port of Palma de Mallorca. Before the creation of this airline, trials were complete in two flat fields: Son Sant Joan and Son Bonet, both of which were later chosen for the construction of aerodromes.^[5][6]

In 1934, the company Aero-Taxi de Mallorca was created with the intention of starting tourist flights to the island, establishing a flight school in Son Sant Joan. A year later, another one was founded in Son Bonet.^[5]

In May 1935 the company LAPE, Líneas Aéreas Postales Españolas (Spanish Postal Airlines), a predecessor of Iberia; was founded. A month later, in August, the first regular air route between Madrid and Palma, stopping at Valencia, was created using the Son Sant Joan aerodrome. A year later, this line was replaced by a new one connecting Palma and Barcelona. Three years later, Lufthansa and Iberia established new lines in Son Bonet,^[7] while Son Sant Joan was beginning to be used by the military. Through the years, Son Bonet became the main civilian airport in the island, while the creation of Son Sant Joan Air Force Base limited further civilian enterprises at the aerodrome.^[5]

In 1954, the runway was enlarged and paved to enable the operation of F-86 Sabre fighters, which also meant the diversion of the Palma–Llucmajor road. During those years, the first paved taxiways and aprons were built, while Son Bonet received the first big groups of European tourists through the airlines BEA, Air France and Aviaco.^[5]

International airport

The increase in traffic, and the inability to enlarge Son Bonet, led the authors of the 1958 National Airport Plan to propose building a large civilian airport near the Son Sant Joan airbase. The National Airport Council approved this plan the following year and commercial traffic was transferred from Son Bonet to Son Sant Joan. This was the birth of what today is known as the Palma de Mallorca Airport. During that year, a terminal and a civilian apron were built south of the military facilities, along with a VHF communication center. Also, a VOR was installed in the island.^[5]

Finally, on 7 July 1960, the airport was opened to both domestic and international traffic.^[5]

Just two weeks later, expansion of the airport was declared urgent by the government, and on summer 1961 the works of extension of the runway and taxiway were started. At the end of the year, more plans were made, including a power plant, a communications centre and fire and rescue facilities.^[5][8]

Growth since the 1960s

In 1980, passenger growth led to the construction of yet another new terminal building, the current central terminal building. This building is now the airport's primary entrance and exit and houses the airport's checkin and baggage claim areas. Construction started in mid-1993 and it was designed by the Majorcan architect Pere Nicolau Bover. During the construction in 1995, passenger numbers exceeded 15 million. The new terminal finally opened in 1997.^[9]

Development since 2000

Following a decline in passenger numbers at the airport following the September 11 attacks in 2001, passenger numbers rose steadily between 2002 and 2007 when traffic peaked at 23.2 million passengers. From 2007 onward there was a decline in passenger numbers, with 21.1 million using the airport in 2010.^[1] Today, Palma de Mallorca airport carries over 29.7 million passengers per year to their destinations,^[10] with 178,253 aircraft movements, mostly to mainland Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom.^{[citation needed]}

In November 2015, Air Berlin (1978–2017) announced that it would shut down its hub operations at the airport which it had maintained for over ten years. All seven domestic connection routes to the mainland, such as flights to Valencia, Bilbao and Sevilla, as well as the route to Faro in Portugal ceased during spring 2016.^[11]

In June 2024, torrential rains flooded the airport, leading to delays.^[12]

Module A

The former Terminal A Building is located in the north of the airport and has blue signs. It has 28 gates eight of which have airbridges. This is the only module that has double airbridges attached to gates. The Pier is mainly used by flights to non-Schengen destinations, including the UK and Ireland. This part of the terminal building used to be closed during winter months and is only used in the summer. For winter 2018/2019 it remained open.^[13]

Module B

The former Terminal B Building is the smallest module, located in the north east and has green signs. It has eight gates located on the ground floor, none of which have airbridges. It is used by regional aircraft of Air Nostrum.

Module C

The largest of the modules located in the east and has purple signs. It has 33 gates, nine of which have airbridges. It is used mainly by Eurowings and Condor along with EasyJet and Norwegian Air Shuttle flights to Schengen destinations. The southern area of the module was worked on and reopened in May 2010. The refurbishment and expansion is so that the module can handle more flights, and to improve ways to get into the pier as it is the longest walk from security control. There will also be a further eight gates with airbridges, but there will still be 33 in total.^[14]

Module D

This is located in the south and has orange signs. It has 19 gates of which 10 have airbridges. All odd numbered gates are gates with a bus transfer. During the closure of the southern area of Module C, it was used mainly for flights to Europe.

On 4 November 2025, Module D closed for roof renovations and an interior refurbishment. It is planned to reopen in April 2026.^[15]

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Palma de Mallorca Airport:

Cargo

Annual traffic

Busiest routes

More information Rank, Destination ...

Busiest international routes from PMI (2024)

Rank	Destination	Passengers	Change 2023/24
1	Düsseldorf	1,378,490	5%
2	Hamburg	981,277	12%
3	Cologne-Bonn	977,675	8%
4	Frankfurt	965,443	14%
5	Berlin	870,180	10%
6	Manchester	771,812	1%
7	Munich	766,118	3%
8	Zurich	725,925	3%
9	London-Gatwick	725,192	7%
10	Stuttgart	632,085	6%
Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo[240]

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Busiest intercontinental routes from PMI (2024)

Rank	Destination	Passengers	Change 2023/24
1	Nador	23,197	20%
2	Newark	21,801	15%
3	Marrakesh	19,431	57%
4	Fès	17,119	1%
5	Algiers	12,797	641%
Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo[240]

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More information Rank, Destination ...

Busiest domestic routes from PMI (2024)

Rank	Destination	Passengers	Change 2023/24
1	Barcelona	2,322,143	2%
2	Madrid	2,206,091	8%
3	Valencia	718,505	1%
4	Ibiza	579,519	5%
5	Seville	526,640	10%
6	Alicante	495,433	8%
7	Menorca	406,835	6%
8	Málaga	381,529	6%
9	Bilbao	313,496	2%
10	Santiago de Compostela	247,181	6%
Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo[240]

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Passengers by airline

More information Rank, Airline ...

Passengers by airline at PMI (2023)

Rank	Airline	Share	Passengers	Change 2022/23
1	Ryanair	25,9%	8,042,745	10%
2	Eurowings	12,8%	3,990,754	8%
3	Vueling	10,4%	3,230,963	11%
4	EasyJet	8,1%	2,527,009	8%
5	Air Europa	5,9%	1,832,489	4%
6	Iberia	5,5%	1,718,324	14%
7	Condor	5,1%	1,592,680	7%
8	Jet2.com	4,2%	1,298,203	13%
9	TUI Airways	2,8%	862,954	1%
10	Transavia	1,6%	497,472	12%
11	TUI fly Deutschland	1,5%	456,630	3%
12	Swiss International Air Lines	1,3%	393,669	18%
13	British Airways	1,3%	369,096	22%
14	Norwegian	1,1%	352,788	12%
15	Lufthansa	1,1%	343,426	27%
Source: Estadísticas de tráfico aereo[240]

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