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Gibraltar International Airport or North Front Airport is the civilian airport that serves the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The runway is owned by the Ministry of Defence for use by the Royal Air Force as RAF Gibraltar. Civilian operators use the civilian-operated terminal. National Air Traffic Services hold the contract for provision of air navigation services at the airport. In 2013 the airport handled 383,876 passengers and 351,867 kg of cargo on 3,564 total flights.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.gibraltarairport.gi/cms/GIB%202013.pdf )〕 Winston Churchill Avenue (the main road heading towards the land border with Spain) intersects the airport runway, and consequently has to be closed every time a plane lands or departs. The History Channel programme ''Most Extreme Airports'' ranked the airport the fifth most extreme airport in the world.〔''Most Extreme Airports''; The History Channel; 26 August 2010.〕 Monarch is the largest operator at Gibraltar International, operating three weekly flights to London Luton, Manchester Airport and Birmingham.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/meta/news/2013/03/first-family-on-first-flight-to-gibraltar-win-golden-ticket.aspx )〕 Both routes are operated by an Airbus A320-200. easyJet operates seven weekly flights to London Gatwick operated by Airbus A320 family aircraft, as well as 3 flights per week to Bristol Airport. British Airways also operates nine weekly flights to London Heathrow being operated by an Airbus A320-200. Although located in Gibraltar, the airport is also used by people travelling to or from neighbouring parts of the southern Spain such as the Costa del Sol or the Campo de Gibraltar. ==History== The airport was constructed during World War II upon the territory's race course (introduced by the Maltese), when Gibraltar was an important naval base for the British. Originally opened in 1939, it was only an emergency airfield for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. However, the runway was later extended by reclaiming some land from the Bay of Gibraltar using rock blasted from the Rock of Gibraltar while carrying out works on military tunnels. This last major extension of the runway allowed larger aircraft to land at Gibraltar. Spain's continuing sovereignty dispute with the United Kingdom over the territory where the airport stands (different from the generic one on Gibraltar itself) has seriously affected the airport's operations. On 2 December 1987, an agreement was signed between the governments of the United Kingdom and Spain to allow the joint civil use of the airport.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://www.gibraltarnewsonline.com/reference_documents/airport_agreement.html )〕 The agreement foresaw the building of a new terminal in the neighbouring Spanish municipality of La Línea de la Concepción adjacent to the northern side of the existing frontier. However, the agreement was blocked by the Government of Gibraltar, led from 1988 by Joe Bossano. As a result, the agreement was never implemented. Since then, Spain successfully excluded Gibraltar from European wide de-regulation initiatives, preventing direct links from Gibraltar to the rest of the European Union (except the United Kingdom), on the grounds that no regulation that somehow recognises the sovereignty of the United Kingdom over the Gibraltar peninsula may be implemented without a previous agreement on the airport. On 3 November 2003, Monarch announced a new route from Gibraltar to Manchester Airport.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=2008 News Archive – Flights – Monarch Scheduled launches three new routes from Manchester to Barcelona, Gibraltar and Tenerife | Flights News )〕 It was the first route from Gibraltar to operate to the North of England. However, on 19 July 2006, Monarch withdrew the route due to the cost. On 21 April 2008, Monarch announced it would resume the services to Manchester from 12 September 2008. The route operates three to five times a week: every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in winter season, as well as on Thursdays and Sundays in the summer season. By late 2005 and early 2006, the implementation of a new agreement was one of the main topics of the Gibraltar Trilateral Forum being held between the Governments of Gibraltar, Spain and the United Kingdom. As a result, the Córdoba Accord was signed on 18 September 2006 by all parties. This ended all discriminatory restrictions on civilian flights to Gibraltar International, including the prohibition of flights over Spanish soil, and exclusion of Gibraltar from all EU agreements on air transport, allowing civilian flights from all nations into Gibraltar International.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.gibraltarnewsonline.com/cordoba-tripartite-dialogue-forum-ministerial-meeting-joint-statement/ )〕 On 17 November 2006 Iberia announced that it would start flights from Madrid to Gibraltar using an Airbus A319 aircraft. This was a landmark move as no Spanish airline had flown to Gibraltar since 1979, because of its disputed status. Iberia began flights to Gibraltar International on 16 December 2006 with a flight from Madrid that included some members of the Spanish Government on board. GB Airways flew a one-off flight in the other direction with a group of children from the Gibraltar area making up the passengers. In May 2007 GB Airways (flying as a British Airways franchisee) also began operating the route between Madrid and Gibraltar, however, this was discontinued on 30 September, leaving Iberia to work the route alone. On 22 September 2008 Iberia announced that it would cease its flights to Madrid by 28 September due to "economic reasons", namely, lack of demand. This left Gibraltar, once again, without any air links with Spain. In April 2009 Ándalus Líneas Aéreas restored Gibraltar's air link with the Spanish capital.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Ándalus airlines restores link with Madrid )〕 In July 2009 Ándalus also began scheduled flights to Barcelona, increasing the destinations in Spain to two.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Ándalus signals Barcelona start )〕 However, the airline ceased to serve this route in September 2009 due to a lack of demand.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Ándalus pulls Barcelona route )〕 In April 2010 it was confirmed that Ándalus flights to and from Gibraltar had been indefinitely suspended.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Breaking news: Air Andalus Abandons Gib Flights – Report )〕 And now yet again, Gibraltar has no direct air links to Spain. Ándalus Líneas Aéreas ceased operations on 13 August 2010. From 2011 until October 2012, easyJet offered thrice-weekly service from Gibraltar to Liverpool, but it was eventually cancelled due to lack of demand. On 18 May 2011, Bmibaby announced that it would launch flights from Gibraltar to East Midlands from 31 March 2012. This was the first time that an airline has operated that route. The route operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, using a Boeing 737-300. However, on 3 May 2012 it was announced that Bmibaby was to be closed down by the International Airlines Group after the group failed to find a buyer for the airline. Bmibaby operated its last service to Gibraltar on 8 September 2012 and the airline operated its last flight on 9 September 2012. On 10 January 2012, Gibraltar was selected as one of the 'World's Scariest Airport Landings and Take-offs' in the travel section of the ''Daily Telegraph'' due to its runway which extends into the sea. On 14 August 2012, Monarch announced it would launch a new route to Birmingham, operating three times a week; every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The route began on 23 March 2013 but now runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Monarch Launch New Birmingham To Gibraltar Route )〕 In the summer of 2014 services between Gibraltar and Marrakech were operated by Royal Air Maroc Express on behalf of a local company (Your Flight ).〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://www.gbc.gi/news/news-details.php?id=3039 )〕 However the services, which were operated on a charter basis, and could not be booked via global distribution system channels or on a connection basis, terminated after just three months due to insufficient demand.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://www.gbc.gi/news/3941/flights-to-marrakech-discontinued-by-your-flight )〕 In November 2014, easyJet announced that they would begin a new route to Bristol Airport. The new route Commenced on 19 April 2015. It was also announced in November 2014 that the short intercontinental air connection between Gibraltar and Tangier would be restored after many years and operated by Royal Air Maroc with services beginning in March 2015 on a twice weekly basis. Unlike the previous Marrakech flights these would be operated by RAM for themselves, and offer connecting flights to their Casablanca hub and onwards, and be available via normal sales channels. 〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url = http://www.royalairmaroc.com/corporate/content/download/55718/403650/version/1/file/Communiqué+Gibraltar++FR.docx )〕 Overnight work to resurface the runway started on the evening of September 4, 2015 and is expected to last for 3 months. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gibraltar International Airport」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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