summary
- Air Nostrum, an affiliate of Iberia Airlines, will resume scheduled commercial flights to Cordoba Airport after a 16-year hiatus.
- The airport has not had commercial flights since Flycer ceased operations in 2008.
- Air Nostrum will operate seasonal flights to Gran Canaria and Palma de Mallorca using Bombardier CRJ1000 regional jets.
After a hiatus of approximately 16 years, scheduled commercial flights to Córdoba Airport (ODB) will resume. Air Nostrum, the regional affiliate of Spain’s legacy airline Iberia (often branded Iberia Regional), will begin seasonal flights to Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) and Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI) this summer. It’s a schedule.
The facility has not had regular commercial service since the short-lived Spanish regional airline FlySur abandoned the airport in 2008. This airline operated his three short-haul routes to Vigo, Barcelona and Bilbao. Despite no commercial flights for more than a decade and a half, the airport was never abandoned, with general aviation aircraft and air taxis arriving and departing regularly. Now that regular flights have resumed, we think now is the perfect time to take a closer look at this fascinating facility.
overview
According to Spain’s official tourism website, ODB is located just southwest of the famous Andalusian city and is directly connected to it by the N-437 A road. Cordoba Airport has only one, his 7,497 ft (2,285 m) asphalt runway in the 03/21 direction.
According to Andalucia.com, the grounds of Córdoba’s main airport were used as military installations throughout World War II and the Spanish Civil War, with a proper facility finally opening in 1958. Aviaco was the first airline to offer services at this airport. , a 12-seater de Havilland Heron (and later Douglas DC-3) line connects the city with Spain’s capital Madrid.
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Córdoba Airport has undergone various renovations over the years, with the first terminal renovation taking place in 1980. During this time, another airline attempted to operate a service between the city and Palma de Mallorca. However, Air Condal’s service was short-lived and the route was discontinued after just two years.
The latest renovation of the facility took place in August 2022 and cost €1.3 million. During this time, a complete overhaul of the security checkpoints was carried out, alongside a complete upgrade of the terminal itself.
Since it last operated in commercial service in 2008, the airport has largely stayed out of the headlines. However, the facility’s weather station has occasionally been featured in the news, most notably due to the massive heat wave in 2023.
Planned future operations
According to information from Aeroroute, Iberia’s affiliate Air Nostrum plans to start regular flights from Cordoba Airport in the third quarter of 2024. Both services will be operated by the airline’s Bombardier CRJ1000 regional jet, offering 100 economy class seats.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
The airline’s flights to Gran Canaria will operate once a week from July 23, 2024 to August 27, 2024. Flights to Palma de Mallorca will operate twice a week from July 4th to September 1st.
Although a city of considerable size and with a large tourist attraction, many people will be surprised that Cordoba does not yet have a well-developed network of air services. However, the convenience of high-speed rail service to and from the city makes it difficult for aircraft to compete, which slows down total travel times and increases operating costs. But it is of course impossible to get from Cordoba to Spain’s small islands by train, making Iberia’s services popular and potentially profitable in the long run.