Busy Spanish airport closure
- A major Spanish airport will close for runway renovations beginning April 23, 2026. - The facility handles around 3.2 million passengers a year and will shut for five weeks of work. - The closure adds localized capacity strain and potential reroute costs for spring and early summer travelers (metro.co.uk).
Santiago-Rosalía de Castro Airport in northwest Spain closes to all flights on Thursday, April 23, for 35 days of runway works. (aena.es) Spain’s airport operator Aena said the shutdown runs through May 27, with no takeoffs or landings while crews carry out the most complex phase of a deep runway pavement renewal. (aena.es) The airport handled 3,120,759 passengers and 24,837 flights in 2025, making it Galicia’s busiest airport and a major gateway for Santiago de Compostela. (aena.es) Aena said airlines have already reshuffled schedules, moving part of Santiago’s traffic to A Coruña and Vigo. Other services will have to be cancelled or rerouted during the closure. (aena.es) The closure lands in the middle of Galicia’s spring travel season, when Santiago draws pilgrims, city-break travelers and domestic passengers from across Spain and Europe. Aena’s airport profile says Santiago had 41 routes in 2025 and capacity for up to 5 million passengers a year. (aena.es) The runway project is bigger than a surface repaving. Aena said workers will rebuild parts of the pavement to depths of up to 1.23 meters in four zones, renew lighting systems for low-visibility landings, improve drainage and level safety areas beside the runway. (aena.es) Aena has put the investment at €33 million, after awarding the main runway-renewal contract in 2025 for more than €26.6 million. The full works began on January 13 and also include 24 weeks of overnight closures that stretch into October. (aena.es 1) (aena.es 2) Traffic had already been running below last year’s pace before the full shutdown. Aena said Santiago handled 263,612 passengers in January and February 2026, down 29.5% from the same period in 2025. (aena.es) For travelers booked through late May, the practical map now shifts west and south to A Coruña and Vigo. Santiago’s runway reopens on May 27, but for the next five weeks the region’s main airport is effectively off the board. (aena.es)
