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Ponta Delgada - João Paulo II Airport , named after
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
, is an international
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
located on the island of São Miguel, in the Portuguese archipelago of the
Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
. Situated west of the city centre of
Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality ('' concelho'') and economic capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67, ...
, it is the primary (and busiest) airport in the Azores, as well as the fifth largest infrastructure managed by
ANA Aeroportos de Portugal ANA Aeroportos de Portugal is the airport authority of Portugal. The authority manages various airports including Portugal's largest airport, Lisbon Airport. The authority has its head office in Building 120 on the grounds of the airport. Histor ...
. The terminal was finished in 1995; by 2005 the airport served a total of 873,500 passengers. It has scheduled domestic flights to all islands of the Azores, plus
Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
and the mainland, namely (
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...
,
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...
and Faro). João Paulo II Airport also accommodates international flights to and from Europe and North America. The airport is the major hub for the SATA Group of airlines, which includes both inter-island
SATA Air Açores SATA Air Açores is a Portuguese airline based in São Sebastião, Ponta Delgada in the Azores, Portugal. It operates scheduled passenger, cargo and mail services around the Azores. It provides its own maintenance and handling services and mana ...
and international Azores Airlines, and since April 2015 as a base for
Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings famil ...
.


History

The airport was inaugurated on 24 August 1969 by President Admiral
Américo Tomás Américo de Deus Rodrigues Tomás (; 19 November 1894 – 18 September 1987) was a Portuguese Navy officer and politician who served as the 13th president of Portugal from 1958 to 1974. Biography Early life Américo de Deus Rodrigues Tom ...
, after its construction was planned six years earlier, in 1963.Fátima Cerqueira Dias (2010) Transferred from Santana, at the time of its opening, the runway was long and was then referred to as the ''Aeroporto da Nordela'', owing to its location at the extreme northwest of Ponta Delgada. It was built in order to serve inter-island connections and the continent, using a single Boeing 737 from the national flag carrier (TAP33). Regular flights to Lisbon began two years later. In May 1995, at the inauguration of the airport terminal, the facility received the designation ''João Paulo II'', in honour of the visit of the Pope to the Azores in 1991. :''"This airport, is part of the integrated history and economic and social development of the Azores, in particular of the Micaelenses, and constitutes an relevant equipment at the service of air transport, not just of the passengers, but also the transport and mail. It is the infrastructure with the largest expression of air traffic in the autonomous region of the Azores, reaching in 2011 935,000 passengers."'' Along with the airports in Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Flores, Santa Maria, Horta and Beja, the airport's concessions to provide support to civil aviation was conceded to
ANA Aeroportos de Portugal ANA Aeroportos de Portugal is the airport authority of Portugal. The authority manages various airports including Portugal's largest airport, Lisbon Airport. The authority has its head office in Building 120 on the grounds of the airport. Histor ...
on 18 December 1998, under provisions of decree 404/98. With this concession, ANA was also in charge of future planning, development and construction of future infrastructures.


Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Ponta Delgada Airport:


Statistics


Incidents

* A
Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along ...
Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978. The prototype completed its maid ...
, operating Delta Flight 414 from JFK International Airport in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, suffered a hard landing on 18 August 2019. No injuries were reported but the airplane was damaged substantially.


See also

*
Aviation in the Azores Aviation in the Azores is part of the greater history of aviation in Portugal, and involves the historical use of the archipelago of the Azores by North American, South American and European pioneers of aviation. The Azores is strategically located ...
* John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice *
Bari Karol Wojtyła Airport Bari Karol Wojtyła Airport ( it, Aeroporto di Bari-Karol Wojtyła) is an airport serving the city of Bari in Italy. It is approximately northwest from the town centre. Named after Pope John Paul II, who was born Karol Wojtyła, the airport i ...


References

;Notes ;Sources *


External links


Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Joao Paulo Ii Airport Buildings and structures in Ponta Delgada Airports in the Azores Pope John Paul II