Pilgrims, business travellers and locals heading to Galicia will face significant detours after Santiago de Compostela’s Lavacolla Airport closed on 23 April for a 35-day runway resurfacing project. Spain’s airport operator AENA has rerouted 1,486 flights—an estimated 70 % hike in traffic—to nearby A Coruña Airport, an hour’s drive from Santiago. Airlines have already issued schedule changes: Iberia and Vueling will bus passengers between the two cities, while Ryanair advises ticket-holders to budget an extra 90 minutes ground time. The works coincide with peak spring Camino de Santiago traffic and a packed conference calendar at the adjacent City of Culture complex, prompting hoteliers to warn of transfer bottlenecks. Corporate mobility teams should update duty-of-care advice: the detour may affect same-day meeting feasibility and bleed into public-holiday traffic over Labour Day weekend. Rental-car fleets in A Coruña are adding 600 vehicles, but demand could outstrip supply; travellers are advised to secure bookings early. The runway—last resurfaced in 2008—handles more than 3 million passengers annually. AENA says the €42 million overhaul will improve drainage and allow Category III instrument-landing procedures, reducing fog-related diversions when the airport reopens on 27 May.
Source: The Local Spain
