Last Update: 5/01/24
Until recently, the only way to reach the Principality was by road. If you wanted to get there by air, you had to fly to Barcelona or Toulouse, which were the closest airports. However, they are about three hours away by car or public transport. To make itself more accessible, Andorra launched its first airline, connecting the Pyrenees with Madrid, at the end of 2021.
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New air route to Palma for the 2023-24 winter season
The Andorra-La Seu d’Urgell Airport
Although Andorra has no airport on its territory, it does have the facilities of Andorra-La Seu d’Urgell Airport (IATA code: LEU, ICAO: LESU), which is located in Montferrer, near the town of La Seu d’Urgell, in the Alt Urgell region, only 12 kilometres from the border (about a 20-minute drive).
It is considered a regional airport and, due to the length of the runway, can only handle aircraft with a maximum capacity of 100 passengers.
This infrastructure has not received commercial flights since 1984 and has only been used occasionally by private aircraft and flying clubs. In 2010, the facilities were re-opened with the aim of boosting tourism and economic development in the Catalan Pyrenees. The aim was to link this area and Andorra with other destinations in Europe, including Spain. However, no regular service was introduced until the end of 2021.
A new start for a dormant airport
The revival of the Pyrenees Airport is an joint initiative of the governments of Andorra, Spain and the Generalitat de Catalunya, as it will also benefit the Catalan Pyrenees and Cerdanya. The aim is to improve connections in the area and open up new opportunities for tourism and business.
After several years of feasibility studies, the project has come to fruition, and Andorra now has its own airport. It is currently served by a single airline, Air Nostrum (a subsidiary of Iberia), which has two flights a week to Madrid. Thanks to the good reception in the first year of its existence, the Andorran government is planning to increase the number of destinations.
Double the number of passengers in 2022
According to Aeroports de Catalunya, 11,238 passengers passed through Andorra-La Seu d’Urgell Airport in 2022, compared to less than half that number in the previous year (only 5,145). The increase was due to the regular flights to and from Madrid, which started on 17th December 2021.
According to the same source, the month with the largest number of passengers, 1,090, was October. In 2022, there were more than 1,000 passengers per month in January, February and June, and there were 700 passengers in March and also in August.
Direct flights from the Pyrenees to Madrid
At the beginning of the alliance with Air Nostrum, 210 flights per year and 10,000 passengers per year were forecast. The aircraft used was an ATR 72-600 with a total capacity of 72 seats (including those of the crew).
After the first year, at the end of 2022, 69% of the forecast had been achieved, the winter season having been the main contributor to the improvement in the figures.
With the opening of the route, the Principality of Andorra and Madrid are only 1 hour and 30 minutes apart: the perfect connection for beginning longer journeys. Bringing Andorra closer to the Spanish capital will also create new business opportunities.
In the first year of operation of the route between Andorra-La Seu d’Urgell and Madrid Barajas airports, there were no flight cancellations and only four re-routings.
In 2023, although there have been some cancellations due to justified technical incidents, the regular route between Andorra and Madrid continues to operate and has good prospects.
New infrastructures to offer more services
In early 2023, the lighting work was completed with a simulation to test the take-off and landing of aircraft on the runways for night flights. With these improvements, the airport will be able to extend its schedules and accommodate night flights once it has received the certificate from the Spanish Aviation Safety Agency (AESA). The improvements have included the installation of three towers with LED lighting and eleven with solar lighting and batteries. The runway has also been adapted with obstacle lights and LED lights on its sides, and an aerodrome beacon has been installed in the control tower.
The future of the new routes
Following the improvements made to allow night flights, and in view of their good reception, the Andorran government is studying the feasibility of new direct routes to Majorca or Paris.
There is also talk of flights to London. These would require the installation of Customs at the airport, as the UK is not currently part of the Schengen area.
Improved access for Andorra
Infrastructure plays a fundamental role in the social and economic development of any country, and Andorra is no exception. Although it is a country of 468 km² with a population of 83,523 inhabitants (as of June 2023), tourism is a very important economic driver. In 2022 there were 8.2 million visitors, and it is expected to close 2023 with 8.8 million. The last winter season was a record, with 2.9 million visitors and almost 5.5 million overnight stays. The reasons why the government is planning to increase flight frequencies and reach new destinations are to further improve communication routes and to be able to attract new markets.
In addition, Andorra has been working for several years to diversify its economy and attract foreign investors in order to grow in other sectors and in order to be less dependent on the traditional ones, such as trade and tourism. Another objective is to become an attractive country for investors, companies and new residents so as to promote the growth of the Principality.
New air route to Palma for the 2023-24 winter season
Just two years after opening the airline between Andorra-La Seu and Madrid, a new route to Palma de Mallorca has been inaugurated. This development benefits the Principality, providing more options for tourist arrivals and improving the local economy in the Pyrenees. Flights began on Friday 5 January 2024 as a pilot test that will run through the 2023-24 winter season.
Air Nostrum (Iberia Regional) operates the route with two flights a week (Friday and Sunday), from 5 January to 31 March, for a total of thirteen weeks of operations. This new connection is vital to further link Andorra with the Balearic Islands and consolidates Andorra airport as a key entry point for visitors, residents and companies. The first flight, made with an ATR-72, was inaugurated with 38 passengers plus crew, while the return flight to Mallorca had 17 passengers.