Gibraltar Airport: Where Runway Meets Road (10 photos)
Gibraltar Airport is no ordinary airport – it’s runway has a major public road crossing it meaning every time a plane is due to land or take-off the road is closed much like a railway level crossing.
The average time for an aircraft to land or depart is 10 minutes, so on busy days the road can be closed for over two hours.
There are plans for a major upgrade to the airport after the Córdoba Accord was signed by the United Kingdom, Spain and Gibraltar. This agreement ended a 17 year dispute that prevented civilian flights from all nations except the UK into Gibraltar Airport.
Take a look at this unusual road and runway in the picture gallery and video below.
Posted on June 11, 2009 | Filed Under Travel
14 Responses to Gibraltar Airport: Where Runway Meets Road (10 photos)
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I took a flight from this airport to London in 1995 and the road crossing the runway blew my mind. I have told many friends about this and now I have the video to prove I was not drunk.
I dunno, I went to Gibraltar in high school… and it’s safe. I don’t see what’s so strange except for it being a security hazard. The peninsula is just a half kilometer high spike in the ocean, where the hell else are they going to put it?
They were on about digging a tunnel under the runway for the cars etc. If they ever get round too it. Why Bother? The road was there long before they built the runway.
Perfectly safe, as appropriate security level is present.
Also, where you say:
“dispute that prevented civilian flights from all nations except the UK into Gibraltar Airport.”
This is incorrect.
All Spain did was block flights from/to Spain.
Throught there were occasional flights to other destinations throught – charters to Malta and Finland regularly, also other places.
And daily scheduled flights to Tangier in Morocco (North Africa) for much of the closed border period.
The border (closed by Spains facist dictator General Franco) was reopened as a condition for Spainsh entry to the EU. However their air restrictions remained.
Regardling civilian flights, the only constraint was no flights to/from spain, the lack of flights to places other than the UK simply represented insufficient demand for direct flights to such places.
Even the Spain is suposedly a NATO ally, she continues to prohibit British Military aircraft overlfying her airspace enroute to Gibraltar, forcing a lengthly flight around spain for such military aircraft.
Same thing here in Croatia on Zemunik runway in Zadar. the road is also Closed for traffic when plane is takinh off.
WORLD IS FULL OF SURPRISES……………..
I just realised how stupid terrorists are.
Should have claimed spain as well as Gibralta and deported the Spaniards to Scotland & wales to be with their fellow savages and we could have banned the germans from using towels around pools & on beaches
horrible man… it’s scream… danger… but amazing…
OMG Like a previous coment said Terrorists are damn stupid. Just make your car crash into a big commercial plane’s front wheele and it will crash potentially killing people. Thank god it hasnt happened.
If it’s so scary, why has there never been a single accident on this runway? Nothing, nada, zip, bugger all, s.f.a. Traffic control is clear, organised, sorted. Waiting for a plane to land or take off is like being stuck in a ten minute traffic jam. Big, fat, hairy, stinking deal. You make it look like planes are crashing on top of cars all the time – ain’t happened, won’t happen.
How come Iberia (Spanish airlines) lands there if it’s prohibited? (picture 1)