Archive for the ‘Valencia Airport’ Category

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Air Berlin increases flights to and from Malaga Airport

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

New transportation hub at Malaga Airport

Air Berlin plans to strengthen its Berlin hub as the takeover of TUIfly’s city routes has added a large number of new destinations. The company plans to increase seat numbers on flights from German cities to Malaga Airport this summer by 10%. New routes to Spanish Airports for the Summer 2010 schedule starting on 1st May include:
o    Cologne/Bonn and Stuttgart to Valencia Airport
o    Frankfurt, Munich and Stuttgart to Malaga Airport
o    Düsseldorf-Bilbao Airport
o    Vienna to Barcelona Airport and Jerez Airport, operated by NIKI.

Posted in Barcelona Airport, Malaga Airport, Valencia Airport | No Comments »

Ryanair to add new routes from Malta to Seville and Valencia

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Seville Airport terminal

From May of this year the low budget airline Ryanair will be setting up its’ 41st EU  base in Malta, positioning one aircraft at the airport and opening up an additional six routes increasing the number to 19.

The additional low-cost routes include Seville and Valencia in Spain, Billund in Denmark, Krakow in Poland, Marseille and Bologna.

The first flight is scheduled for 18th May and Ryanair will be flying to Valencia Airport three times a week and twice a week to Seville Airport.

The opening of the new routes was made possible due to the Malta base as it gave Ryanair the option to fly to the other 151 airports in 26 countries.

Originally there was talk of basing three aircraft in Malta but economics, availability and the market situation meant only one would be stationed there.

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Ryanair launches new routes from Bristol to Palma and Valencia Airports

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

From March 28th, 2010 Ryanair will operate flights from Bristol Airport to Palma de Mallorca and Valencia Airports in Spain, with its number of aircraft based at Bristol increasing to five.

The airline announced earlier this month that the number of passengers travelling on its routes during October has increased by 15% compared to the same time last year.

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Summer Festivals in and around Valencia

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
La Tomatina in Bunol near Valencia

La Tomatina in Bunol near Valencia

If you are flying into Valencia Airport over the next couple of weeks there are a few festivals which you might be interested in attending:

  1. La Tomatina in Bunol on 26th August when the whole village pelt one another with tomatoes.  Make sure you are prepared with old (washable!) clothes and goggles.
  2. Fiesta Vendimia in Requena from 19th-30th August is an 11day grape harvest festival in this town which is known for its excellent wines. The Noche de la Zurra is when everyone takes to the street and is soaked with wine
  3. Festival of Rice in Sueca during the first week in September. The rice festival and international paella competition are held in this town which is about an hour’s drive south of Valencia. The week-long festivities include religious processions and bullfights, but the emphasis is on eating.
  4. Bull Week in Segorbe from 7th-13th September when the bulls run rampant through the main city streets, controlled (as much as they can be) by brave men on horseback.

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Valencia Airport to increase security for Formula 1 Grand Prix

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Spanish authorities have promised to step up security at Valencia Airport for the European Grand Prix in August because of a recent spate of thefts.

For several months now passengers at the airport have suffered a number of organised and repeated thefts inside the terminal building, at the exit while waiting for a taxi or in the car parks while collecting rental cars.

The airport’s security chief has written to Formula 1 personnel warning them that take extra precautions at the airport because of these recent problems.

The Police authorities will increase security in the town, and at the airport, during the week of the F1.

Passengers flying into Valencia Airport are requested to take extra care of their personal possessions.

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Pete Doherty Too Drunk to Board Flight from Valencia Airport

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

pete-dohertyPete Doherty is not allowed to use a European airline any more after EasyJet barred him and his band mates from boarding a flight from Valencia Airport as they were too drunk to fly following his appearance at the Benicassim Festival.

Doherty, who is the lead singer of Babyshambles, was only flying EasyJet because of an incident earlier this month on a British Airways flight that lost the singer his passenger privileges. He barricaded himself in the toilet for most of the flight from London to Switzerland, and when he was eventually coaxed out just minutes  before landing  the  flight attendants found  him  dazed and confused,  with a hypodermic needle by his side.

The question is how will Doherty get to future continental gigs – maybe he will go by boat?

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Formula 1 Grand Prix in Valencia

Thursday, July 16th, 2009
2009 Fi Grand Prix in Valencia

2009 Fi Grand Prix in Valencia

The European Grand Prix hits the streets of Valencia in August 2009. 

There will be practice races at 10:00 and 14:00 on Friday 21st August, another practice race at 11:00 on Saturday 22nd and then the qualifying race at 14:00 on that same day.  The race itself takes place at 14:00 on Sunday 23rd August.

The race will be held on the stunning new street circuit on the harbour site of the “Americas Cup” marina built to satisfy the huge popularity of Formula 1 in Spain (which is largely thanks to Fernando Alonso). Valencia is the championship’s fastest urban circuit: more than 5km long  where cars can reach speeds of 300kph with 57 laps over a distance of 310.080 km

The circuit is just a short journey   from Valencia Airport which can be easily reached with a number of UK airports operating flights there.

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Steady reduction in routes to Valencia Airport

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Valencia is Spain’s third largest city and until early 2004 the only UK airports with non-stop scheduled flights to Valencia Airport were London Heathrow and London Gatwick. Normally the first non-London airport to be able to support non-stop flights to an international destination is Manchester, followed by Birmingham, but the first non-London airport to offer scheduled flights to Valencia was Coventry (when Thomsonfly began flights from its new base there at the end of March 2004), followed by Bristol.

The surge in demand for flights to Valencia Airport in 2004 coincided with increased awareness of the City of the Arts and Sciences complex designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava. In 2007 the America’s Cup was based in the old port (as it will be again this summer) and last year saw the inaugural European Grand Prix on a street circuit laid out around the harbour area.

By the end of 2008 13 UK airports were offering flights to Valencia and in just two years traffic quadrupled from under 200,000 to almost 800,000 passengers a year. Several of the new services were short-lived and in 2008 just seven airports (instead of 11 in 2007) offered scheduled services.  Since then Clickair has abandoned its Heathrow service (which it inherited from Iberia), Jet2.com has given up its Leeds/Bradford service (it had already abandoned the Manchester and Newcastle services at the end of 2007) and Ryanair ceased its Liverpool route as part of its decommissioning of its base at Valencia Airport.

This summer there are just four airports in the UK with scheduled flights to Valencia with  easyJet flying  twice-daily from London Gatwick and daily from Bristol, while Ryanair operates twice-daily from London Stansted and four times each week from Nottingham East Midlands.

Passenger numbers from the UK declined by 12% in 2008 and the reduced capacity this summer has seen demand in the first five months ofall by almost 60%. Traffic for 2009 is likely to be around 300,000, which  is still double the number transported between Valencia and the UK in  2002.

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Benicassim Music Festival in Spain

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Flights to Valencia Airport and Barcelona Airport in Spain will prove popular in July as the country hosts one of it’s biggest live music events, the Benicassim music festival, which will be held between 16th July to the 19th

This years festival will be the 16th edition of Benicassim, which has previously hosted performances by the likes of Radiohead, the Stone Roses and the Chemical Brothers since its launch in 1994.

This year is set to host 4 headline slots from the likes of Oasis, Kings of Leon, Franz Ferdinand and the Killers.

Paul Weller, Maximo Park, Lily Allen and Pete Doherty will be among the other well-known acts heading to Spain’s east coast over the course of the weekend in July. Music fans that are planning to attend the Benicassim Music Festival this year can choose to either fly to Valencia Airport with easyJet, Iberia and several other carriers, or alternatively catch flights to Barcelona Airport with airlines including British Airways and bmibaby.

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2009 Benicassim Music Festival

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
If you are yearning to visit a music festival with all the clout of the big UK heavyweights like Leeds and Reading but don’t want the risk of having to dance in torrential rain or traipse through sodden fields, then Benicàssim may have the answer. Located 92.2 km south of Valencia Airport, Benicàssim is a beautiful port town and beach resort on the east coast of Spain which each year hosts the Benicàssim International Music Festival. Past acts have included  Radiohead, Blur, The Chemical Brothers and Depeche Mode.
 
Originally launched in 1995, the Benicàssim festival will this year run for four days from the 16th to the 19th July and boasts yet another phenomenal line-up. Headlining are Oasis, Kings of Leon, Franz Ferdinand and The Killers, who are supported by a wealth of incredible talent including Paul Weller, Lily Allen, Mystery Jets, 2 Many DJs and the White Lies. Aside from the music acts there are a plethora of other activities to keep visitors entertained both around the venue and on the streets of Benicàssim itself. These range from art installations to short films and fashion shows, as well as examples of Spanish dance forms both traditional and contemporary. 
 
One of the big pluses of this festival is that it offers revellers the opportunity to stretch the experience out into a full blown holiday, as the 4 day weekend camping tickets actually provide for 9 days of camping all for the ticket price of £160 (day tickets are £ 67.50). This really gives people a chance to explore the region to its’ fullest and make the most of the Spanish weather and nearby beaches while here. There are several ways of getting to Benicàssim, although flying into Valencia Airport is the most popular means. Flights to Valencia are available from 12 UK airports including Bournemouth, Bristol, Gatwick, Manchester and Newcastle.
 
For those arranging a Valencia Airport car hire then it is a fairly straightforward 55 minute drive north along the coast to the event ground. Alternatively you could pay 25€ and join the festival’s FIBERClub, which, along with other exclusive advantages, entitles members to use the festival bus service. These shuttle buses run from the airport to the festival ground every hour Monday to Friday between 10am and 10pm and on the Monday and Tuesday after the festival between 7am and 5pm.
 
If you have not signed up to become a member then there are three other main alternatives. A Valencia Airport private transfer can be pre-booked and means you will be met in arrivals by a driver and whisked off straight to the event, while cheaper options come in the form of the buses and trains. Fortunately there is a train station right in Benicàssim which has direct connections from most of the major cities such as Valencia, Barcelona, Alicante, Gerona and Madrid. Although these RENFE trains do not run direct from Valencia airport there is a metro train which transfers passengers to the main Valencia train station in just a few minutes and then it is approximately an hour on to Benicàssim. Click here to find RENFE train times.
 
Unlike the trains, buses from the major cities do not go direct to Benicàssim but instead stop at Castellón Bus Station. From here buses run roughly every 15 minutes to Benicàssim between 6.15am and 10.30pm. Click here to find bus times and fares from the major cities. The exception to the bus and train rules tends to be Reus Airport,  which is the second closest airport to the festival at a distance of 167.5km. Ryanair offers flights to Reus from 17 different places in the UK including Durham, Inverness and Liverpool but both train and bus routes from Reus go to Tarragona first before go onto Benicàssim (or Tarragona, Castellón then Benicàssim in the case of the buses). For Reus to Tarragona bus times click here. Driving to the festival in a Reus Airport car hire  would take around 1hr and 40 minutes.  
 
Other then Reus and Valencia, the nearest airports are Barcelona Airport, Alicante Airport, Girona Airport and Madrid Airport. Train and drive times between Benicàssim and each of these airports is roughly the same, give or take 20 minutes. The travel time from Barcelona is around 2½ hours, from Alicante 2hr 50mins, from Gerona 3hr 30mins and from Madrid 4hr and 40mins.
 
An altogether longer option for those not wanting to fly but travelling from the UK is to go by coach, a journey of around 31 hours if departing from London. Tickets are available though National Express and Eurolines. 
 

Posted in Alicante Airport, Barcelona Airport, Car Hire, Castellon Airport, Girona Airport, Madrid Airport, Reus Airport, Spanish Trains, Valencia Airport | No Comments »

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