Spain celebrates opening of new airport

Spain’s newest airport, Lleida, saw received it’s first arrival on Sunday but is not open to the general public until next month. The project has been financed by the in Catalan Regional Government and has already received international status. It is estimated that around 50,000 passengers could use the airport during the first year, a figure which is forecast to reach 395,000 users per year in the next decade.

The first arrival was an Airbus A320 Vueling flight from Barcelona airport which flew over the airport several times before finally touching down at 12:30 to be greeted by many locals who had turned out to watch.

President of the Generalitat de Cataluña, José Montilla, was on board the plane with some 160 journalists.

Commercial flights start on February 5 with links to Paris and Palma de Mallorca operated by Vueling.