Malaga Airport has recently unveiled its impressive new Terminal 3, which will see an increase in visitors from all over the world. The opening of the terminal has been heralded a great success, and unlike Heathrow´s Terminal 5, it went off without a hitch.

Terminal 3 at Malaga Airport was designed by architect, Bruce S Fairbanks, and although it has taken years to construct, as anyone who lives here will pay testament to, it is, apparently well worth the wait. The new terminal is situated next to the already existing terminal on the north side of the airport, and its design has managed to integrate all three terminals under a concept of one sole terminal, making it easier for passengers to move around the airport.

Shopping Malaga Terminal 3
A shopping area of over 10,800 metres has been added, in addition to 1,100m2 of terminal building. Top level shopping facilities are also  now included in Terminal 3, and over 50 shops  include:Adidas, Adolfo Domínguez, Björn Borg, Burberry, Cottet, El Caballo, Ferrari, Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Longchamp, MCS Marlboro Classic, Polo Jeans, Ralph Lauren, Travel Mate, as well as a comprehensive selection of cafés and restaurants, including: Burger King, Café y Té, Caffè Ritazza, Dehesa Santa María, Gambrinus, Four Arrows, Lamoraga Airport, La Lechera, O’Learys, Pizza Hut, Sea Food Bar, Soho Coffee Co, Starbucks, Upper Crust, Vips, Whopper Bar.

I have been reliably informed by my ten year old nephew that we HAVE to go to the airport just for a trip to the Whopper Bar, so be warned!

Catering at Malaga Airport
Select Service Partner (SSP) has installed Burger King’s third Whopper Bar in the world and the first at any airport. Travellers will also be able to enjoy exclusive establishments such as Lamoraga Airport and Sea Food Bar belonging to the Caviar House & Prunier chain, and others, such as the first VIPS in Spanish airports and the second Soho Coffee Co. and Starbucks in mainland Spain airports. Additionally, this is the first in the province of Malaga.
It is also worth mentioning that the duty free shop in Terminal 3 is now the second largest of its kind in Europe, and the largest in Spain. The airport now also boasts the first National Geographic Shop in airports worldwide.
The airfield will have two runways and several aircraft aprons with a total of 74 positions, 26 of them contact positions.

This project, with an investment of €1.775 billion, has turned Malaga airport into a benchmark amount Mediterranean tourist airports.

The terminal area of the new airport, with a surface area of 385,000 m², will have 180 check-in desks (4 for special baggage), 48 boarding gates and 26 baggage reclaim carousels (1 for special baggage). The passengers will have three road accesses (two on the motorway).

Parking at Malaga Airport Terminal 3
If, like me, you have endured the merry-go round for the past few years at Malaga Airport, and circled the airport three times before you find where to park, the new car park facilities should make parking much more straightforward.

Malaga Airport now has two public car parks with a total of 3,700 spaces. P1, which is a new 7-floor building has 2,500 spaces, P2 has 1,200 spaces. The new car park is situated at the entrance to the airport and is connected at the north end to P2.

Car hire prices are as follows: From 0 to 30 minutes, €0.021218 per minute; from 31 to 60 minutes, €0.033596 per minute; over 61 minutes, €0.027309 per minute; maximum daily parking rate for up to 4 days, €18; maximum daily parking after the fifth day, €14.40.

By the middle of 2010, the airport will also have a long-stay car park, located in the former P3 (next to the aeronautics activities zone) and a VIP car park with spaces on the T3 Departures and T2 Arrivals forecourt. Additionally, for shorter stays users will have a new express car park located on the second floor of P2.
Twenty new boarding gates have been added, plus 12 aircraft parking positions with air bridges.

New plans and improvements will enable Malaga Airport to cater for 9,000 passengers an hour and 30 million passengers a year, with high levels of security and service.

Airlines operating from Terminal 3 Malaga Airport
Airlines currently operating from Terminal 3 at Malaga Airport include: Aigle Azur, Air Berlin, Air Europa, Air Finland, Air Nostrum L.A.E, Arkefly, British Airways (when they´re not on strike), Brussels Airlines, Cimber Sterling, Condor, Delta Airlines, Europe Airpost, Finnair, German Wings, Iberia, Inaer, Jet Air Fly, Lufthansa, Luxair, Malev Hungarian Airlines, Niki, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Primera Air, Regional, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Spanair, Swiss International Air Lines, Tap Portugal, Thomas Cook Belgium, Travel Service, Tuifly and Vueling.

It is also worth mentioning the new Ryanair routes which are due to operate from Malaga Airport in June, 2010, although I cannot confirm which terminal they will fly from. These include flights from Malaga to: Aarhus (from 23rd June), Berlin Schoenefeld (from 25th June), Bratislava (from 23rd June), Eindhoven (from 23rd June), Gothenburg (from 23rd June), Krakow (from 24th June), Maastricht (from 23rd June), Memmingen (from 24th June), Oslo Torp (from 23rd June) Paris Beauvais (from 23rd June), Pisa (from 24th June), Santander (from 24th June), Santiago (from 23rd June), Stockholm Skavsta (from 24th June), Tampere (from 25th June), Valladolid (from 23rd June), Venice Treviso (from 24th June), Wroclaw (from 25th June), Zaragoza (from 24th June).

For more in-depth information about Malaga Airport and to see a virtual tour of Terminal 3, take a look at the website: //www.aena.es/
by Jane Love (janelove1@hotmail.com)