San Pablo Airport: Entering Seville by air

The city of Seville is Spain's fourth largest metropolitan area and the capital of the Andalusia region. Seville attracts several business and leisure visitors each year to its rich mix of ancient and modern life. With a lifespan of close to two thousand years, the wealth of history available for you to see and visit is huge. From the enchanting artwork of Spanish painters of the 13^th century to the beautiful workmanship and architecture of Seville Cathedral which is one of the largest in the world.

But what is a great place or city if you cannot get there easily? Depending on where you are traveling from, there are several ways in which you can access Seville. For visitors from overseas, the access by air may be the fastest and most convenient means to arrive. That is of course unless one is already at an area that is close enough to be accessed by rail or road. Seville's San Pablo Airport uses IATA code SVQ and ICAO code LEZL. Even though Seville is the capital of Andalusia region, Seville airport is not the largest in the area. This honor belongs to Malaga Airport.

Seville's San Pablo Airport has a history dating back to just after the turn of the 20^th Century when the government of the province of Sevilla handed a tract of land to the country's military for construction of a military aerodrome. The objective at the onset was to cater for military flights and to serve as a training ground for its pilots only. However, this soon grew to passenger flights in the early 1920s. The growth in passenger traffic led to the development of new facilities such as hangars.

With time however, the increased traffic and need to accommodate larger planes and separate military and domestic flights led to the commissioning of new piece of land in the late 1920s for the construction of a larger municipal airport.  From this point on, the airport underwent many changes including the number of and length of runways to become what it is today.

In keeping with Seville's rich culture, San Pablo airport's buildings are an architectural masterpiece. The arches on the passenger lounge and the building walkways are designed with the key characteristics of the city in mind. The building draws on the Islamic history of Seville, a palatial concept and combines these with the allure of orange trees.

Seville airport is home to more than ten airlines and you can get fights to a number of destinations within and outside Spain. From Seville you can board a flight to London, Brussels, Tel Aviv and Lisbon. However, note that San Pablo airport primarily caters for domestic flights and not international. Eight in every ten flights from the airport is domestic. A benefit of this is that you can expect to have faster moving check in and check out queues. A bias toward in country flights makes service a lot more personalized. Airport and airline staff are overall well versed on destinations within Spain and can be a source of informal but vital information in this regard.

Being a mainly domestic airport means that the number of flights into and out of Seville airport is small when compared to the larger airports in Barcelona and Madrid. As at 2007, the number of passengers that went through the airport during the year was at slightly over 4.5 million. Once you arrive, there are several means through which you can leave the airport (note that the airport is ten kilometers from Seville city). In order of reducing cost you can hire a car, take a taxi or board a bus that leaves the airport every thirty minutes.

One thing you must take note of when landing in Seville is that you cannot sleep at the airport. The airport is closed to all for 3 hours between 1AM and 4AM. During this time, no passengers are allowed within the facility. In fact, all travelers are expected to have left the airport premises by midnight. With this in mind, always make sure you plan your accommodation in good time by the time you arrive at Seville airport. The closest hotel to the airport is a considerable distance away so planning early is the safest approach for you to take especially if you expect to arrive at Seville at night.

As you plan your flight to the city of Seville, make sure you rent out a holiday apartment during your stay. As opposed to staying at a standard hotel, it will enrich your experience by increasing your interaction with the residents all the while maintaining a higher level of privacy. The prices are not as steep or exclusive as one would believe. Actually, you can get a holiday apartment that is within your costs of accommodation during your stay. Whether you are a big spender or are more modest in your expenses, the range of apartments is broad enough to accommodate residents across the cost spectrum. What's more, costs can be structured to cater for specific preferences you might have for your stay. This is all done without compromising on the quality of service and facilities.

You can stay in one of our Seville Apartments