Fuerteventura's Airports - from 1942 to today

Fuerteventura's Airports - from 1942 to today
First airport near Tefia
We’ve come about 30 kilometers inland. This bit of barren land at Tefia was the site of the first airport For those who know the island, La Alcogida, the ecomuseum of country life is just over there, the village of Los Molinos is on the coast down there and this fine windmill, or molino as they are called here, is a well-known landmark.
The story of an airport being built here actually started at the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939. General Franco needed somewhere to keep all his political prisoners from the losing side well away from mainland Spain. So they obtained this bit of land and built a concentration camp here to keep them. The second World War came along and when Jandia in the south of the island was turned over for the Germans to use, the unlucky prisoners from here were taken to build the road over the mountain to Cofete.
During the war the Spanish decided they needed a military airfield to protect the Canary Islands and they built it on the flat ground here, well out of the range of naval guns. There were a couple of supply flights every week and after the war the facility was turned over to civilian use. Iberia provided a regular service from the mainland.
By the 1950s the authorities decided the needed to move to a new airport. Partly because getting here involved a long trip on dirt tracks but more importantly, Fuerteventura’s known for strong winds and with all the hills around here the wind was unpredictable and it caused a lot of hairy landings.
How bad the winds can be was demonstrated years after the airport was moved. In 1972 a group of paratroopers on a training exercise were caught in the wind and lost control of their parachutes. Thirteen of them died. They are remembered on a memorial there.
Anyway the airport was moved away in 1952. The government took the opportunity to bring back the prison camp. This time they rounded up vagrants from the Spanish mainland and dumped them here.
Nowadays the island council owns the site. They do agricultural research and they’ve got a little astronomical observatory in there too.
Los Estancos Airport
Los Estancos airport was located on top of the hill above Puerto del Rosario.
The roundabout is where the middle of the runway used to be, going across the road. So any time there was a plane landing or taking off the road had to be closed. If you look on Google Earth you can still make out the runway on the ground.
The other thing that has survived is the terminal building. It was in danger of decay for a few years but it has been restored and now it’s the centrepiece of a new technology park that’s developing around us.
This airport served from 1952 until 1969. Its problem was that the runway was too short to as passenger planes were getting bigger. Flights coming from Europe had to land in Lanzarote and passengers transferred to a smaller plane to come over to Fuerteventura. That’s why a new location down on the coast at El Matorral with plenty of space was chosen. Which is just as well as in the 1980s Fuerteventura finally started to catch up with the tourist boom which was happening on the other islands. The airport has had to be expanded to what we have today.
I added an old photo showing a Spantax DC3 Dakota EC-BED taking off.
Fuerteventura’s latest airport is a modern and usually fairly efficient modern airport that can handle over five million passengers a year. Obviously it’s vital for the island economy as tourism is so important. The airport opened in September 1969.
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[@dskinz]

Super. Love the Monarch Boeing 757 at the end. Priceless. Very interesting. Will pop to the airport on route to El Cotillo.

[@SOUTHALLAlanTMobilityScooter]

Thanks for posting. Very informative video JP.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Thanks for watching Alan.

[@mark.bailey]

Enjoyable watch, many thanks :-) Not strictly an 'airport' but there is a abandoned airfield on the Southern tip of Jandia about a mile and a half NE from the Faro de Punta lighthouse. We were out there last year hiking in the area and the old runway is clearly visible. I researched it at the time and found lots of stuff connecting it to WWII and possible connections with Villa Winter.

[@peterrich6940]

A bit of a journey to include this one JP and a bit of delving for research!!! thanks for the video JP.

[@cam8212]

Yeah I was at Cofete last year and trusty Google revealed that.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I was only really covering those airports used for commercial flights. There is an another active airfield near Antigua too. Thanks for watching Mark.

[@johnstygall860]

Brilliant video...as a kid it was a regular treat to go to London Airport as it was called to wait on the balcony of Arrivals to watch the planes coming in. My Auntie Iris was a great traveller. Also a school trip which took us on a coach tour of the airport ...those were the days...Whispering Britannia's and all those VC10s and Tridents! Reading Isobel Black thorn's book A Prison in the Sun which is set in Tefia and mentions the 1st airfield and the deaths of the paratroopers.....Tricia is a aero nut so she will enjoy this glimpse into Fuerteventura s past...many thanks for your work on this film..really enjoyed it

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Those were the days. I went on a school trip which was an hour long pleasure flight on a Super VC10 from Heathrow. That was my first flight. I will look out for that one. Thanks for watching John.

[@steves5933]

Thanks, JP. A very interesting video.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Thanks for watching Steve.

[@ripthegoose]

Fascinating Vlog JP. The history of the island is something people can overlook, so glad you include such things into your videos.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I am glad you enjoyed it Matt. Thanks for watching.

[@susanlloyd8410]

Thanks for that JP....we were told many years ago about the Tefia airport.Photos were lovely to see too.Our first visit was 1997(23 years ago)the airport has grown considerably and also all the surrounding areas,particularly the road from the airport to Corelejo!!!! Keep the videos coming and thanks again. Susiecusie.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Thanks for watching Susie

[@samb2945]

Thanks JP, that was unexpectedly, very interesting! Loved the Monarch 👑 video footage at the end. More of this sort of thing please. Loved it 👍

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Thanks Sam

[@dutchbird100]

Great research John. Thanks for the efforts you put into this!

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Duncan Gray did most of the work. Thanks for watching.

[@javi97andDZ15]

So interesting JP, I love learning about Fuerteventura historical places. Keep it up!

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Thanks for watching Javier

[@David-lj6dq]

Thanks JP. Nice bit of history and information. I used to love Monarch. Such a loss. Weather looks lovely as usual. Storms & high winds here. Enjoy.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I think we only flew with them once in recent times. Ryanair always came out cheaper. Thanks for watching.

[@dolphins19671]

Really enjoyed this. Right up my street. Thanks for posting. Regards Simon.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I am glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching Simon.

[@sweed58]

Great video and like all the old stuff from the past

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Thanks for watching Robert

[@kennyblincow6494]

Enjoyed that JP. I swear that I could smell aviation fuel when the Ryanair jet flew overhead, but one of the candles on the mantelpiece had just gone out! Thought I was going nuts.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

lol Kenny. Thanks for watching.

[@markcornwall8132]

That was interesting considering I am not that interested in airports! Very impressed you took the effort to travel back in time to 87 to do some filming too. Thanks.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Time travel is a speciality of mine 😉 Thanks for watching Mark.

[@Schenkerflyingv]

One of your best John. I really enjoyed that 👍🏼

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I wish everyone agreed Ian. The stats on this one aren't doing so well. Oh well, you can't please all of the people all of the time. Thanks for watching.

[@joenasgoldie7222]

Great video enjoyed it very much 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I am glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching Jurre.

[@anonnemo2504]

Nice video, JP. The Monarch Boeing at the end is a real blast from the past now.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Yes, we won't see one of those again. Thanks for watching.

[@kbiggs49]

Nice bit of Island history JP really found it interesting thanks.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I am glad you liked it. Thanks for watching.

[@chrisholt2474]

Hi JP, Thank you for that excellent film, I really enjoyed the information and history. The Monarch film was brilliant, I flew with them on many occasions. Fantastic as always, thank you for sharing your knowledge. Regards, Chris.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I am glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching Chris.

[@babaksadeghi5678]

So amazing So professional So interesting and historical video Thanks so much 🌺🙏✈️

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Thanks Babak

[@kirstywhitter42]

Thanks for this its a really interesting video. Lots of history and culture. Stay safe Kirsty 😃

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Thanks for watching Kirsty

[@alisonb4044]

I really enjoyed that, very interesting indeed. Thank you!

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I am glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching Alison.

[@Rhiannonganon]

This brings back so many memories of the year I lived on fuertevenura, I was 19 and I loved every minute of it!!

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I am glad you enjoyed it Kat

[@lesdrinkwater490]

Great to see your video from '87. Thanks JP

[@JPinFuerteventura]

The full video is here Les - kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZLPnaiDdpV0qsU Thanks for watching.

[@ianmac-uk]

I really enjoyed that video, and found it very interesting.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I am glad you did. Thanks for watching Ian.

[@Valerie-qe3di]

Merci pour vos vidéos toujours très instructives et intéressantes 👍🍀

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Merci d'avoir regardé Valérie

[@allongman]

Very interesting John I must admit to having an interest in planes and liking the Island anyway, part of the the fun of the holiday for me was sitting by the pool in our apartment near Chipmonk Mountain watching the large amount of planes flying in . Enjoyed them all apart from the early morning Binter Canarias plane at 8 am as good as an alarm clock !

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Fortunately that flight doesn't wake me up! Thanks for watching Al.

[@johngamble6040]

Fabulous JP, really enjoyable. Saw a video of a tui landing from the North the other day (apparently quite rare?); wonderful to see Corralejo and the dunes from the air prior to touchdown

[@JPinFuerteventura]

That must have been due to the Calima John. Thanks for watching.

[@JoBaker-tj3sv]

Great video thanks.. Can't wait to be back 👌

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I hope you get back soon

[@se7enmax]

Loved every minute of that JP, with a beer in hand ( Perla Miodowa ) of course. In Luton we lost Monarch, a truly great airline, flew them many times. Now the biggest is Wizzair so I'm never short of some Polish beer. Going to watch this again, cheers !

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for watching.

[@PlanetImo]

Loving the old pictures and footage from 1987. Wow!

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Hey - it's not that old!!! 😉

[@NickyDunn]

Hiya JP, interesting video thank you for sharing, I live not far from Heathrow :) take care.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

One of my brothers still lives in Harmondsworth and his house will literally be under the new runway if they ever get their fingers out and actually make a final decision. His life has been in limbo for over 10 years. Thanks for watching Nicky.

[@NickyDunn]

@@JPinFuerteventura Yes it has been a long time now, bless your brother, not a good situation to be in, nice of you to reply thank you :)

[@dhtelevision]

This is the most interesting video you’ve ever done, I’ve always wanted to know what the airports of Fuereteventura looked like, thanks very much.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I am glad you liked it. I wish others felt the same though. It is my worst performing video for many months. It just shows that the more effort you put into a video the less views you get. Thanks for watching.

[@Sqlification]

Great video. It's also worth mentioning there used to be another (fourth) airport behind el Puertito at the end of Jandia peninsula. Rumour has it it was used by Winter.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

There was but I was only covering those used commercially. There is an another active airfield near Antigua too. Thanks for watching.

[@cam8212]

Great stuff with the old footage JP. The video camera of 1987 was a little larger than today's gear😁

[@JPinFuerteventura]

It certainly was. It took full size VHS cassettes and was carried on my shoulder. I can't believe I could be bothered to carry it all the way to Fuerteventura. I certainly wouldn't these days. Thanks for watching.

[@wc6220]

Another great video J P - well done! Never knew there was other old airfields on the island, though I've heard the old story that Hitler is susposed to have landed in the south in April 1945, and stayed at villa winter before departing by U-boat for Argentina.! Love the current airport, it's so nice compared to Gando on Las Palmas. Great show...... Will.... 👍👍✈✈

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Yes, that is one of the many rumours about Villa Winter William. Thanks for watching.

[@davidmarlow481]

Brilliant video JP. I already knew about this but you filled in the blanks and it was well put together. Brilliant stuff, have you visited the supposed airstrip near Villa Winter visible on Google Earth

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Thanks David. No, I haven't been there. It's a long way to go to not really see anything. The rumours surrounding it are interesting though. Thanks for watching.

[@dawnbehroozi2587]

I too remember spending the summer holidays at Heathrow watching the planes from the Queens Building and people watching in the terminals. What great fun it was. And thanks for the video JP - an interesting one to watch 👍

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I worked on the roof gardens of the Queens Building and Terminal 2 for WH Smiths as a Saturday/Sunday job in the early 1970s. Thanks for watching Dawn.

[@amandahimsworth7469]

Well I never knew that !!!!. Very interesting to hear about the airports . I agree the control building in 2nd airport is lovely ,its a shame they dont use it . And I never realized the airport we use today is as old as me .lol🤣. Thought it was only a few years old ! This little island never ceases to amaze me. Stay safe and well JP. 😁 Look forward to next weeks .

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Occasionally there seems to be an emergency vehicle parked outside. Thanks for watching Amanda.

[@andrewtaylor8625]

Really enjoyed it JP. I would be interested in one about the early days of tourism in Fuerteventura. I assume the the area near town beach in Correlejo was all that existed for tourists but I’m probably wrong.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Yes, think what is now the boutique hotel was one of the first in Corralejo. Thanks for watching Andrew.

[@alistairclyne9362]

That was really interesting JP, but seeing the current airport just makes me even more 'homesick' for my favourite place! Hope to be back soon! :)

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Thanks for watching Alistair

[@LesWaller]

interesting, thanks for sharing, JP

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Thanks for watching Les

[@Octoberfest-beer]

@@JPinFuerteventura my word is my word, JP :-) you're welcome

[@samb2945]

You might not realise this JP, but you have a very reassuring way about you that instills confidence and authority. You might have missed your calling to become a factual, documentary television presenter. Nice work 👍

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I certainly don't realise it Sam but thanks. All I ever really wanted to be wa an airline pilot. Thanks for watching.

[@TWOWHEELFIX]

Excellent film John. I enjoyed seeing the old footage mixed in. Tragic loss of life in the name of war once again. On a lighter note, I hope your jet waited on you 🤣✈️👍🍻

[@JPinFuerteventura]

lol thanks for watching Stevie.

[@daveg3138]

Thanks JP, very interesting. There is one more called Aeródromo del Jarde. However its a private airfield.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Yes, near Antigua. It would be pretty hard to get a commercial flight in there. 😉 Thanks for watching Dave.

[@paulmassam5705]

Have you missed the Jandia one?

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I was only covering those airports used commercially. There is an another active airfield near Antigua too. Thanks for watching Paul.

[@PlanetImo]

Incredible that there's just a wire mesh fence between you and the runway!

[@JPinFuerteventura]

In my Heathrow plane spotting days the fence was only 4ft high.

[@canaries1litten466]

Hi JP good vid again,We drove down to Cofete a while back and to the southern tip of Fuerteventura and remember something of an old airstrip near the point ,was this another airport or did We make a mistake?By the way I didn't comment on the last vid but You caught Donna out again with the dead hedghog!! She's getting over it though,lovely to see areas We've travelled in,keep well Jon and Donna from flooded Poole.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

There was an old airstrip there (with rumours that Hitler landed there are the end of WW2). Sorry about the hedgehog. Thanks for watching.

[@nudgenudgewinkwink3212]

Cheers jp a great bit of history there, What a loss monarch are to the travel industry.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I can see other airlines following them in the near future sadly. Thanks for watching.

[@eminem2]

JP you are the unofficial ambassador of the UK to Fuerteventura

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Unofficial and unpaid 😉 Thanks for watching.

[@alangreen7555]

As always, great. I used to cycle to Heathrow with my eye-spy plane spotters book(must be in the loft) reacon that Monarch plane was ticked off

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I think I threw all of my old Ian Allan Civil Aircraft Markings boks away when we moved here. Thanks for watching Alan.

[@paddywinklink7393]

Muchad Gracias. Really interesting. Coyud you post more interesting things like that? History about the island? Such as why does it belong to Spain now and not Marrocco? 1000 de gracias.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I will try Paddy. Thanks for watching.

[@robertbaxter4021]

Me and my Dad found the 2nd airport around 30 years ago and explored it. It was when it was still in a derelict state. I seem to remember there were more buildings back then and I definitely remember the runway crossing the road. Its a shame neither of us took any pictures. Edit: the only picture I took was of the monarch plane we were on very similar to in this video

[@JPinFuerteventura]

I am pleased that they restored the old terminal building/control tower as it is one of the nicest buildings on the island. They have just built a new runway on the site for unmanned aircraft!

[@elzulo9485]

Over 6000 views and less than 300 👍. Oh, common people,JP is doing really good job, give him well deserved 👍.

[@JPinFuerteventura]

lol thanks

[@moviebod]

Very interesting

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Thanks for watching

[@duncolm2249]

Nice job JP, I enjoyed that. Can I claim a cut of the royalties and will it be enough for a café con leche?

[@JPinFuerteventura]

That depends on how kind people are in watching ads or skipping them Duncan. I did put a link to your book in the description.

[@wildracoon666]

What the script on rules ? We are arriving early September

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Regarding masks etc?

[@dudeofficialchannel]

Very cool. One of my favourite quotes in films is from the (original) 'Flight of the Phoenix' . I wonder if you can guess which line from the film it is JP?! 8O)

[@JPinFuerteventura]

The one about flying into and out of a tennis court perhaps?

[@dudeofficialchannel]

@@JPinFuerteventura The one about virtue and stupidity! Absolute classic knock down line!

[@sopgabmai]

Great vlog,landed about two years ago but pilot opened up the engines and aborted. Scary!

[@JPinFuerteventura]

The same thing happened on my brother's flight while I was waiting for him. He wasn't impressed either. Thanks for watching John.

[@wildracoon666]

Yes jp

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Thanks for watching Chris

[@simonb8464]

Come back tourist punters. All is forgiven

[@JPinFuerteventura]

They are coming back from tomorrow Simon

[@Johan-ez5wo]

I hope the nonsense and fake shit stop soon, I want to go back to Jandia beach..

[@JPinFuerteventura]

Agreed Johan. Thanks for watching.