Federico García Lorca Granada-Jaén Airport

Brief information

Granada’s civil airport did not begin with tourism, but with a military airfield: in 1922 it was laid out on this site because of unrest in Spanish Morocco. So the present airport should be read not only as a transport hub, but also as a site that changed its purpose several times. The first passenger flight left from here for Seville in 1929; then the airfield again passed to the military during the Civil War, and civil air service was restored in 1946.

The turn toward a modern airport was connected with the development of tourism: in the 1950s the facility was re-equipped, in 1972 a new building opened, and in 1996 the infrastructure was modernized. Federico García Lorca’s name was added to the airport in 2006, and this changes the impression of a utilitarian place: the transport point between Granada and Jaén gained a cultural connection to the region.

What to notice first

The source text says almost nothing about the airport’s exterior appearance, so it is better to keep the focus on confirmed elements of its layout and history. It makes sense to compare the airfield itself with its first purpose: this was a military site, later adapted for civilian flights. The new 1972 building is important as a trace of the tourism stage, when the airport stopped being perceived only as former military infrastructure. The 1996 modernization relates not so much to the image of the building as to the operation of the airport as a system: runways, services, and technical areas became the main condition for its continued use. Its location between Granada and Jaén explains the double name: this is not simply the airport of one city, but a hub for two directions.