Gibraltar Airport

Gibraltar Airport is the civilian airport that serves the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar on the Iberian Peninsula. It is owned by the Ministry of Defence for use by the Royal Air Force as RAF Gibraltar. Civilian operators use the airport; currently the only scheduled flights operate to the United Kingdom and Spain. Passengers depart and arrive through the civilian operated terminal.

The airport was constructed during World War II upon the colony's race course, when Gibraltar was an important naval base for the British. Originally opened in 1939, it was only an emergency airfield for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. However, the runway was later extended by reclaiming some land from the sea of the Bay of Gibraltar which Spain claims are their territorial waters, causing diplomatic tensions between Spain and Britain. This extension of the runway allowed larger aircraft to land at Gibraltar.