Within a few months will be operational the new passenger terminal T3 in the airport Malaga.
This massive building, designed by architect Bruce S. Fairbanks and covered by 117 pyramidal domes which are visible from outside the airport, is already being put to the test with 4.000 bags brought from Barcelona, where the served for testing the billing system in T1, and 3.000 extras who are playing the part of passengers arriving and leaving, in order to verify that everything works as it should.
It will be checked upon the clear signs to guide the travelers, if the security measures are sufficiently flexible or bags come in a timely fashion to the passenger. The idea is that this new terminal should be operational before the start of next Easter, beginning on March 28.
This terminal has 250.000 square meters and is divided into three parts: the processor building, the boarding area and transport exchanging area.
The processor building contains the check-in lobby of nearly 20.000 square metres. There will be 86 check-in counters; a large area of centralized security gives way to a shopping plaza in which passengers will walk before reaching the docks of embarkation. At about 18,000 square meters will be distributed 24 stores of leading brands and 21 restaurants and bars.
In this area will be present such prestigious brands as National Geographic, which will open its first store in an airport in the world, while Ferrari will have its second store in a national airfield. As for restoration, there will be options for every taste, from fast food from Burger King or Pizza Hut to La Moraga Airport, the new creation of Dani Garcia, awarded with the Michelin star, blending traditional cooking with the chef’s innovations.
From the T3 passengers can connect with the suburban railway station or bus station. Also under construction are two new exclusive access roads to the airport: one for the north, which will come from the new ring road west and another to the south, from the Mediterranean motorway N-340.
One year later, in late 2011, will start operating the second track, now under construction, which will have a peak performance of 74 flight operations per hour.
With all these enhancements, and after an investment of 1,400 million Euros, which will expand the airport surface of 135.000 square meters to 385.000, the airport will have capacity to serve 30 million passengers a year. However, as a consequence of the crisis, this facility has closed 2009 with only 11.6 million passengers, 9.3% less than in 2008, when it also experienced declines.
Despite these declines, some headlines point to optimism: Ryanair has already announced that, concurrent with the launch of the T3, the company will launch 19 new routes from Malaga.
company’s headman Fernando Guerrero – failed because it was overtaken by a company with no experience in the sector. He stresses that this new airline is the first truly Andalusian airline, since they will be based out of the Malaga Airport and acting in the interest of Andalusians. He says Andalus aims to become "the airline that meets the mobility needs of every Andalucian, who can fly to major tourist destinations virtually from their doorstep," without having to go through larger cities like Madrid and Barcelona.