Editing Transport in Gibraltar (section)

==Air==
During World War I, the [[Royal Naval Air Service]] brought one of the first seaplanes to come to Gibraltar, a [[Wight Seaplane]], to search for submarines.

In 1931 the seaplane [[Saro Windhover]] Captained by [[Edgar Percival]] for [[GB Airways]] was the first of regular passenger flights from Gibraltar to Morocco. If there was a [[Levant (wind)|levant wind]], then the seaplane would land on an aerodrome in Morocco instead of Tangier harbour.

[[File:Gibraltar Airport main runway with 4-lane road crossing.jpg|right|thumb|[[Gibraltar Airport]] and border area. Showing runway (Gibraltar) and pier behind (Spain).  Officially, any [[Disputed status of the isthmus between Gibraltar and Spain|exact line is still disputed]]]]
Work began in 1939 to build what is today [[Gibraltar Airport]] and is the territory's only airport. It is situated very close to the border with Spain. [[Winston Churchill Avenue, Gibraltar|Winston Churchill Avenue]] the road which runs from the [[Gibraltar–Spain border]], crosses the runway, requiring the road to be closed each time an aircraft lands or takes off. Scheduled civilian passenger flights are operated by [[EasyJet]], [[British Airways]] and [[Royal Air Maroc]].

Following [[Córdoba Agreement|an agreement]] signed in [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]] between the Governments of the United Kingdom, Spain and Gibraltar in September 2006, the use of Gibraltar Airport by both Gibraltarian and Spanish services was agreed. Gibraltar Airport will be adapted to have an entrance from Spain (as well as Gibraltar), in a similar manner to Basel and Geneva airports (which are also adjacent to borders).

[[Iberia (airline)|Iberia]] commenced direct flights between [[Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport|Madrid]] and Gibraltar on 16 December 2006 with [[GB Airways]] following on 1 May 2007. However, GB Airways discontinued its Madrid service on 30 September 2007 and Iberia subsequently considered using smaller aircraft, possibly from its [[Air Nostrum]] regional partner – indicating that neither operator may have been able to fill their planes with passengers. Iberia eventually withdrew its service in September 2008. In 2009 [[Ándalus Líneas Aéreas]] started flights between Gibraltar and Madrid. However, on 13 August 2010, the airline ceased operations because the Spanish aviation authorities withdrew their licence.

Following the takeover by EasyJet, GB Airways dropped its direct Gibraltar–[[Heathrow Airport|London Heathrow]] service on 28 October 2006<ref>Gibraltar News Online, [http://www.gibraltarnewsonline.com/2006/07/21/gb-airways-drop-gib-heathrow-route-this-winter/ GB Airways drop Gib-Heathrow route this Winter]{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}</ref> despite apparently remaining popular. The reason cited by GB Airways was the "convenience of" concentrating all its London services onto a single hub at [[Gatwick]].  Later, a sale of several of GB Airways' Heathrow [[landing slots|slots]] is believed to have netted GB Airways with up to £80m.<ref>Gibraltar News, [http://www.gibfocus.gi/details_todaysnews.php?id=3058 GB Airways sells Heathrow slots for £80 million]{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}</ref> In late 2007 GB Airways was bought by EasyJet (and thus ceased to be a [[British Airways]] franchise partner); all flights were rebranded as EasyJet in 2008.

Flights are available from Gibraltar to London Heathrow, [[Gatwick Airport|London Gatwick]], [[Luton Airport|Luton]], [[Bristol Airport|Bristol]], [[Casablanca Airport|Casablanca]], [[Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport|Tangier]] and [[Manchester Airport|Manchester]] airports. During 2012 [[bmibaby]] offered a service to [[East Midlands Airport]], but the airline ceased operations in September 2012.