Aena has tendered €16.5 million for the renovation of the runway and platform at Hondarribia airport. The works will take place between early 2028 and spring 2029 and will require a runway closure of about 40 days in autumn 2028.
Aena has tendered €16.5 million for the renovation of the runway and aircraft parking platform at Hondarribia airport, in Gipuzkoa. The works will be carried out between the beginning of 2028 and spring 2029 and will necessitate the suspension of operations for about 40 days in autumn 2028, according to information released by the airport manager and reported by moncloa.com.
The most significant action will be the complete renovation of runway 04/22, the only one at the Gipuzkoan aerodrome. The project includes grooving and resurfacing the pavement, modernising the lighting system with LED technology, and improving drainage infrastructure and associated conduits.
The contract also covers the aircraft parking platform, where pavements will be reconstructed, positions reorganised, and a new taxiway will be established. The improvement of drainage systems will extend throughout the entire area of action.
The renovation of runway 04/22 will require the suspension of operations for about 40 days in autumn 2028, within a schedule extending to 2029.
Aena justifies the closure due to the nature of the works and the infrastructure. The company specifies that it will be carried out "in coordination with local institutions and in collaboration with the airlines." Airlines and service companies will receive timely information about the planning to allow them to reschedule their operations at alternative airports and reorganise their activities.
The aerodrome serves Donostia-San Sebastián, about 20 kilometres from the Gipuzkoan capital, and is the least trafficked of the three airports managed by Aena in Euskadi, alongside Bilbao and Vitoria-Gasteiz. The majority of Basque air traffic is concentrated at Bilbao airport, in Loiu (Bizkaia), and the nearest alternatives to Hondarribia are located in Bilbao and Biarritz, across the border.
The investment is part of Aena's network planning, whose conservation and modernisation actions are outlined in the Aeronautical Regulation Document, the instrument through which the State determines the investments and rates of the manager. Aena is publicly traded, and its majority shareholder is Enaire, the state air navigation company, holding 51% of the capital.
The contract is published on Aena's contracting profile, which channels its tenders through the Public Sector Contracting Platform. With the publication of the tender, the phase for submitting offers by interested companies opens.
In the flight field, the project includes the expansion of the turning platforms at the heads, the installation of contact zone lights, and paving works over existing elements. The described scope corresponds to a renovation and modernisation of the aerodrome, not an expansion of its capacity.
Coordination with local institutions is crucial because the facility occupies land within the municipality of Hondarribia, near the mouth of the Bidasoa, and operates with a single runway, leaving no room to maintain activity during the closure. Autumn 2028 falls outside the peak tourist months on the Gipuzkoan coast, and the schedule reserves the rest of the works for the months before and after.
A key milestone will be the communication of the construction plan to airlines and service companies, which Aena has committed to providing with sufficient advance notice for them to reorganise their activities before autumn 2028.
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