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Valencia Airport in Manises, also known as Manises Airport, is the 8th busiest Spanish airport in terms of passengers and second in the region after Alicante. It is situated west of the city of Valencia. The airport has flight connections to about 15 European countries and 5.7 million passengers passed through the airport in 2008. The airport has one terminal and one runway. The former runway 04/22 is not in use and has no ILS but has a helipad at the southwestern end. Valencia airport is situated adjacent to the Autovía A-3 highway which connects Valencia with Madrid and is also close to the Autovía A-7 coastal route to Barcelona. It is also well served by public transport. It is connected to Valencia by a regular bus line (MetroBus) which takes 45 minutes, while the shuttle service (Aerobus) to city centre takes only 20 minutes. The metro network (lines 3 and 5) also connect the airport to the city center (15 minutes), the Railway Station and the Port. A new regional terminal, expanded car parking facilities and apron area have been recently constructed in time for the 2007 America's Cup. The runway has been also lengthened by 50 m (164 ft 0.6 in). It is the main base of Iberia’s regional carrier Air Nostrum. Irish low-cost airline Ryanair used the airport as a hub since 2007 but decided to close it in November 2008 following a row over subsidies by the airport authorities. |