Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI)
History, Facts and Overview

(Mallorca, Spain)

Early seaplanes were used for postal services during the 1920s, linking the island of Mallorca with the various Balearic Islands. At the beginning of the 1930s a flat area of ground next to Son Sant Joan was being used for flights and a small aerodrome was soon completed. By the late 1930s, services were operating between Mallorca Airport and notable Spanish cities, such as Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia.

The 1940s and early 1950s saw the Son Sant Joan Airport being used mainly for military flights and training, with commercial planes using the nearby Son Bonet aerodrome. However, this arrangement didn't last for long and in 1959, complete with an extended asphalt runway, it was decided by the Mallorca government that Son Sant Joan would become the island's only commercial airport and ambitious expansion plans were drawn up.


By the early sixties, Palma de Mallorca Airport was in full flow and now featured an even longer runway, new passenger terminal and modern communications centre. Serving over one million passengers in 1962, and more than double that just three years later, the facility soon became integral to the island's tourism industry.

The various facilities on offer at Palma de Mallorca Airport include shopping at Las Tiendas del Aeropuerto, ATMs, a convenient post office and a full service bank, complete with a bureau de change. Dining options are on-hand should you need a snack and include sandwiches and light pasties at the Café Laurentis, to simple Spanish style dishes at the Free Flow Mestral and Son Sant Joan restaurant.