TENERIFE REINA SOFIA AIRPORT (TFS) INFORMATION

Tenerife South is a public airport serving the island of Tenerife, which is one of the famous Canary Islands of Spain. The airport was previously known as the Reina Sofia, as Queen Sofia of Spain inaugurated it on November 6, 1978. The South has the official code of TFS, and its ICAO code is listed as GCTS. It is one of two airports on the island of Tenerife, supporting the majority of international air traffic, while its counterpart, the North, handles mainly inter-island and domestic traffic to the other Canary Islands and airports on the Spanish mainland. The South is located on the southern coastline of the island, in the municipality of Granadilla de Abona.

Arrivals and Departures at South Tenerife Airport

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Tenerife is the largest of the seven Canary Islands, and is located in the center of the Canaries. Just east of Tenerife is another large island, known as Gran Canaria, and further east is Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. To the west lies the smaller island of La Gomera, as well as El Hierro and La Palma. Each of the islands are very popular holiday destinations, and their airports are very important gateways for millions of tourists every year. Tenerife South handled over 11 million passengers in 2017, and together with the North, handles the largest number of passenger movements on the Canary Islands. Tenerife's southern airport is strategically positioned along the coastline, and is nearby to many of the most well visited tourist resorts, such as the Playa de las Américas, just 20 km away. The location is also nearby Arona, and close to Morocco.

There are many car rental companies at South  Tenerife Airport as well as traditional forms of airport transfers.

Passengers arriving can easily travel the whole island, as even the northern areas of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the island's capital, is only 60 km, or 37 miles from the airport. The district of San Cristobal de la Laguna and Puerto de la Cruz are other very popular areas towards the north of the island. The major motorway of the TF-1 provides direct access to Tenerife South, and runs all the way up the eastern coastline of the island, to Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is then linked to Tenerife North Airport and other areas in the north by the TF-5 motorway. Motorists with a satellite navigation system can use the coordinates of 28°02′40″N 016°34′21″W in order to more easily locate Tenerife South.

Tenerife South Airport is served by a number of well-known low cost airline carriers, such as Ryanair, Air Berlin, Easyjet and Germanwings, and these companies offer flights to destinations such as Barcelona, Liverpool, London-Luton, London-Stansted, Cork, Pisa, Manchester, Cologne/Bonn, Edinburgh, Munich and Hamburg. There are also a number of charter airline companies in operation, including Thomas Cook Airlines, Thomson Airways, Travel Service and Monarch. The airline companies which fly to Spain and to the other Canary Islands are Air Europa, Binter Canarias, Iberia, Islas Airways, Neos, Niki and Orbest, while additional airline companies serving the South include Air France, Aer Lingus, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Jet2.com and Jetairfly, among many others.

The airport is relatively new, built in the late 1970's, and was requested for construction by the island authorities as the then current airport of the island, Tenerife North, suffered from various technical problems due to adverse weather conditions. In the 1970's, an accident, which was later reported to be the worst recorded in aviation history, occurred on the runway of Tenerife North, when a PanAm aircraft and a KLM Boeing 747 collided, and killed 583 people. The accident was primarily due to the regular foggy conditions that occur at the site, and therefore, shortly after the incident, authorities applied for a new airport to be built along the southern coastline, which would advert conditions of poor visibility. In 1977, the South had a control tower, terminal building and taxiways, and the first flight landed in November of 1978.

Since the airport opened, passenger traffic grew at a rapid pace, and in the year 2000, Tenerife South already handled just over nine million passengers. From 2002, passenger numbers decreased to end off the year 2008 with just over eight million passengers. 2009 saw another drop in passenger figures, to just over seven million, but the most recent year ended on a more positive note, with 11,249,329 passengers. Currently, the destination has approximately 51,000 aircraft movements per annum, and also handles around 4,000 tonnes of cargo.

Tenerife South is operated by the Spanish Authorities known as Aena Aeropuertos. This company is also one of the leading airport operators in the world, and manages a total of 47 airports and 2 heliports in Spain, as well as participates in the management of a further 28 ones in other locations worldwide. As with all Spanish airports operated by Aena, Tenerife South is known to offer very efficient services, and a terminal building that is well equipped with all essential facilities required by its passengers. The single terminal building is accessible for disabled passengers, and offers banking and currency exchange services, a VIP lounge, meeting rooms for hire, a post office and a chapel in the public area. There are also plenty of shops and restaurants ideal for the needs of all passengers.

The larger airport on the island of Tenerife has a departure hall of 10,800 square meters, with a capacity of 3,000 passengers, and a total of 87 check-in desks, while arriving passengers will enter via one of eight airbridges, and collect their baggage from one of the fourteen baggage reclaim carousels. There are two baggage reclaim areas at the airport, each with seven baggage carousels. Further details regarding the services at Tenerife South Airport are available from the various information desks within the terminal building.

We have provided the alternative format GPS location which are as follows 28.04444, -16.57250 to help either your arrival directions to Sur Reina Sofia or perhaps give you directions from Sur Reina Sofia to your chosen destination.

Hotels near South Tenerife Airport

There are a number of hotels to suit all budgets and requirements at or near South Tenerife Airport.

Parking at South Tenerife Airport

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Additional Services and Amenities at South Tenerife Airport

At South Tenerife Airport you will find the usual array of bars and restaurants, airport lounges and shops.

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• Plan your shopping in advance - see all the shops (including duty-free) at South Tenerife Airport

Things to do in South Tenerife

There are a number of activities to suit all ages and interests in the region - see a selection of tourist activities in South Tenerife, Spain.