History

Reus Airport's roots date back to 1935, when the newly founded Reus Flying Club decided to build a landing strip and acquired land to do so. The following year it was operating with two dirt runways measuring 1,100 by 60 metres and 850 by 25 metres, respectively. During the civil war, the land was also used to install one of the three aerodromes that were based near the city of Reus. The other two were located in Maspujol and Salou.

Following the war, Reus Airport continued to house military facilities on its grounds, although it also opened to civil traffic. In 1952, a compact runway was built measuring 2,200 by 45 metres (replacing the larger of the existing dirt strips), along with a parallel taxiway.

In 1957, Reus opened to domestic air traffic, and the 1960s marked the beginning of generalised charter flights, which meant that the airport was constantly being adapted to the new needs. In 1974, the passenger terminal was built, along with a commercial aircraft apron, which was extended in 1976. The terminal was also enlarged in 1978, 1979 and 1988.

In October 1998, the armed forces abandoned all of the military facilities on the airport grounds, except for a small aircraft apron. Since then, Reus Airport has served civil aviation exclusively. Low-cost airline operations began in 2003 and the airport saw traffic levels grow significantly, exceeding one million passengers for the first time in 2004.

In order to tackle the airport's growth, Aena has undertaken a series of measures to improve and extend its facilities. In 2005 a new arrivals building came into operation and in 2008 a new check-in terminal was built, combining the three buildings (arrivals, check-in and departures) into one. In 2010, the new boarding area was inaugurated and, in 2021, the terminal expansion works of the functional design were completed.