The new international departures area at Seville International Airport (SVQ) for passengers travelling to countries outside the Schengen area inaugurated its services at the beginning of last week. The first travellers to use the renovated area boarded a flight bound for London, in the United Kingdom, a country that was never part of the Schengen Agreement.
This marked the completion of the extension works in the northern sector of the terminal, which had begun with the opening of the area for international arrivals from countries outside the border control-free area in November 2020.
The new facilities have five boarding gates, two of them with state-of-the-art boarding bridges; one is already operational, while the other will be inaugurated at the end of this month.
The space offers a vertical communication hub to optimise passenger movement and is expected to feature duty-free shopping in the coming months.
According to Aena, the Spanish public company that manages airports of general interest in the country, a new mixed boarding gate will soon be added which, depending on operational needs, may be enabled for flights to Schengen countries as well as to destinations outside these territories.
In addition, the new international departures area has two double manual documentation control posts and one for those cases in which the process is carried out through the six automatic biometric and fingerprint control equipment. It also offers improvements in the availability of electrical outlets and USB, and a space with work tables.
Future extension and modernisation works
According to the information provided by the airport management company, the expansion and modernisation work at Seville International Airport will now focus on the remodelling of the old pre-boarding corridor, the completion of the baggage reclaim hall, the installation of three remaining boarding bridges and the opening of new commercial shops.
The terminal expansion is part of a works plan for the Andalusian city’s airport launched in May 2019. The project also includes the optimisation of the single runway (a work already completed) and the refurbishment of the building’s power plant, which is currently underway. In total, the plan will require an investment of around 80 million euros.
See also: Aena wins one of Brazil’s latest airport crown jewels
