It might come as a surprise that there is an airport named after the largest country in the world without an airport- Andorra – but it is located outside the borders of this nation. The Andorra–La Seu d’Urgell Airport (LEU) is located in Catalonia, Spain. Andorra Airlines, a carrier headquartered in Barcelona is one of the airlines that operates flights to this airport eponymously named after the microstate that is Andorra. But why does this nation, where around eight million tourists visit each year, have no airport within its borders? Let’s find out.
Andorra is one of the five nations without an airport
Vatican City is the smallest nation in the world without an airport. This nation that is lodged inside Rome in Italy is merely 0.49 squared kilometers in area – it is merely 0.6 miles long and around 0.5 miles wide. The runway of Heathrow, one of the busiest airports in the world, is around 2.8 miles long. To put the smallness of Vatican City into perspective, the runway of the Lukla Airport, which is considered to be the most dangerous airport is around 0.32 miles. The length of the smallest country in the world is comparable to the length of one remotely located Short Takeoff and Landing STOLport.
But why would a nation as large as Andorra, spanning 468 km² (180 m²), having a population of 71,822 not have an airport? If Andorra was undergoing a political strife, as is the case with Palestine, we might get a sense of the geopolitics that renders the construction of an aerodrome here impossible. The answer lies in the complex geography of the nation.
Photo: Tiia Monto | Wikimedia Commons
Andorra’s complex geography has made the construction of an airport difficult
While Andorra’s size might be muscular* (in comparison to the Vatican City), it is dwarfed by the two nations that landlock it – France and Spain (much in the same way the country Nepal, which is home to the most dangerous airport in the world, is sandwiched by India and China). And very much like Nepal, which is home to the most wonderful peaks of the Himalayas (including Everest, the tallest peak in the world, and where a helicopter once landed) Andorra is home to the Pyrenees, which “form a high wall between France and Spain; generally, the crest of the range marks the boundary between the two countries”.
*Andorra’s name might be derived from Andosins, an Iberian Pre-Roman tribe. The word Andosini itself possibly a derivative of a Basque word “handia” meaning “big” or “giant”.
The average elevation of Andorra is 1,996 metres (6,549 ft), with Coma Pedrosa, which is perched at an altitude of 2,946 metres (9,665 ft), marking the highest peak in Andorra. The mountains of Andorra make it a stunning skiing destination. The ruggedness of the mountains make it difficult to build a full-fledged airport.
.jpg){kind=link}
However, there might be more to the picture. After all, the Everest region in Nepal is home to many airports- the first of which was constructed in the 1060s. Sir Edmund Hillary, the person who first scaled the Everest constructed the Mingbo Airstrip at an altitude of nearly 15,000 ft, and Pilatus Porters would land at this extreme airport.
There are other airports in the Everest region, such as the Phaplu airport (which pilots consider to be more technically difficult than Lukla Airport), Syangboche Airport, and even Kangeldanda Airport. When a helicopter landed at the top of Mount Everest (8,848 meters), the Airbus A350B3 made quite a dashing name for itself, so much so that almost all helicopter operators in Nepal made a switch to the A350. So the geography of Andorra, on its own, might not be sufficient to explain the absence of airport in this nation.
[However, we do have to keep in mind that the area of Andorra is almost eight times smaller than the Solukhumbu, the district that houses the Everest region].
But Andorra has expressed the desire to construct an airport
One option Andorra has is to open small airports (as is the case in the Everest region) that accommodate private planes and give itself to luxury tourism- after all, cashing in a fraction of the eight million tourists who make it to the nation as luxury tourists would be open to premium flying. However, the government of Andorra has set its sights on something grander. In 2021, the Andorra Chamber of Commerce and Industry expressed its desire to construct an airport near Pas-de-la-Case. It was projected that the airport could handle half a million passengers per year. The airport, which would be located at an altitude of 2,000 meters, would also be one of the highest in Europe. According to Rosemont International, the project was expected to be launched in 2024 or 2025:
“Several steps still need to be taken to get the approval of the Andorran government, such as the environmental study that will be carried out in the next few months – although the impact will be very limited as the airport will use existing roads and 44% of the budget will be spent on rehabilitating the area once the work is completed. An economic study will also be carried out, and several international companies have already expressed interest in taking over the airport concession and part of the construction costs (estimated at €344 million).”
The aforementioned plans to open an airport in Andorra had come after Covid-19, which brought the world of travel to a standstill, affecting the economy of this microstate that is heavily dependent on tourism. Further, some reports also show that the snow line in Andorra is receding, calling into question the long-term viability of snow activities in the nation.
There are heliports in Andorra, though
Despite an absence of airports, Andorra is home to a few heliports:
- Andorra la Vella Heliport (IATA code “ALV”) has an absence of regular passenger flights, but people can book taxi flights from Spain and France.
- Heliport Terra Guindalde located in La Massana- a parish in the northwest of the nation.
- A heliport in Arsinal, a village that is half an hour’s drive from Andorra’s border to Spain.
Andorra-La Seu d’Urgell (LEU) – the closest airport to Andorra
In 1982, the La Seu d’Urgell airfield opened in Barcelona. Until 2008, it only saw private aircraft operations. In 2008, the government of Catalonia bought 85% of the airport’s land, and thus the Pirineus–La Seu d’Urgell Airport came into existence, with the reopening for public operations taking place on 4 June 2010. Only 1,751 flights took place during the first year, with the passenger number being around 3,000. Following a financial investment in the airport by the government of Andorra, the Catalan government and the Principality of Andorra, jointly renamed it Andorra–La Seu d’Urgell Airport.
| Runway direction | 03/21 |
| Runway length | 4,157 feet |
| Runway surface | Asphalt |
In 2021, Air Nostrum started twice-weekly commercial operations between Madrid Barajas (MAD) and Andorra-La Seu d’Urgell on its ATR 72s [ATR 72 is the aircraft type that was lost in the crash of Yeti Airlines Flight 691]. Iberia also has seasonal services between Palma de Mallorca International Airport (PMI) and LEU.
Some other reasons why Andorra might not have air operations
At the heart of the absence of flights in Andorra is its difficult topography. But one other factor might hinder the nation;s plan to have an airport of its own is the ban on short-haul flying. In 2023, France put a ban on “domestic flights for journeys possible in less than two-and-a-half hours by train”. One can see the evolution of such a law in the backdrop of movements such as Tagskryt and Flygskam, which encouraged people to take more trains, and reduce the CO2 emissions from air transport. After all, reports published in the yesteryears showed that operating a global fleet of 500 supersonic aircraft like the Concorde would increase the likelihood of certain types of skin cancer by as much as 2%.
Tågskryt: Was it Just A Social Media Trend Against Aviation?
As one can reach Andorra from LEU in approximately half an hour by land transport, some people might wonder if Andorra needs an airport of its own.