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The airport in El Altet in Alicante province closed to air traffic at 13.00 on Sunday and will remain without flights until at least 13.00 on Monday, affecting 190 scheduled flights. Passengers scheduled to fly in or out should check the status of their flights with their airline.

 

25 incoming and 19 outgoing flights were diverted to the nearest neighbouring airport of Corvera, in the Murcia municipality, which will remain open until 1am to process the diverted flights.

 

The El Altet airport was closed earlier in the week by fire in one of the departure areas of the terminal building and although the airport had fully resumed normal services on Thursday, the terminal building was damaged and the strong winds constituted a potential safety risk for staff and passengers; had the fire not occurred, airport operator Aena maintains that there would have been no need to close the airport due to the strong winds generated by storm Gloria, but given the combination of the two factors and the fact that the airport operator had not been able to fully repair the damage, the decision was taken to close the airport completely for 24 hours and divert all flights.

 

114 flights were diverted on Sunday, with a further 76 rescheduled for Monday, passengers diverted to a number of other airports including Corvera Murcia and Valencia.

 

Passengers and those planning to meet incoming passengers should consult the official airline sites for information about where the flights have been diverted to, and anticipated transfer times for passengers using onward transportation after landing in alternative airports.