Cercadas Ferdinand Magellan Airport

Cercadas Ferdinand Magellan Airport (IATA: CER, ICAO: NHEC), colloquially known as Cercadas Airport or Alcarva Airport is a major international airport in Cercadas, Herendoland, located 15.3 km (9.5 mi) north of downtown Cercadas in the suburb of Alcarva. It is the busiest airport in the East Cercadas Region and Herendoland as a whole, handling 33.8 million passengers in the 2018-19 season.

The airport serves as the hub of Herendoland’s flag carrier Herendish Airways and also houses maintenance facilities for the airline’s long-haul fleet. The airport is currently served by three runways, the latest was completed in 2018.

History
In the mid 1940s, it became apparent that the existing civilian airport could not be expanded further as development began to sprawl in the western suburbs of Cercadas. Meanwhile, the military air base of FAH Alcarva was deemed redundant after the end of World War II and was at the verge of being abandoned completely as it was in a dilapidated state, which could potentially lower land prices if the land was not developed enough.

To resolve capacity problems at Eiró, Herendish authorities decided to acquire the entire air base in Alcarva from the Herendish Air Force in 1946. The original barracks and some hangars were demolished to make way for a passenger terminal, which was completed in 1949. On April 20, 1949, the civil airport at Alcarva was officially opened, and the old airport at Eiró became a general aviation airport until finally closing its doors four decades later.

By the 1960s, with new jet aircraft beginning to service Herendoland, the runways were quickly expanded. The annual passenger traffic also surged as Cercadas became a popular summer destination for tourists in Australia, therefore work began on a new international terminal in 1963. The new terminal was completed and opened by then-King of Herendoland Carlos IV on February 23, 1968.

In 1971, the existing runway was extended to accommodate new wide-body airliners such as the, followed by the opening of a second runway parallel to the first three years later. In September 1979, the 1949 terminal was torn down and replaced by the new $1.6 million Terminal 2, which served domestic flights. The site of the original terminal was later occupied by Terminal 3, another domestic terminal, in 1988.

On February 4, 1980, the airport was renamed in honour of Portuguese explorer, on the 500th anniversary of his birth. Attempts to rename the airport had surfaced in the 1970s, although all of them were eventually rejected.

In 1999, construction of a new Metro Cercadas line to the airport began and opened in 2004 as the Line A. The terminals were also reconsolidated in 2003, with the newly renovated Terminal 1 renamed as the International Terminal and Terminals 2 and 3 merged to form the Domestic Terminal alongside the opening of a new retail connector.

In November 2011, both runways at the airport were almost at full capacity. PANA Herendoland, the state-owned holding company that operates Cercadas Ferdinand Magellan Airport, awarded the contract to reclaim land for the third runway to Japanese construction firm and preliminary works commenced the following year. The third runway opened for air traffic in October 2018.

Terminals
Cercadas Ferdinand Magellan Airport is divided into two terminals, International and Domestic. The domestic terminal was originally two separate terminals before they were merged in 2003 when a connecting walkway between the terminals opened.

International Terminal
The International Terminal, formerly Terminal 1, was opened on February 23, 1968 to reduce congestion on the existing 1949 terminal. The terminal has 32 gates across three piers:


 * Pier A (gates A1-A12) opened as part of the original terminal in 1968 and was expanded with four new gates as part of a major renovation in 2002. Pier A is mainly used by members and non-aligned airlines.
 * Pier B (gates B1-B12) opened as part of the original terminal in 1968 and was expanded with four new gates as part of a major renovation in 2002. Pier B is mainly used by members.
 * Pier C (gates C1-C8) serves as the main hub for all international Herendish Airways flights (except southern Australia and New Zealand).

As part of extensive works to revitalise the airport, the then-named Terminal 1 underwent a staggered renovation and expansion project beginning in 1996. Stage One, which completed major renovation works to the main terminal and piers A and B, opened on September 27, 2002. Pier C was inaugurated on December 1, 2003 as part of Stage Two.

Domestic Terminal
The Domestic Terminal was formed as a result of the merger of two existing domestic terminals. Terminal 2 was originally opened in 1979 and served as the main hub for domestic Herendish Airways flights, while Terminal 3 opened in 1988 for all other domestic airlines to reduce congestion on the latter. Both terminals were merged to form a combined domestic terminal (Terminal 2 became Hall D and Terminal 3 became Hall E), concurrently with the opening of a pedestrian walkway connecting the former terminals with four retail spaces opened in August 2003.

The terminal has a total of 45 gates (gates D1-D30 and E1-E15). Hall D is served by domestic Herendish Airways flights, as well as flights to southern Australia and New Zealand which use gates D6-D10, D13 and D14. Hall E is used by other regional carriers.

In early 2014, Hall D was temporarily closed for a major rebuilding project while Hall E underwent major renovation works, in an effort to simplify the terminal layout. The connector was demolished as a result and the new Hall D subsequently gained one new gate. The works were completed in November 2017.

Public transport
The airport has two railway stations, Airport West and Airport East, both of which are served by line A of Metro Cercadas. Airport West station is located in between Halls D and E of the Domestic Terminal, while Airport East station is situated underneath the International Terminal.