Palma de Mallorca. The airport the yachts are waiting for.
Palma is the working capital of the Mediterranean superyacht fleet, and its airport behaves accordingly: a general aviation terminal open around the clock, room that Ibiza does not have, and a summer that still needs planning.
The airport
Palma at a glance
- CodesPMI / LEPASon Sant Joan, about 8 kilometres east of Palma, with the bay and the marinas a straight run along the coast. Operated by Aena.
- Runways and hoursTwo parallel runways, open 24 hoursBoth long enough for any category of business aircraft, and the general aviation terminal works around the clock as well.
- General aviation terminalIts own building, apart from the main terminalsWith customs and immigration on site and handling by companies including Mallorcair, Sky Valet and Aviapartner Executive. Your operator appoints the handler.
- Summer apron rulesReal, and worth knowing aboutFrom 1 April to 30 September a general or corporate aviation slot request must carry both the arrival and the departure, and it is not authorised until coordination confirms it.
From 1 June to 30 September, aircraft over about 20 metres in length are normally limited to seven days on the general aviation apron unless the airport gives specific approval. If an aircraft is staying with the boat for a fortnight, that is the rule your operator is working around.
Journey times
From the airport to the coast
| To | Quiet roads | July and August |
|---|---|---|
| Portixol, Molinar and the eastern seafront | 10 to 15 minutes | 15 to 25 minutes |
| Palma old town, Moll Vell and Club de Mar | 15 to 25 minutes | 25 to 40 minutes |
| Puerto Portals and Bendinat | 20 to 30 minutes | 30 to 45 minutes |
| Port Adriano and Santa Ponsa | 30 to 40 minutes | 40 to 55 minutes |
| Camp de Mar, Andratx and Port d'Andratx | 35 to 50 minutes | 45 to 65 minutes |
| Valldemossa and Deia | 40 to 55 minutes | 50 to 75 minutes |
| Soller and Port de Soller | 45 to 60 minutes | 55 to 80 minutes |
| Pollensa, Alcudia and Formentor | 50 to 70 minutes | 1 hour to 1 hour 40 |
Realistic ranges, not promises. The Ma-20 ring road around Palma is the pinch point and it slows on summer mornings and evenings. The north west coast road through Valldemossa and Deia is beautiful, narrow and slow, and it is not a road to rush. Cars on Mallorca are arranged through operators we know.
A yacht port with an airport attached
Why Palma works differently
Most Mediterranean airports are holiday airports with some yachts nearby. Palma is the other way round. The bay holds Club de Mar, Marina Port de Mallorca, Moll Vell and the STP yard, and a very large part of the charter and refit fleet spends part of the year here. That means the traffic through the general aviation terminal is not only owners and guests: it is captains, engineers, surveyors, yacht managers and crew, moving at unhelpful hours and in both directions.
For the person arranging a trip it is a gift. The terminal is open all night, customs and immigration are on site, and a crew change at two in the morning is an ordinary request rather than an exception. It also means the drive matters: a guest arrival at Club de Mar is twenty minutes, while a boat lying at Port Adriano or waiting off Andratx is the better part of an hour, and the difference is easy to miss when the booking says only Palma.
The other Palma habit worth knowing is the shoulder. The spring, when the fleet comes out of the yard and the boat show fills the bay, and late September, when the boats move back, are the two busiest weeks for ground transport on the island and neither of them is high summer. We plan those as peak.
Planning it well
What we ask about first
Six questions that decide the shape of a Palma movement.
- The marina and the berth, not just the yacht name. Club de Mar, Moll Vell, Port de Mallorca and Puerto Portals have different gates and different rules about how close a car can get
- Whether the car is for guests, for crew or for both. Crew moves are usually luggage heavy, off hours and best in a V-Class
- How long the aircraft is staying. Between 1 June and 30 September the apron rules bite on longer stays, and your operator may plan to reposition
- Whether anyone is going on to Ibiza or Menorca. The inter island hop is short by air and there are fast ferries, but in August both need booking
- The north west coast. Deia, Soller and Formentor are further and slower than the map suggests, and a late flight plus that drive makes a long night
- Provisioning and tender runs. If stores or crew need collecting at the same time as guests, tell us early and we will send two cars rather than one confused one
Onward
Around a Mallorca trip
Airports
Request a quote
Tell us the arrival
Date and time, tail number or operator, the handler, passengers and luggage, and the marina and berth or the address. Say whether the move is guests or crew. We come back with a clear price and an honest drive time. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Palma arrivals
Are these your own cars?
No. Our own fleet and our own chauffeurs are in London and Manchester. On Mallorca cars are arranged through operators we know, and one person at Odyssey holds both ends of the journey.
Is the general aviation terminal really open all night?
Yes. Palma handles executive traffic around the clock, which is why crew changes and very early departures are routine here and awkward elsewhere in the Balearics.
Can the car reach the yacht?
At most Palma marinas a car can reach the quay gate, and how much closer depends on the marina and on the day. Give us the berth and we will confirm the drop off point before you arrive.
Can you move crew as well as guests?
Yes, and we would rather do both. Crew moves at three in the morning are exactly the kind of job that goes wrong when it is arranged separately from the guest car.
Should we fly into Ibiza instead?
If the destination is an Ibiza villa, yes. If a yacht is involved, Palma is usually the easier field because of the hours, the space and the apron. See Ibiza.
Can you arrange the aircraft and the yacht?
Yes. See private jet charter, yacht charter and London to Palma.