Santiago-Rosalía de Castro Airport (SCQ) is the main airport serving Galicia in northwestern Spain. If you are walking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route, chances are you will either arrive at Santiago or leave from its airport.
The airport is located 13 km northeast of Santiago de Compostela. It is the busiest airport in Galicia.
In 2025, SCQ handled just over 3 million passengers, making it one of the top 20 airports in Spain.
Major Airlines - Vueling
Only four airlines use Santiago de Compostela Airport year-round:
Vueling - With over 500 flights per month and serving more than a dozen destinations, this is SCQ’s largest airline.
Ryanair - The low-cost giant offers flights between Santiago, the Canary Islands, and London-Stansted throughout the year.
Iberia - The Spanish flag carrier connects SCQ with Bilbao and Madrid.
easyJet - Offers low-cost flights to Basel and Geneva in Switzerland.
Traffic increases in the summer. The airlines above add more routes and new airlines, like Aer Lingus, KLM, and Lufthansa, start flying holidaymakers and pilgrims to Santiago.
United Airlines offers a seasonal route between Newark (EWR) and Santiago de Compostela, the airport’s longest.
Click here for the live departure board at Santiago-Rosalía de Castro Airport.
Terminal Layout and Gates
Santiago de Compostela Airport has just one terminal for all flights. It is spread over two levels:
Ground Floor (Planta 0): Arrivals, Baggage Reclaim, exits to curbside, where various ground transportation options exist.
First Floor (Planta 1): Departures, 22 check-in counters plus self-service check-in kiosks, Security, Immigration, and a general departures lounge with shops, restaurants, and 15 Gates.
Even the farthest gates are just a 5-minute walk away from the central Security checkpoint.
The terminal opens at 5:30 AM and closes around 11:00 PM every day. Staying inside overnight is not allowed.
Free Wi-Fi and other services
Free WiFi is available in all public areas of the terminal. To connect, select the “Airport Free Wifi Aena” network on your device.
Enter your email address on the splash welcome page to receive a verification code, then use it to verify and authenticate your account. After that, you may use the Wi-Fi without interruptions.
Other passenger services at SCQ include:
ATMs: Abanca and Euronet have cash machines on Floor 0 and Floor 1 of the terminal.
Luggage storage: Available near the Security Checkpoint on Level 1 from 5:30 AM to 9:30 PM. There are large lockers and a bicycle storage area. This service costs 5.80 EUR per day.
Tourist Information Desk: Located in the Arrivals Hall on Level 0.
Children’s play areas: One on Floor 0 in the Arrivals Hall and one in the Boarding Area on Floor 1.
Pushchairs for children and babies: Available for free next to the Security Checkpoint to be used in the Boarding Area and left off next to your gate.
Drinking water: Several free-to-use water fountains are installed in various places throughout the terminal.
Medical care: First aid and emergency services are located on Floor 1, Departures.
Waiting and rest areas: One in each boarding area A and B.
Lounges at Santiago de Compostela Airport
There is only one lounge at Santiago-Rosalía de Castro Airport - a Salas VIP Lounge located on Floor 1 in Boarding Area A, near Gates 6 and 7. It is airside, after Security, but accepts passengers on both Schengen and non-Schengen flights.
The lounge is open from 6 AM to 10 PM daily. You may use Priority Pass or other lounge membership programs to enter or pay the entrance fee of 33.90 EUR for a 3-hour pass.
Inside, there is catering, including for special diets and alcoholic drinks, workstations, reading materials, children’s play areas, and more.
Dining Options at SCQ
Santiago de Compostela Airport doesn’t offer a massive array of options when it comes to dining, but the variety is reasonably good.
There are several cafés, bars, and restaurants, where you can try Galician pastries, such as Tarta de Santiago, and Spanish staples such as bocadillos, tortilla española, and tapas.
The best dining options at SCQ are:
Bertiz: A homemade bakery/café, with top-quality ingredients. Open from 7:00 AM to 3:50 PM on Floor 1 of Departures, airside.
El Colmado: The place to go to taste traditional products from Galicia. Open from 4:15 AM to 10:00 PM on Floor 1 of Departures, landside.
Estrella Galicia: A bar that also serves a wide variety of Galician and Spanish products. Open from 5:00 AM to 10:50 PM on Floor 1 of Departures, airside.
GourMed: Sells many regional and artisan products on Floor 1 of Departures, airside. Open depending on flight schedules.
Kopp: A cafe where you can also buy sandwiches, salads, desserts, and snacks. Open from 7:00 AM to 10:50 PM on Floor 0 of Arrivals, landside.
Semba: Offers coffee, hot and cold filled rolls, sandwiches, salads, and more. Located on Floor 1 of Departures, landside. Open from 5:00 AM to 9:50 PM.
There is also one Relay and one WHSmith convenience store where you can buy essentials, snacks, and drinks.
Transport to and from the airport
If you’d like to reach the city by public transport, use the Line 6A bus operated by Tralusa. This bus connects SCQ with Plaza de Galicia in the city center, as well as the main bus and train stations. The bus has a frequency of 20-30 minutes, with the last bus from the airport at 00:30 AM and the first bus from the city at 6:00 AM. Tickets cost just 1 EUR, purchasable from the driver in cash only.
A notable intercity bus is the XG802 line service to Lugo, which runs every 2 hours between 6 AM (8 AM on weekends) and 8 PM. It costs 9.20 EUR.
Santiago de Compostela Airport has a permanent taxi rank in front of Arrivals. A journey to the historic center generally takes around 20 minutes and costs a flat rate of 22 EUR.
Rental cars are particularly useful if you’d like to explore wider Galicia, including A Coruña, Lugo, Pontevedra, and destinations on the Atlantic coastline. You will find car rental companies’ kiosks, including Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, and Hertz in the Arrivals Hall.
Hotels near Santiago-Rosalía de Castro Airport
There are no true airport hotels near SCQ. The nearest properties are about 3-4 kilometers away in the villages of Albarde and A Lavacolla.
For example, affordable hotels there include the 1-star motel Hotel Garcas and the 3-star hotel Ruta Jacobea
Santiago de Compostela is just about 20 minutes away. Most travelers and pilgrims stay there because there are a lot more hotels to choose from. Hotels such as NH Collection Santiago de Compostela and Parador de Santiago de Compostela are well-rated options.
Santiago De Compostela, Spain
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