[1] As the island is a major European holiday destination, it features both year-round domestic services and several dozen seasonal routes to cities across Europe.

It was not until 1958 that work commenced to re-open the airport in reaction to the rapid development of the tourist market in the Balearic Islands, particularly in neighboring Majorca.

The airport reopened on 1 April 1958 with the first destinations during that year including Palma, Barcelona, Valencia and Madrid.

The airport has expanded progressively over the subsequent decades with runway, taxiway, apron and terminal enhancements designed to cope with the growing air tourist market, which, by the late 1990s, was generating over 3.6 million passengers a year at the airport.

In 2011, the airport provisionally handled over 5.6 million passengers and around 61,000 aircraft movements, an increase of 11.9% and 8.4% respectively compared with 2010.