Tenerife South Airport (TFS)

The terminal at Tenerife South Airport

Tenerife South Airport (TFS) is in the south of the island, at the heart of the tourist area. Its operator, Aena, opened it to domestic civil traffic on 23 October 1978 — the first plane, an Iberia DC-9, landed at 10:17 — the international flights followed on 2 November, and Queen Sofía attended the official inauguration on 6 November of that year; the airport passed a million passengers in its first year. One passenger terminal serves the airport, and most of its traffic is international: Aena says the United Kingdom and Germany together make up more than half of it, with Manchester, London Gatwick, London Stansted, Birmingham and Bristol the busiest routes of the United Kingdom, and the domestic flights mainly to Madrid, Málaga, Gran Canaria and Barcelona.

The check-in desks are on the ground floor, and your desk and your gate are on the information screens, because the airport makes no public-address announcements about boarding gates or their changes. The airport operates around the clock, but the terminal is closed to the public from 23:00 to 4:00: in those hours only employees and passengers enter, and the passengers only in the two hours before the scheduled departure of their flight.

Airlines at Tenerife South Airport

Aena's airline directory says there is a total of 48 airlines that operate at Tenerife South Airport, and names them: Aer Lingus, Air Baltic, Air Canada, Air Serbia, Atlantic Airways, Austrian Airlines, BA Euroflyer, Binter Canarias, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Condor, Copenhagen Airtaxi, Discover Airlines, easyJet, easyJet Europe, Edelweiss, Enter Air, Eurowings, Finnair, Getjet Airlines, Iberia, Icelandair, Jet Time, Jet2.com, Luxair, Marabu Airlines, Neos, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Norwegian Air Sweden, Royal Air Maroc, Ryanair, Ryanair UK, Scandinavian Airlines, Smartwings, Sunclass Airlines, TAP Portugal, Transavia, Travel Service Polska, TUI Airlines Nederland, TUI Airways, TUI fly Belgium, TUIfly, TUIfly Nordic, Volotea, Vueling Airlines, Wizz Air Hungary and Wizz Air Malta.

The directory shows the same terminal for every airline except Air Canada and Air Serbia, for which the airport publishes no terminal. After the security checkpoint, the screens tell you which gate your flight leaves from.

Getting to and from Tenerife South Airport

Five Titsa bus lines serve the terminal, all from floor 0 of the arrivals: the line 343 runs directly to Tenerife North Airport with no stops in 50 minutes; the line 10 runs to Santa Cruz, through Cruce Caletillas and Cruce San Isidro; the line 40 runs to Los Cristianos and Costa Adeje Station; the night line 711 runs from Santa Cruz through the airport and Los Cristianos to Costa Adeje; and the line 415 runs to El Fraile and San Isidro. The information number is (+34) 922 531 300, from 8:00 to 22:00.

The taxi rank is on floor 0, in the arrivals, and Aena says to always take a taxi from the signed rank and to avoid the taxi drivers offering services from other areas; the information numbers are (+34) 922 397 074 and (+34) 922 397 475. The car hire companies of the airport — AutoReisen, Cicar, Europcar, Goldcar, Hertz, Record Go and TopCar — have their desks on floor 0 and floor 1, some of them also in the exterior of the terminal building.

Tenerife South Airport with children

The airport has dedicated security checkpoints for passengers travelling with children, on floor 1 of the public area, so your family does not wait in the general queue. Aena's families page documents no play areas and no breastfeeding rooms at this terminal: that lane is the airport's own service for the families.

The assistance service for people with reduced mobility also covers the minors, who must be accompanied, because it is not a guard and custody service: Aena asks for the request at least 48 hours before the scheduled departure, recommends arriving two and a half hours before the flight and reaching the meeting point at least two hours before. The airport also has accessible toilets throughout, toilets adapted for people with ostomies on floor 1, signposted meeting points, and the badge for people with hidden disabilities.

Plan your stop at Tenerife South Airport

The airport publishes no general arrival rule: the only access rule is the night closing — from 23:00 to 4:00 you enter only in the two hours before your flight — and the recommendation of the assistance service is to arrive two and a half hours before. Most airlines let you check in online, the check-in desks are on the ground floor, and the Fast Lane serves the preferential passengers of the airlines and the passengers who buy access. Your boarding pass is checked before the security checkpoint, and after it the screens give your gate, because the airport makes no announcements about the gates or their changes.

On arrival, follow the signs to the hall of your flight: the airport has two baggage reclaim halls with 14 carousels, and the passengers from outside the Schengen area go through passport control. Keep your passport and any form you filled in on the plane with you from the aircraft door to the exit, and ask the embassy or the consulate of every country on your route which documents your family needs to enter it.

Plan your visit to Tenerife South

• Tenerife South travel guide

Sources

• Reference source — aena.es (checked 23 October 2026)
• Reference source — aena.es (checked 23 October 2026)
• Reference source — aena.es (checked 23 October 2026)
• Reference source — aena.es (checked 23 October 2026)
• Reference source — aena.es (checked 23 October 2026)
• Reference source — aena.es (checked 23 October 2026)
• Reference source — aena.es (checked 23 October 2026)
• Reference source — aena.es (checked 23 October 2026)
• Reference source — aena.es (checked 23 October 2026)
• Reference source — aena.es (checked 23 October 2026)
• Reference source — aena.es (checked 23 October 2026)
• Reference source — aena.es (checked 23 October 2026)
• Reference source — aena.es (checked 23 October 2026)