The airport was first established as a temporary military airport during the Spanish Civil War, and it remained open after the conflict for use as an emergency airport. In 1949, the site was used to operate some domestic and international tourist flights, but it was closed in 1951. 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 neighbouring Mallorca. The airport reopened on 1 April 1958 with the first destinations during that year including Palma, Barcelona, Valencia and Madrid. On 15 July 1966, Ibiza Airport reopened to international traffic and customs with 24-hour operation. This allowed the arrival of the first international flights. 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. The airport plans to open direct flights to the United States in the future.