The currency of Gibraltar is the Gibraltar pound, issued by the Government of Gibraltar under the terms of the 1934 Currency Notes Act. These banknotes are legal tender in Gibraltar alongside Bank of England banknotes. In a currency board arrangement, these notes are issued against reserves of sterling. Clearing and settlement of funds is conducted in sterling.
Coins in circulation follow British denominations but have separate designs. Unofficially, most retail outlets in Gibraltar accept the euro, though some payphones and the Royal Gibraltar Post Office, along with all other government offices, do not.
Transportation:
Restrictions on transport introduced by Spanish dictator Francisco Franco closed the land frontier in 1969 and also prohibited any air or ferry connections. In 1982, the land border was reopened. As the result of an agreement signed in Córdoba on 18 September 2006 between Gibraltar, the United Kingdom and Spain, the Spanish government agreed to relax border controls at the frontier that have plagued locals for decades; in return, Britain paid increased pensions to Spanish workers who lost their jobs when Franco closed the border. Telecommunication restrictions were lifted in February 2007 and air links with Spain were restored in December 2006.
Motorists and pedestrians crossing the border with Spain are occasionally subjected to very long delays. Spain has occasionally closed the border during disputes or incidents involving the Gibraltar authorities, such as the Aurora cruise ship incident and when fishermen from the Spanish fishing vessel Piraña were arrested for illegal fishing in Gibraltar waters.
As of 2017, Gibraltar maintains regular flight connections with London (Heathrow, Gatwick & Luton), Manchester and Bristol in the UK, and with Casablanca and Tangier in Morocco.
GB Airways operated a service between Gibraltar and London and other cities for many years. The airline initially flew under the name “Gibraltar Airways”. In 1989, and in anticipation of service to cities outside the UK, Gibraltar Airways changed its name to GB Airways with the belief that a new name would incur fewer political problems. As a franchise, the airline operated flights in full British Airways livery. In 2007, GB Airways was purchased by easyJet, which began operating flights under their name in April 2008 when British Airways re-introduced flights to Gibraltar under their name. EasyJet have since added Bristol and Manchester and also operated flights to Liverpool between 2011 and 2012. Until entering administration in October 2017, Monarch Airlines operated the largest number of flights between the United Kingdom and Gibraltar, with scheduled services between Gibraltar and Luton, London Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester. The Spanish national airline, Iberia, operated a daily service to Madrid which ceased for lack of demand. In May 2009, Ándalus Líneas Aéreas opened a Spanish service, which also ceased operations in March 2010. An annual return charter flight to Malta is operated by Maltese national airline, Air Malta.
