The Basque terror group ETA yesterday carried out its threat to target tourists as part of its bloody war for independence.
Only good fortune prevented carnage a when massive car bomb was planted in an underground car park at Malaga airport - gateway to the Costa del Sol.
The bomb, about 130 pounds of dynamite, was discovered just 15 minutes before an anonymous caller said it would detonate.
Then experts worked for more than five hours to defuse the device that had been found inside a suitcase in a stolen Peugeot car.
It was not immediately known if the bomb had a faulty detonator or was to have been activated by remote control by a terrorist who failed to carry out orders.
The airport was reduced to chaos while the bomb disposal team worked. The main terminal was evacuated, and roads leading into and out of the facility were closed.
Police moved in after a caller claiming to represent ETA rang an ambulance station in San Sebastian, north east Spain, at around 0600 BST and said there was a car bomb at Malaga airport and it would explode in an hour.
In Barcelona early today, a powerful explosion destroyed a bank branch in the city-centre, police said.