Malaga Airport is on course for a record-breaking year for passenger traffic

Malaga Airport achieved a historic milestone in August, recording its best-ever performance with over 2.4 million passengers passing through its terminals.

This figure reflects an impressive 18% increase compared to the previous year and is nearly ten points higher than the record set in 2019. The airport's success contributed to a total of almost fifteen million passengers in the first eight months of the year, marking a 21.5% YoY increase and a 9.3% surge compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Positioning itself as the fourth most crucial airport in Spain, following Madrid, Barcelona, and Palma de Mallorca, Malaga Airport stands out for its remarkable growth rate, surpassing the national average. Notably, Aena airports achieved a record-breaking 29.8 million passengers in August, reflecting a 9.5% YoY increase and a 1.4% rise compared to 2019. The positive trend extends to the accumulated figures for the first eight months of the year, with Spain's airports recording 189 million passengers—an 18.7% increase from 2022 and a 1.2% rise compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Among the top four airports, only Malaga and Palma de Mallorca have fully recovered their pre-Covid-19 levels, while Madrid and Barcelona continue to experience declines of 3.5% and 7.2%, respectively.

Aena attributes Malaga Airport's success to its robust performance in both domestic and international traffic, with a daily average of 78,034 passengers. International flights recorded a notable 18.9% increase, carrying 2,007,783 users, while domestic traffic demonstrated a significant 13.1% growth.

Breaking down the international traffic, the British market led with 615,754 passengers, followed by Germany (187,250), France (120,567), Ireland (115,610), and Italy (112,884). Moreover, arrivals from Portugal doubled, and traffic with Morocco experienced a noteworthy 50.2% growth.

The bustling activity wasn't confined to the terminals, as the runways saw a surge of 16,945 flights in August, marking an 11.8% increase from the same period in 2022. The busiest day of the month, August 6, saw 84,371 passengers, while the control tower and runways experienced their peak on August 20, with 583 landings and take-offs.