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Date Published: 14/08/2026

Spanish airports hit new July record as Alicante passenger numbers soar

More than 34 million passengers travelled through Spanish airports in July with Alicante among the fastest-growing major airports

Spain's airports had their busiest July on record, with 34.4 million passengers passing through Aena's Spanish network during the height of the summer travel season.

The figure is 5% higher than July 2025, although the rate of growth has slowed slightly compared with earlier in the year.

For expats living in Spain, there was particularly good news at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport, where passenger numbers jumped by 11.1% compared with last July.

Alicante handled 2.34 million passengers during the month, putting it among the fastest-growing major airports in the country. Valencia also recorded an 11.1% increase, reaching 1.25 million passengers.

The figures underline just how busy Spain's airports have become during the summer holiday period, with millions of people travelling to and from the country's popular tourist destinations.

Despite Alicante's strong growth, Madrid-Barajas remained Spain's busiest airport in July, handling an impressive 6.46 million passengers.

That was 4.8% more than in July 2025, while the airport also recorded more than 40,500 aircraft movements.

Barcelona-El Prat was next with 5.87 million passengers, up 6% on last year.

Palma de Mallorca also had a huge month, handling 4.69 million passengers, although its growth was more modest at 2.2%.

Further south, Málaga-Costa del Sol welcomed 3.04 million passengers, an increase of 6.3%.

Ibiza recorded 1.49 million passengers, while Gran Canaria handled 1.34 million.

The July figures take the total number of passengers travelling through Aena's Spanish airports during the first seven months of 2026 to 190.6 million.

That's 4% more than during the same period last year, although growth has eased slightly from the 4.1% increase recorded over the equivalent period in 2025.

Airports across Spain handled 284,423 flights during July, an increase of 6.1%.

The wider Aena group, which also operates airports in Brazil as well as London's Luton and Leeds Bradford in the UK, handled almost 41 million passengers in July.

That included 1.8 million passengers at London Luton, while Leeds Bradford, which joined the Aena group in May, handled almost 532,000 passengers during the month.

Image: Freepik

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