Another bumper month with record-breaking passenger numbers at Malaga Airport

Malaga Airport has reported a record-breaking month for airline passengers and aircraft movements in September, building on eight previous monthly records this year.

Airport operator Aena, who published the data on the movement of passengers and planes at the airport during September, said a total of 2.2 million passengers passed through the Costa del Sol facility last month, that is 11.9% more than in the previous record year of 2019 and 20% more than in 2022.

The data speaks of the strength of the Costa del Sol destination and confirms that the speed of recovery and growth of the airport is groundbreaking in Spain. Malaga Airport also continues to lead the increase in passengers among the country's major airports, with a rise of 9.6% so far this year. Madrid and Barcelona saw rises of 3.5% and 7.6%, respectively, but these remain below the volume of passengers moved before the health crisis, in 2019.

Malaga has now consolidated its position as the fourth most important airport in the country, with 3.4% more air passengers than in 2019, and is only preceded by Madrid, Barcelona, and Palma de Mallorca. The strong dynamism of the Costa del Sol airport also sets it apart from Alicante Airport, with an increase of 2% so far this year, or more than five million passengers.

The key to this unparalleled growth is the good response to connections between both the Spanish and international destinations on offer. Aena said that last month passengers who flew between cities in the country increased 17.9% more than in 2022, to stand at 372,295, and those who flew to international destinations rose 20.4%, to almost 1.9 million passengers.

The 2.2 million passengers who travelled in September also mark another important milestone: the figure shows that such high numbers are no longer exclusive to the peak summer months of July and August. And it highlights the long-awaited need to break seasonality and achieve a better distribution of tourism in the province throughout the year.

The international markets with the highest numbers in absolute terms during September were the British, with 579,444 passengers, followed by the Germans, with 186,568; the French, with 135,235; Dutch travellers, with 123,116; and the Irish, with 111,803.

On the airport runways, 15,847 total aircraft movements operated last month, almost 13% more than in 2019. So far this year, Malaga Airport has managed 123,792 landings and takeoffs, 8.8% more compared to the first nine months before the pandemic.

Aena also noted that on 3 September the day with the greatest activity at Malaga Airport was experienced, as the maximum number of passengers and operations coincided with 82,937 passengers and 578 flights.