Malaga Airport breaks record with five million passengers in first quarter of 2026

Malaga Airport is soaring. The numbers speak for themselves: during the first quarter of 2026, Malaga Airport reached the milestone of 5,092,675 passengers.

Never before has the airport surpassed the five million passenger mark in the first three months of the year. This dynamism has resulted in unparalleled activity on the runways, with 36,196 landings and takeoffs. According to state airport operator Aena, these figures represent growth of 6.3% and 3.9%, respectively.

With this result, Malaga Airport consolidates its position as the third busiest airport in Spain in terms of passengers in the first quarter of the year, behind Madrid and Barcelona. Furthermore, it is among the fastest-growing airports in terms of activity at the start of 2026.

Aena has reported that "this result was due to the significant rebound in domestic traffic and the continued dynamism of international traffic". This surge in domestic travel is driven by increased activity on the Madrid route, given the absence of high-speed rail service from the Costa del Sol capital since the end of January. The data indicates that 937,405 passengers flew within Spain, representing an 8.1% increase, while 4,141,674 passengers came from or travelled abroad, a 5.9% increase.

It's worth remembering that during last year's first quarter, Malaga Airport also broke records. Moreover, in the first three months of 2024 it surpassed 4.5 million passengers for the first time, representing an increase of almost 22%, including the Easter holiday period. The boost from the first important holidays of the year, however, didn't figure in the 2025 report, and yet the airport still registered almost 4.8 million passengers, representing a 6% growth.

In March alone, Malaga Airport surpassed two million passengers for the first time ever: 2,076,522, a 9.4% increase. This data places it as the third busiest airport in the country and the fastest-growing of the major facilities. Once again, the strong demand from Spanish passengers is evident. Aena reports that 363,515 passengers travelled on flights to or from a Spanish city, a 12.5% increase, while 1.7 million boarded international connections, representing an 8.8% growth.

In March, 14,222 aircraft landed and took off at the airport, a 5.4% increase, making it the third busiest airport in the Aena network in Spain. It's worth noting that nearly 1.9 million passengers passed through the airport in March 2025, an 8.3% increase compared to the previous year. This growth doubled the average for the Aena network and was the highest among the country's major airports. There were 13,489 aircraft movements on the runways, an 11.3% increase compared to 2024.

Across the country, 65,631,150 passengers were recorded in the first quarter, a 3.2% increase. This confirms that the pace of activity on the Costa del Sol is double the national average. The same is true for aircraft movements, with 564,787 landings and takeoffs across all airports in the country, representing a 1.7% increase, which is double the national average in the case of Malaga.