Passenger numbers take off at Malaga Airport as it climbs to third place in Spain

The Costa del Sol airport is now busier than Mallorca's, according to Aena's latest data for the first quarter of 2023

Pilar Martínez

Malaga

Thursday, 13 April 2023 | Updated 14/04/2023 11:25h.

Malaga has become the third-busiest airport in Spain in terms of passenger numbers since the start of this year, new data shows.

Not only did it close the first three months of the year as the airport with the highest growth compared to pre-pandemic levels, but the strong take-off led to a jump in rankings due to such a high number of passengers.

Data provided by the national airport operator Aena showed Malaga airport overtook Palma de Mallorca, which is traditionally number three on the list for the entire year. Malaga Airport now sits behind Madrid and Barcelona airports.

The airport, often said to be the gateway to the Costa del Sol, registered 3.7 million passengers between January and March, almost 9% more than in 2019.

Of the 3,707,616 users who travelled on commercial flights, 815,977 of those were on flights within Spain, an increase of 29.1%, and 2,891,639 international travellers, an increase of 4%.

Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport registered the highest number of passengers in the third month of the year with 4,821,856, which represented a decrease of 1.7% over March before the pandemic.

It was followed by Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat, with 3,762,656, also five points off 2019 records and Malaga-Costa del Sol, with 1,475,066, 9% more than before the health crisis, beating Palma de Mallorca, with 1,344,375 and Gran Canaria, with 1,290,562.

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