Interview
Sections
Highlight
Sections
Highlight
Pilar Martínez
Malaga
Tuesday, 13 February 2024
"Malaga Airport will always be able to match the development of the Costa del Sol." These are the blunt words of the airport's director Pedro Bendala when asked if the infrastructure could handle the soaring rate of growth on the Costa del Sol. It comes after 20% more passengers flooded through its terminals in January, just after closing a historic 2023 which saw 22.3 million passengers use the facility.
In an interview with SUR, Bendala sent a message of calm by referencing an airport regulation document (DORA), which governs the investments and actions to be carried out throughout the Aena airport operator's network in the period 2022-2026. He said that Malaga Airport is ready to handle 30 million passengers.
The current document includes investments at the airport amounting to 103 million euros. "We don't have a crystal ball to know when we will reach 30 million passengers, but we always try to anticipate economic cycles," Bendala said.
He pointed out that the document did not envisage such a rapid and strong recovery following the coronavirus pandemic. "We are growing above the national average although the increases will no longer be like those of these years of recovery from the health crisis in which we have gone from the worst to the best in a very short time," he said. "All of this has not been a coincidence but the result of the work of the Malaga professionals who have been more agile and have been able to put on the market a great product that tourists have valued and that the airlines have been able to respond to this demand," he added.
• Click here for more SUR in English news about Malaga Airport
Bendala pointed out one of the investments tourists will notice this year is the implementation of a new security filter in terminal two that will be added to the one currently in operation at terminal three. "Part of these new security controls, in a more open and spacious area, will come into operation this summer and will be used to decongest the current ones in the boarding of large groups of passengers," he said.
Bendala said 2024 was looking to be "a very good year", although he pointed out that this does not mean the 20% growth in passengers last January will set the pace for the rest of the year. "We are seeing a greater increase in tourists in the off-season months, which indicates that the destination has been deseasonalised. Proof of this is that last year from April to October we exceeded two million passengers per month, a figure that was previously exclusive to the strong summer months such as July or August. In January we had 1.3 million passengers and last December we had 1.5 million. This is very good because it allows us to grow significantly each year," Bendala said.
As for the upcoming high season, he said it is still too early to have a concrete forecast as airlines are still finalising their schedules, but he can predict "a positive summer". "We hope to maintain the volume of airlines and countries we connect with, as well as offering new routes," he said.
Bendala pointed to the full recovery of British tourism which would contribute to this. "The fact that the British are back to their usual levels is great news," he said, adding that in high season "Malaga has an airlift with the UK that translates into around 700 operations a week".
Summer is also expected to see a significant increase, although the volumes are much lower, in tourists from Romania and Bulgaria, which from next March will be part of the Schengen zone and will enter directly.
Regarding the improvement of the connectivity of the airport, Bendala said work is being carried out jointly with all administrations, from town hall to the provincial council and the Andalusian government, and the tourism sector in search of new routes and markets. Although remaining tight-lipped about open negotiations with various airlines, he valued the decision of United Airlines to schedule a daily flight to New York and considers it an "important step so that this same company or another one is encouraged to operate this route throughout the year. These transatlantic connections are very high risk because they have a high cost and the airlines have to be very sure of their profitability," Bendala added.
As for when Malaga will have a direct flight to China, Japan or South Korea, he said "it would be an iconic route", but it is not justified right now as the Costa del Sol already enjoys good connections with Asia through it two direct flights with Turkish Airlines to Istanbul and those added in summer by Qatar Airways to Doha, or Etihad Airways to Abu Dhabi. These flights are feeding the movement of visitors to Asia, a key element for an airline to make the decision to fly directly to the Costa del Sol.
Bendala also said the growth and arrival of major technology companies in Malaga is an important source of passengers and a key pillar for the opening of connections with distant markets. "The business traveller is very important, so we see an opportunity in every new company that chooses Malaga. At this airport, the majority of travellers come from tourist destinations. A total of 12% come for professional reasons. Increasing this percentage is very important," Bendala added.
Esta funcionalidad es exclusiva para registrados.
Reporta un error en esta noticia
Debido a un error no hemos podido dar de alta tu suscripción.
Por favor, ponte en contacto con Atención al Cliente.
¡Bienvenido a SURINENGLISH!
Tu suscripción con Google se ha realizado correctamente, pero ya tenías otra suscripción activa en SURINENGLISH.
Déjanos tus datos y nos pondremos en contacto contigo para analizar tu caso
¡Tu suscripción con Google se ha realizado correctamente!
La compra se ha asociado al siguiente email
Comentar es una ventaja exclusiva para registrados
¿Ya eres registrado?
Inicia sesiónNecesitas ser suscriptor para poder votar.