Alex Trelinski
OVER 25 MILLION passengers used Spanish airports in May, a 3.4% increase on the previous ‘record-breaking’ May in 2019, with Alicante-Elche and Valencia airports recording ‘best ever’ figures.
State airport operator Aena said the overall total was a 14.4% improvement on the same month last year, and that 102,942 million people have used Aena airports during the first five months of 2023.
That’s a 27.7% increase on last year and 2.3% more compared to 2019.
May is the fifth consecutive month where passenger numbers have risen with a 14.9% annual rise in international flights and a 5.5% increase in domestic travellers.
Alicante-Elche had one of the largest passenger percentage rises among Spain’s top airports (18%) with 1.5 million passengers- 9.6 % up on a year ago- making it a record May figure.
By nationality, UK arrivals again dominated Alicante with 537,255 passengers, with the Netherlands a distant second on 90,995, closely followed by Germany with 89,025.
Valencia also had a record-breaking May with 885,095 passengers- a 20% rise over a year with Italian arrivals dominating followed by French and German visitors.
Spain’s Tourism Minister, Hector Gomez, last week predicted a record summer for foreign tourists based on numbers so far this year.
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