Cristina Hodgson
MALAGA-Costa del Sol airport has surpassed the 2 million passenger barrier for the first time in May.
The huge influx of travellers in May smashed the previous record in 2019 by more than 16.1%, according to data provided by airport operator Aena.
“Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport closed May with 2,151,159 passengers, 16.1% more than the pre-pandemic levels of the same month,” Aena said in a press release on Monday.
The figure has generally only been seen before in the months of July and August, during the peak summer season.
In fact, to date, Malaga airport had only exceeded 2 million users in the months of July and August (2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022) and on one occasion in June and September (2019), as well as last April, influenced by Easter crowds, which saw 2,020,881 passengers.
Operations also grew with takeoffs and landings increasing by 7.6% in May compared to the same month last year, with a total of 15,320 aircraft movements.
Of the 2,147,714 passengers who travelled on commercial connections, 1,789,541 opted for international flights (+15.1%) and 358,173 with origin or destination in a Spanish city (+22.6%).
The most travellers in May were from the United Kingdom with 549,076 visitors, followed by Germany (166,827), Holland (128,456), France (139,255) and Ireland (109,246).
For the first five months of the year, Malaga’s accumulated total has amounted to 7,890,537 passengers, a figure that exceeds numbers registered during the same period in 2019 by some 700,000 when 7,181,341 users were recorded, and which represents an increase rise of 26.1% compared to the January-May 2022 period.
A total of 58,233 arrivals and departures have been registered at Malaga in these first five months of 2023, up by 11.4% on last year.
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