Cristina Hodgson
IN a momentous year spanning more than a century of operations, 2023 has so far been one of remarkable achievements for Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport, boasting records like handling over 80,000 passengers in a single day and managing a peak of over 560 daily flights.
In fact, the airport has just concluded its most successful first six months ever, welcoming an impressive 10 million travelers through its terminals.
This figure represents a remarkable 23.3% increase over the same period last year and a significant 9.2% rise compared to January to June 2019.
During the first half of this year, Malaga’s infrastructure recorded a total of 10,070,112 passengers, surpassing the previous highest traffic year, 2019, by 852,517 passengers.
Additionally, this year’s figures exceeded the first half of 2022 by a substantial 1,904,106 passengers, as reported by global airport services operator, Aena.
The majority of passengers (10,048,039) chose commercial connections, with 8,161,116 opting for international flights.
Notably, international flights experienced remarkable growth, rising by 21.7% compared to 2022 and by 4.8% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Leading the charge in passenger volume is the UK, with over 2.4 million travelers—its highest number ever of connections with the UK—followed by Germany (703,698), Netherlands (635,208), France (559,553), Italy (459,891), and Ireland (450,890).
With the traffic recorded last month, the airport set new records by surpassing the previous maximum number of passengers handled in a single day and the peak of daily flight operations in its century-long history.
On June 29, the airport handled 569 flights between departures and arrivals, breaking the previous daily operations record set on August 4, 2018, with 564 landings and take-offs.
Moreover, June also witnessed the highest number of passengers on a single day in the airport’s history. On Sunday, the 18th, 79,608 passengers were recorded, and on Sunday, the 25th, the number further increased to an astounding 80,939 passengers.
Throughout the first half of this year, Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport has maintained its position as the third busiest on the peninsula in terms of passenger volume, following Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, and Palma de Mallorca. It continues to be the primary gateway for international tourism to Andalucia.
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