Alex Trelinski
ALICANTE-ELCHE airport has once again smashed its monthly passenger record with almost two million users in July.
After breaking the passenger high in June, the Costa Blanca airport welcomed 1,989,648 travellers last month with a big 16% increase on July 2023.
The bulk- 1.72 million- were foreign passengers with the UK accounting for close to a third of arrivals.
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Domestic travellers also rose healthily by 15.6% on a year-to-year basis.
The figures have also been boosted in recent months with new routes being operated by low budget carriers like easyJet and Ryanair.
Up to the end of July, 10.3 million people used the airport- up by 17.6% on the same seven months last year.
The airport welcomed in excess of 15 million passengers in 2023, and that record will almost certainly be broken come the end of the year.
In terms of nationality, the United Kingdom maintained its strong dominance with 643,033 people arriving in July.
That was followed by Norway with 126,849, Germany on 117,378 and the Netherlands with 107,395.
The numbers will add further fuel to the fire for the Valencian government’s campaign for a second Alicante runway, which the Ministry of Transport says is not needed for the moment.
Businesses say it is required to keep the region competitive but airport operator Aena says it will expand the facility by building a second terminal.
