Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport handled more than 7.7 million passengers during the first four months of 2026, continuing its strong growth as one of Spain’s busiest tourism gateways.

Between January and April, the airport recorded 7,706,614 passengers and 53,877 aircraft operations, representing increases of 7.4% and 4.8% respectively compared with the same period last year.

International Traffic Remains Main Driver

Of the nearly 7.7 million commercial passengers recorded during the first four months of the year, 6,339,937 travelled on international routes, an increase of 7%.

Domestic traffic also showed strong performance, with 1,350,525 passengers travelling on flights within Spain, up 9.5% year-on-year.

The airport continues benefiting from strong leisure travel demand to Spain’s Costa del Sol region.

United Kingdom Leads International Markets

The United Kingdom remained Málaga Airport’s largest international market during the first months of the year with 1,598,401 passengers.

Germany followed with 577,285 travellers, ahead of the Netherlands with 460,499 passengers and Italy with 383,182.

The figures highlight Málaga’s continued importance as one of Europe’s leading sun-and-beach tourism destinations.

April Passenger Traffic Accelerates

Passenger growth accelerated further during April, when Málaga Airport handled 2,613,939 passengers and 17,681 aircraft movements.

Those figures represented increases of 9.5% in passenger traffic and 6.7% in operations compared with April 2025.

International travellers accounted for 2,198,263 passengers during the month, while domestic routes handled 413,120 travellers.

Among international markets in April, the United Kingdom again led traffic with 603,726 passengers, followed by Germany with 199,097 and the Netherlands with 156,986.

Aircraft Movements Continue Rising

Of the 17,681 aircraft movements recorded during April, 13,994 were international commercial operations, while 3,470 were domestic flights.

The increase reflects continued airline capacity growth and strong tourism demand heading into the summer travel season.

Aena Group Airports Also Report Growth

Across the wider Aena Group network, airports handled 33.5 million passengers during April 2026, representing overall growth of 3.6% compared with the same month last year.

Aena said part of the passenger growth recorded during the first four months of the year was linked to travellers shifting from rail to air transport following the January train accident in Spain.