Spain closed July 2023 with all-time record number of airline passengers

The airports of the Aena network in Spain closed July 2023 with an all-time record number of passengers.

A whopping 29,762,051 people walked through the airport doors.

This figure is ten per cent more than in the same month of 2022 and 1.2 per cent more than in 2019, before the pandemic, the previous record year.

In July 2023, Aena handled 242,222 aircraft movements, 5.1 per cent more than in 2022; and 86,779 tonnes of cargo were transported which is 8.6 per cent more than last year.

Of the total number of passengers in July, 29,700,963 were commercial passengers: 20,420,217 travelled on international flights, 11.9 per cent more than in July 2022, while 9,280,746 travelled on domestic flights, 6 per cent more than last year.

Between January and July 2023, 159,209,175 passengers passed through Aena airports (20.6 per cent and 1.2 per cent more than in 2022 and 2019, respectively), 1,372,980 aircraft movements were recorded (+9.5 per cent compared to 2022) and 594,323 tonnes of cargo were transported, 3.6 per cent more than in the same period of 2022.

Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport recorded the highest number of passengers in the seventh month of the year, with 5,543,088, representing a growth of 10.3 per cent compared to July last year.

It is followed by Barcelona-El Prat Josep Tarradellas Airport, with 4,936,852 (+11.4 per cent compared to 2022); Palma de Mallorca Airport, with 4,378,210 (+5.9 per cent); Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport, with 2,432,411 (+17. 8 per cent); Alicante-Elche Airport, with 1,713,090 (+12.7 per cent); Ibiza Airport, with 1,435,352 (+6.8 per cent); Gran Canaria Airport, with 1,139,338 (+6.7 per cent); and Valencia Airport, with 1,035,611 passengers (+17.8 per cent).

Operations
In terms of operations, the airport with the highest number of movements in July was Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, with a total of 34,468 (+6.3 per cent compared to 2022), followed by Barcelona-El Prat Josep Tarradellas Airport, with 30,648 flights (+8. 4 per cent); Palma de Mallorca Airport, with 29,906 (+2.5 per cent); Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport, with 17,320 (+12 per cent); Gran Canaria Airport, with 10,593 (+7.1 per cent); and Alicante-Elche Airport, with 10,584 landings and take-offs (+8.2 per cent).

Cargo
In terms of cargo transport, the airport with the highest cargo volume was Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, with 52,042 tonnes, 15.6 per cent more than in the same month of 2022. It was followed by Barcelona-El Prat Josep Tarradellas Airport, with 13,454 tonnes (-7.4 per cent compared to 2022); Zaragoza Airport, which recorded 8,719 tonnes (+13.7 per cent); and Vitoria Airport, with 5,957 tonnes (-5.6 per cent compared to 2022).