Malaga airport in Spain recovers as passenger numbers continue to exceed pre-pandemic numbers

MÁLAGA airport continues to exceed pre-pandemic passenger figures in what is expected to be a record year for tourism on the Costa del Sol.

For the second month in a row, Malaga has recorded higher passenger rates compared to pre-pandemic figures.

The airport was used by 1,120,167 travelers in January —10.5% more than in 2019— and by 60.9% in January of last year, 2022 and February has also ended with higher pre-pandemic figures.

Specifically, the Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport closed February with 1,123,164 passengers, 6.7% higher than in the same month of 2019 -the year before the pandemic- and managed 8,570 aircraft movements, which represents an increase 5.3% compared to that year.

This positive trend is due to an increase in both national and international flights, according to Aena.

Internationally, the United Kingdom continues to be the most popular destination with 234,362 passengers in February, followed by the Netherlands, with 81,704; Germany, with 64,885; and Italy, with 51,558.

The remaining 250,828 commercial passengers registered last month traveled to or from a Spanish city, which, according to Aena, “consolidates the strength of the national market by significantly exceeding the 2019 records by 28.3%.”

The Málaga-Costa del Sol airport, the main gateway for international tourism to Andalusia, ranks third on the peninsula by volume of users, behind Madrid and Barcelona.

READ MORE: