Malaga Airport closes 2025 with a new historical record of nearly 27 million passengers

In 2025, Málaga Airport turns a new page in its centennial history with another historic record: almost 27 million passengers. According to Aena's data, 26,760,549 travelers passed through these facilities last year. This figure represents a 7.4% growth and shows more dynamism than other major air infrastructures in the country. Additionally, it concludes the year as one of the 23 airports with a record number of travelers and one of the 19 in Spain that achieved a historic figure in operations. Aena reports that 186,990 airplanes landed and took off from the runways in Málaga, which is 6.9% more than in 2024.

Furthermore, these records are explained by "the positive balance due to the good performance maintained by both domestic and international traffic. The Málaga infrastructure ended 2025 with 26,760,549 passengers and 186,990 flights, figures to which another milestone is added: the largest volume of handled baggage (outgoing) in its more than 105 years, surpassing six million checked bags at the facilities (6,255,861), setting a historical record in August, with 766,885 items managed in a single month."

Pedro Bendala, the director of Málaga Airport, emphasizes that "2025 has been a very good year in terms of traffic. The record is the least important." He points out that the crucial aspect is that "this infrastructure has positioned itself among the top 25 airports in Europe, providing many opportunities not only for the tourism sector to generate wealth and boost economic activity, but also for all other productive sectors in Málaga and Andalucía, to have connections, especially with Europe and the rest of the world, and to maximize and optimize wealth generation for our territory." Bendala also expresses his confidence that these figures will continue to rise in the future, setting unprecedented records month by month and year by year since the pandemic.

An upward trend that continued in December, with 1,681,268 passengers moving through the Costa del Sol airport facilities, 6.8% more than in the same period of the previous year, making it the third busiest airport in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona. Last December, 12,657 flights operated on the runways of this facility, which is 6.2% more than in 2024 when Málaga Airport received 1,574,043 passengers, representing an increase of 7.4% compared to the previous year and 38.5% compared to the year before the pandemic. These facilities also closed the last month of the year as the third in Spain in terms of passenger volume, only preceded by Madrid and Barcelona. Last month of 2024 saw a total of 11,922 aircraft landing and taking off, which is 5.4% more than in 2023 and 32.1% more than in 2019.

Aena details that the bulk of the users counted last year were on commercial flights, totaling 26,714,475. Of these, 4,465,870 traveled from or to a Spanish city, which is 5.5% more than in 2024, while 22,248,605 opted for international connections, with an increase of 7.8%. Regarding international traffic, the markets with the highest demand in absolute terms were the UK, with 6,149,697 passengers, and, at some distance, Germany, which exceeded two million, followed by the Netherlands, with 1.6 million; Italy (1,397,672) and France (1,386,610). However, in terms of passenger growth, the most dynamic were the United Arab Emirates, with a 75.7% increase; Iceland, with a growth of 59.2%; and Qatar and Egypt, both with a rise of 39%.

In the year's review, the leap made in 2025 is smaller than that recorded in 2024 when the airport closed with 24,924,219 passengers, an increase of 11.5% compared to the previous year and 25.5% more than before the pandemic. In 2024, the airport consolidated as the fourth largest air infrastructure in the country in terms of passenger volume and flights operated.

The airports of the Aena group, consisting of 46 airports and two heliports in Spain, London-Luton Airport, and 17 more in Brazil, closed 2025 with a historic record of passengers: 384,837,183, a 4.2% increase from 2024, and managed 3,279,864 aircraft movements, a 2.4% increase.