Málaga Airport Makes History with More Than Three Million Passengers in One Month

Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport has exceeded three million passengers in a single month for the first time. The airport handled exactly 3,046,818 travellers in July 2026, an increase of 6.3% compared with the same period last year.

The new record represents an average of more than 98,000 passengers a day and reflects the intense level of tourism activity on the Costa del Sol at the beginning of the peak summer season. Aircraft movements also reached an all-time monthly high, with more than 20,000 take-offs and landings.

International flights drive the record

Almost all passengers travelled on commercial services, which accounted for 3,043,807 users. International traffic remained the main driver of growth, reaching 2,559,157 passengers and rising by 7.3% year on year.

Domestic routes carried 484,650 passengers. Although traffic between Málaga and other Spanish airports continued to grow, its increase was more moderate at 1.2%.

The figures underline the importance of international connectivity to Málaga Airport. More than eight out of every ten commercial passengers in July travelled to or from a destination outside Spain.

The UK remains Málaga’s leading market

The United Kingdom retained its position as the airport’s largest international market, accounting for 702,883 passengers during July. This was significantly higher than the figures recorded by any other country.

Germany ranked second with 215,989 travellers, followed by Italy with 170,770. France contributed 163,992 passengers, while the Netherlands completed the five largest international markets with 149,782.

This distribution highlights the continuing importance of European tourism to Málaga and the Costa del Sol, particularly during the summer months.

More than 20,800 take-offs and landings

Aircraft movements also reached a new monthly record. Málaga Airport handled 20,839 operations in July, 5.2% more than during the same month in 2025.

Commercial services accounted for 20,507 of these movements. International flights totalled 16,455, representing growth of 6.6%, while domestic operations increased by 0.3% to 4,052.

The fact that passenger numbers grew faster than aircraft movements also points to high load factors during one of the busiest months of the year.

More than 16.2 million passengers since January

July’s record strengthened the airport’s performance for 2026 as a whole. A total of 16,273,343 passengers passed through Málaga Airport between January and July, 6.6% more than during the first seven months of 2025.

Of the 16,248,858 commercial passengers recorded over this period, 13,573,349 travelled on international services, an increase of 7%. Domestic connections accounted for 2,675,509 passengers, up 5.1%.

Operational activity also continued to rise. The airport handled 112,227 take-offs and landings during the first seven months of the year, 4.6% more than in the same period of 2025.

Spain’s fourth-busiest airport

The latest results consolidate Málaga-Costa del Sol as the fourth-busiest airport in the Spanish network. Between January and July, it ranked behind only Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat and Palma de Mallorca.

Madrid handled more than 40.5 million passengers during the period, Barcelona reached 34.2 million and Palma approached 19.6 million. Málaga followed with more than 16.2 million, ahead of Alicante-Elche with approximately 12.4 million.

Málaga also grew faster than the Spanish airport network as a whole. While passenger traffic across the country increased by 4% between January and July, the Málaga hub recorded growth of 6.6%.

Crossing the threshold of three million monthly passengers for the first time confirms the airport’s position as the leading international gateway to Andalusia and a crucial part of the tourism industry and wider economy of the Costa del Sol.