After a historic January, Alicante-Elche Airport leapt into February to set new records. The airport handled almost 1.23 million passengers, an increase of 5.3% compared with February 2025, which previously held the highest figure for the month.
Flight activity also reaches new highs
Flight movements have also increased.
A total of 8,002 flights operated at Alicante-Elche Airport during February. This represents 5.6% growth compared with the same month last year, according to airport operator Aena.
The first two months of 2026 already show strong momentum.
Between January and February, the airport handled around 2.34 million passengers and managed more than 15,500 flights. Both figures are about 5.6% higher than during the same period in 2025.
International travel driving growth
International travel continues to fuel the airport’s expansion.
Passenger numbers from abroad rose by 7.3% year on year, reaching more than 1.07 million travellers in February alone. International passengers now represent over 80% of the airport’s total traffic.
Domestic travel moved in the opposite direction. Around 154,530 passengers travelled on national routes during February, a 7.5% decrease compared with last year.
UK remains the largest market
The United Kingdom remains the airport’s largest international market by a wide margin.
In February, 369,560 passengers travelled between Alicante and UK destinations. This represents around one third of all international travellers.
Other key markets include:
- Netherlands – 85,736 passengers
- Poland – just over 85,000 passengers
- Germany – 83,872 passengers
- Belgium – 79,941 passengers
Steady growth through the winter
Even during the quieter winter months, passenger numbers have continued to grow steadily between November and February.
Airlines have increased both connections and flight frequencies during this period.
Summer season expected to bring more records
Looking ahead, the summer travel season could bring even higher figures.
Several airlines have already announced expanded schedules. Ryanair has confirmed it will increase flight frequencies and introduce three new routes from Alicante-Elche.
Overnight runway closures for maintenance
One operational challenge this month will be temporary overnight runway closures.
From 2 March to 29 March, the runway will close every night between 00:00 and 05:59.
This mainly affects late arrivals after midnight and some early morning departures that normally leave between 05:30 and 05:45.
Maintenance and taxiway construction
The temporary closures will allow airport teams to carry out runway maintenance work and continue construction of a new taxiway.
Aena has confirmed that affected flights have already been rescheduled during this quieter period, helping minimise disruption before the busy summer travel season begins.
