Alicante Elche Miguel Hernández Airport has gone one better and broken its own passenger record, with figures up to November already exceeding the full total for 2024.
The previous annual high of 18.4 million passengers has now been passed, with 18,631,566 travellers recorded in the first eleven months of the year. December figures are still to come, so the final total will be higher again.
This puts the airport on an annual growth rate of 8.5% compared with the same period last year. While that is slower than the 16% surge seen between 2023 and 2024, it still confirms steady and sustained growth for the Costa Blanca gateway. November once again set a monthly record, continuing a pattern seen throughout the year. A total of 1,411,496 passengers passed through the terminal during the month, up 10.3% year on year, underlining how tourism to the Costa Blanca is no longer just a summer story.
Alicante-Elche Airport: Passenger record standing out
When compared with Spain’s largest airports, Alicante Elche stands out. Madrid Barajas has grown by 3.0%, Barcelona El Prat by 4.3%, Palma de Mallorca by 1.5% and Málaga by 7.4%. Among the ten busiest airports in Spain, only Valencia Manises has posted a higher growth rate, at 9.4%, reaching 10,954,107 passengers.
Alicante Elche has now opened a clear gap over its closest rivals. It is almost four million passengers ahead of Gran Canaria Airport, which has recorded 14,382,988 travellers, and around six million ahead of Tenerife South, with 12,698,146 passengers, according to the latest figures released by Aena.
International travel continues to drive growth at Alicante Elche, reflecting the airport’s strong links with the Costa Blanca’s overseas markets. In November alone, international passenger numbers rose by 13.6%, reaching 1,230,388 travellers. The United Kingdom remained the leading market with 453,903 passengers, followed by the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Poland. Domestic traffic, by contrast, fell by 7.5% in November, with 178,975 passengers.
Flight Operations
Flight operations have followed the same upward trend. Between January and November, the airport handled 116,924 flights, an increase of 8.4% compared with the same period last year. November also set a record, with 9,469 flights operated, up 10.5% year on year.
This strong performance mirrors wider growth across the Aena airport network, which includes airports across Spain as well as London Luton and facilities in Brazil. In November, the group handled 27,681,817 passengers, up 4.7%, alongside increases in aircraft movements and freight.
