Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport has closed 2025 with a new historic annual record, welcoming almost 20 million passengers.
The Costa Blanca’s main gateway saw a total of 19,950,394 travellers, surpassing the previous record of 18.4 million set in 2024. In fact, the airport had already broken the previous maximum in November, reaching 18.6 million passengers before December figures were even counted.
Overall, the annual total represents an 8.5% increase on 2024, over 1.5 million more passengers in just one year, according to statistics just published by Aena.
Alicante-Elche Airport: Flights and traffic
The airport also set a record for flights, handling 126,081 aircraft movements in 2025, an 8.4% rise on the previous year. International travel continues to dominate, accounting for 88% of all passengers. International traffic grew 10.6% year-on-year, with 17,458,244 travellers arriving from abroad.
By contrast, domestic passenger numbers dipped slightly to 2,475,216, down 4%, reflecting a stabilisation following the post-pandemic tourism surge.
Looking closer at international travellers, the top nationalities in 2025 were:
- United Kingdom: 6,553,349
- Germany: 1,242,657
- Netherlands: 1,235,605
- Belgium: 1,035,375
- Poland: 1,023,583
December continues the trend
December alone confirmed the airport’s ongoing move towards a year-round traffic flow. With 1,318,828 passengers recorded, December 2025 was another record-breaking month, up 8.4% on December 2024.
This continues the trend started in the winter season of 2023-24, when monthly passenger numbers consistently reached or exceeded one million.
Expansion plans on the horizon
The airport is preparing for the next stage of growth with a major expansion project. Aena has announced plans for a new boarding pier to replace the old T-1 terminal and General Aviation buildings.
Once complete, the terminal will be capable of handling at least 26 million passengers per year, although the addition of a second runway remains a possibility for the future.
The broader DORA III project for 2027-2031 involves €1.154 billion in investment, covering upgraded parking, roadways, taxiways, and a fast-exit taxiway to improve aircraft movement efficiency. Because of the scale of the work, the expansion may continue beyond 2031.
