Malaga Airport News May 2026: We update you with interesting, summarised information about what´s new this month at the popular Costa del Sol airport.
Kerosene supply secured, but rising prices expected
Spain anticipates a record summer for air travel, despite the kerosene price shock.
Since the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War, the price of kerosene has roughly doubled. Kerosene accounts for almost 30 percent of an airline’s operating costs.
Spain is comparatively well-positioned in this crisis. More than 80 percent of the kerosene consumed at domestic airports comes from refineries within the country; only about 11 percent of the oil comes from the Gulf States.
Furthermore, the major airlines have hedging contracts that protect them against sharp price increases in the short term. Between 70 and 80 percent of their short-term kerosene needs are hedged at pre-war prices.
Nevertheless, the possibility of rising ticket prices remains: Anyone who hasn’t yet booked their summer flight should do so as soon as possible. Once the hedging contracts expire, prices could rise noticeably.
Tourists are switching to the Costa del Sol as a safe travel destination
Tourists from markets closer to the conflict zone are switching to Spain as a safe travel destination.
Airlines have significantly increased the number of flights scheduled for the coming months.
Flights to Andalusia are up almost 10% due to the Iran-Contra conflict, with Malaga leading the way.
Malaga has become a key hub due to its location, just three or four hours by plane from central and eastern Europe. This position, combined with the climate and tourist offerings, allows it to maintain demand even outside of peak season.
Flights to Malaga Summer 2026
Spanish air travel is entering the summer season optimistically, but with caution. The airline industry is ruling out massive cancellations but recommends buying tickets early.
For the current summer season from April to October, airlines have scheduled almost 260 million seats on flights to or from Spain – 5.7 percent more than last year.
Capacity is growing particularly strongly in Andalusia. There are more than 32 million seats available at Andalusian airports this summer.
Malaga-Costa del Sol, the main airport, is heading for a record-breaking summer. In fact, Malaga will be the fastest growing, second only to Madrid, with almost 22.4 million seats.
Flights to Malaga Summer 2026
We are updating the latest airline flight information for Malaga for summer 2026 as it becomes available.
Here is a summary of the most recent updates for this year.
Jet2.com flights to Malaga
Jet2.com has announced a significant increase in its operations to the Costa del Sol.
Among the new additions is the direct route to London Gatwick, with four weekly flights, bringing the total number of connections to the UK to 12 and the number of weekly flights to 79 during peak season.
Gulf Air flights to Malaga
The Bahraini flag carrier has programmed the return of its seasonal services to Malaga. Gulf Air previously operated seasonal flights to Málaga during the 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 summer seasons.
The Bahraini airline will reconnect with the Costa del Sol starting on June 17 and until September 25, 2026.
The route will operate with two weekly frequencies from the airline’s hub at Bahrain International Airport (BIA).
- More about Gulf Air flights to Malaga
Transavia flights to Malaga
Transavia France is the low-cost airline of the Air France-KLM group. The company offers a new connection linking the Costa del Sol with the south of France during summer. It is inaugurating, for the first time, a direct route between Malaga and Montpellier.
The connection will operate during the peak summer season, between July 17 and September 9. Flights will depart weekly every Sunday.
Swiss flights to Malaga
SWISS will deploy the Airbus A340-300 on selected short-haul flights between Zurich and Malaga in summer 2026.
This gives SWISS passengers traveling to Malaga the opportunity to enjoy the approximately 3-hour flight to the sun with the highest comfort of a long-haul flight.
- More about Swiss flights to Malaga
Royal Air Maroc flights to Malaga
Royal Air Maroc has announced an ambitious expansion between Morocco and Spain.
The Moroccan airline operates regular flights from Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport, primarily connecting to Casablanca, as well as Tangier, Nador and Tetouan.
From Tetouan, the airline will operate three new direct flights to Malaga on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.
From Tangier, direct flights to Malaga will be starting on July 6, on Mondays and Fridays.
- More about Royal Air Maroc flights to Malaga
Wizz Air Flights to Malaga
Wizz Air is improving its connections to Malaga for the next six months. This airline will experience the most growth at Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport over the next six months, with a 47.5% increase in seats offered compared to the same period last year.
Flights will be available to Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Italy and Romania, among others.
The Hungarian airline, which ranks fifth in passenger volume in Malaga, is also adding two new routes to Italy: Venice, starting September 14, and Turin, from October 26, both with two weekly flights. These new additions are complemented by the strengthening of established routes, such as Budapest, which will now have a daily flight.
New passport control system at Malaga Airport
We continue to receive numerous user comments, as well as press updates about the new passport control system at Malaga Airport.
Passengers arriving at Malaga airport from the United Kingdom, Morocco, and other destinations outside the Schengen Area frequently encounter a bottleneck in the area where passports of non-EU citizens are checked.
Aena (Spanish Airports and Air Navigation) points out that crowds can occur at specific times. Yet our customers are under a slightly different impression.
In any case, the situation is still far from normal. If you want to travel with maximum peace of mind, you might find our related article and this section below useful.
Numerous complaints about the new European passport control system
Are you planning to travel through Malaga Airport in the coming weeks? Then this section is likely to be of most interest to you!
As we explained in our article New passport control system at Malaga airport, the Costa del Sol irport implemented the new EU Entry/Exit System (EES) in October 2025.
This system, which replaces manual passport stamping with a digital and biometric registration (fingerprints and photo), aims to make checks safer and faster in the future.
But it is currently causing queues, delays, and a sense of insecurity among passengers at Malaga Airport. Several passengers missed their flights after waiting in line for more than two hours.
According to police unions, Malaga has a capacity of around 450 check-ins per hour. Compared to an average arrival volume of 1,200 passengers. Poor signage exacerbates the bottlenecks, even sending resident card holders to the slowest lanes.
Airlines operating on the Costa del Sol have begun advising non-Schengen travellers to arrive at least three hours before departure.
British residents with TIE should not use the new EES
We have received numerous inquiries from passengers who didn’t know which direction to take. And it was extremely difficult to find any information from an official source.
Finally, the Spanish Interior Ministry has confirmed that British residents holding a TIE card must not use the new Entry Exit System queues or automatic gates when entering or leaving the country.
In case you’re wondering what this new abbreviation means: If you are British, live in Spain and hold a TIE residence card (Withdrawal Agreement or another long-stay route), you are EES-exempt.
Thus, you can just join the EU / residents queue, show your passport and your TIE together, like any other legal resident. The national police at the airport have already received this instruction. However, if you speak Spanish, saying “Soy residente con TIE, no debo usar EES” can go a long way at the hectic passport control and especially at peak times.
According to Spain’s Ministry of the Interior, until April 10, 2026, the automated checks will run alongside the traditional passport stamping system for several months. Travellers should anticipate longer queues, especially during peak times.
Valuable tips
Until biometric kiosks are working reliably and staff are fully trained, several tips have emerged that we’d like to share with you.
- Travel with only hand luggage to expedite your journey through security to your gate.
- Allow more time for connections between domestic and international flights to Schengen.
- Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport has launched Aena’s chatbot service, called Oli. It speaks eight languages and is available on WhatsApp. You can download it via a QR code, on aena.es, in the Aena app, and at the main entrance at the airport.
It provides real-time information on both flights and services available at the airport, also allowing the user to be redirected to AenaMaps to guide their passage through the facilities.
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