If you follow our articles, we often mention it: Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport breaks its own records year after year.
This is a press release from AENA (Spanish public company Airports and Air Navigation), the world’s leading airport operator by passenger numbers.
In short
Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport closes a record-breaking year with over 26.7 million passengers and nearly 187,000 operations.
Last year, passenger numbers increased by 7.4% and flights grew by 6.9% compared to 2014.
International connections handled 22.25 million passengers, 7.8% more than the previous year.
Domestic traffic exceeded 4.46 million passengers (+5.5%).
The airport also had its best December ever, with 1,681,268 passengers and 12,657 flights.
Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport closed 2025 with its highest traffic ever, breaking all records for passengers and operations, which saw growth of 7.4% and 6.9%, respectively. This positive result was due to the strong performance of both domestic and international traffic.
Malaga’s airport infrastructure ended 2025 with 26,760,549 passengers and 186,990 flights. These figures are accompanied by another milestone: the highest volume of outbound baggage handled in its more than 105 years, exceeding 6 million checked bags (6,255,861), registering a record high in August with 766,885 bags handled in a single month.
Domestic & international traffic
The majority of passengers counted last year travelled on commercial flights, totaling 26,714,475. Of these, 4,465,870 travelled to or from a Spanish city (5.5% more than in 2024), while 22,248,605 opted for international connections (7.8%).
Regarding international traffic, the markets with the highest demand in absolute terms were the UK (6,149,697 passengers), followed by Germany (2,012,019), the Netherlands (1,631,525), Italy (1,397,672), and France (1,386,610).
In terms of passenger growth, the most dynamic markets were the United Arab Emirates (+75.7%), Iceland (+59.2%), Qatar and Egypt (both with a 39% increase), and the Czech Republic (+32.4%).
Regarding the increase in operations, of the 186,990 landings and takeoffs recorded last year, 183,974 were commercial flights: 39,489 domestic (+7.1%) and 144,485 international (+7%).
Another metric in which the airport set record highs during 2025 was checked baggage, with more than 6.2 million pieces on outbound flights alone, representing a 4.3% increase compared to 2024.
Traffic in December
Traffic performance during the last month of 2025 was also very positive. In fact, it was the best December in the history of Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport, with 1,681,268 passengers (+6.8%) and 12,657 operations (+6.2%).
Of the 1,674,208 passengers who travelled on commercial flights last month, 315,209 had origins or destinations within Spain (+0.4%) and 1,358,999 (+8.1%) had international destinations.
The countries with the highest absolute numbers of travelers were the United Kingdom (328,014), Germany (123,887), the Netherlands (99,772), Italy (92,643), and France (75,395).
Regarding landings and takeoffs, the airport handled 12,657 operations in December, a 6.2% increase compared to the same period in 2024.
Aena Group Airports
The airports of the Aena Group (comprising 46 airports and two heliports in Spain, London Luton Airport and 17 airports in Brazil) closed 2025 with a record number of passengers: 384,837,183, that is 4.2% more than in 2024. They handled 3,279,864 aircraft movements, that is 2.4% more than in 2024. And they transported 1,533,901 tons of cargo, that is 7.9% more than last year.
In December, Aena Group airports handled 27,929,791 passengers (3.7% more than in the last month of 2024); 240,756 aircraft movements were recorded (+0.6%); and 137,236 tons of cargo were transported, 10.1% more than in December 2024.
Aena is finalizing the investment plans that Spain’s airports will require in the coming years to guarantee, as it has always done, the necessary capacity for their smooth operation.
The record traffic figures of recent years clearly demonstrate this need and the situation that will arise in the coming years regarding infrastructure, which will have to adapt to available capacity and ambitious expansion and renovation projects.
