Malaga Airport Outpaces Madrid, Barcelona and Palma in Growth

Malaga-Costa del Sol handled around 3.05 million passengers in August 2026, up 6.6 percent year-on-year – the strongest growth among Spain's four busiest airports.

That puts the Andalusian airport ahead of the country's big hubs: Madrid-Barajas recorded 6.54 million passengers (+4.8%), Barcelona-El Prat 5.93 million (+4.6%) and Palma de Mallorca 4.81 million (+2.3%).

Some smaller airports grew even faster: Bilbao rose 18.9%, Alicante-Elche 11.4% and Valencia 10.1%, while Tenerife Sur was the only major airport to decline, down 4.2%.

Airports in August 2026: Malaga compared

Selection of the airports mentioned in this article · change on August 2025

Growth Passengers

1. 1Bilbao+18.9%
2. 2Alicante-Elche+11.4%
3. 3Valencia+10.1%
4. 4Málaga-Costa del Sol+6.6%
5. 5Madrid-Barajas+4.8%
6. 6Barcelona-El Prat+4.6%
7. 7Palma de Mallorca+2.3%
8. 8Tenerife Sur−4.2%

The year-to-date figures for January–August 2026 confirm the trend: Malaga reached 19.32 million passengers (+6.6%), while Tenerife Sur remains down 3.3% at 8.95 million.