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Brits back Alicante to make it one of the busiest airports in Spain
November was yet another record-breaking month for passenger numbers at the Costa Blanca airport
It seems there’s no stopping the Costa Blanca and it’s become the destination of choice for many discerning holidaymakers, particularly those travelling from the UK. 2024 has been a bumper year for Alicante-Elche Airport as it breaks record after record for passenger and flight numbers, and November was another showstopper.
The figures are in and last month, more travellers passed the doors of Alicante Airport than any November on record, placing the El Altet aerodrome as the fastest growing among Spain’s largest airports.
According to Aena, a massive 1,279,116 travellers used Alicante Airport in November, which is 19.6% more than in the same period in 2023. A figure that reflects the importance that the months of the so-called mid-season have acquired for the Costa Blanca's tourism sector, the experts believe.
Looking at the figures for the year to date, the data is equally positive. Between January and November, El Altet recorded 17.2 million passengers, which represents almost two and a half million more than in the same period last year (+16.8%) and 1.4 million more than in the whole of 2023.
Incredibly, this practically doubles the average increase in air traffic in the whole country (+9.4%).
In comparison, Madrid, arguably the main hub of international travel, increased its passenger numbers by 10%; in Barcelona it was 10.7%; in Palma de Mallorca it was 7.1%; in Malaga, 11.8%; in Gran Canaria, 9.1%; and in Tenerife South, 12%.
What won’t come as any surprise is that the British are still the biggest fans of the Costa Blanca: almost 5.8 million people flew from the UK to Alicante between January and November this year, up 8.7% on 2023.
Domestic passengers land in second place, with almost 2.4 million flying to or from another Spanish airport.
But one of the most striking changes is the contribution made by visitors from Poland. In one year, they have gone from 479,809 passengers up to a whopping 781,828. That’s a growth of almost 63%, spurred by the war in Ukraine - which has also resulted in Poles now being one of the main buyers of second homes on the Costa Blanca - and the increase in the popularity of Alicante as a holiday destination.
The German market is also growing strongly, with more than one million visitors so far this year, up 20%, and the French market, with 724,078 passengers, up 17.5%. Meanwhile, travellers from Italy have increased by 30%, reaching 577,899.
Ryanair is once again the main operator at Alicante-Elche Airport, with 6.8 million passengers flown between January and September, which means an increase of 1.1 million users. In other words, the Irish airline is responsible for almost half of all the increase in passengers registered by the Alicante airport.
Image: Freepik
