Spanish Airport Passenger Arrivals Fell By 75% Over Summer

The Spanish airports operator AENA has reported a 75% fall in traffic compared to the same period in 2019.

The figures for  the number of air passengers that passed through the national airport network for the 3 months from July to September inclusive was 21.4 million which reflected the impact of quarantine measures introduced by other countries due to the high infection rates in Spain.

The tourist sector of the Spanish economy is heavily reliant on visitors from key countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany and France all of whom applied restriction for visitors to Spain.

The airports in the Aena network closed September with 5,457,083 passengers, 79.9% fewer than in the same month last year, along with 109,076 aircraft movements, 50.9% lower, and 71,369 tons of freight, 23.1% lower.

Out of the total number of passengers registered in September, 5,430,852 were commercial passengers with 3,470,957 on domestic flights, 56.0% less than in September 2019, and 1,959,895 on international routes, down by 89.8%. This comes against a backdrop in which borders and travel to and from third countries are still restricted.

In September, Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport had the highest number of passengers in the network at 985,077 travellers, which is a 82.3% decrease compared to the same month in 2019. It is followed by Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, with 844,414 (-83.5%); Palma de Mallorca, with 513,086 (-86.4%); Málaga-Costa del Sol, with 366,312 (-81.9%); Gran Canaria, with 295,825 (-70.0%); Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna, with 277,608 (-46.3%) and Ibiza, with 275,016 (-76.0%).

In terms of the number of operations, the airport that recorded the highest number of movements in September was Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas with a total of 12,412 (-66.7%), followed by Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat with 10,497 (-67.3%); Palma de Mallorca with 8,972 (-65.1%); Málaga-Costa del Sol with 6,232 (-55.6%); Gran Canaria with 5,685 (-41.8%); Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna with 4,747 (-24.8%); Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna with 4,747 (-24.8%), Ibiza with 4,595 (-51.5%), and Alicante-Elche with 3,862 (-61.5%).

The Spanish government has been lobbying European partners such as the U.K and Germany for a relaxation in restrictions.