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Aena Reports September Passenger Growth as Bilbao Booms and Others Slide

New data highlight concentrated demand at major hubs, with airline scheduling shifts driving capacity pressure at Bilbao.

Overview

  • Spain’s airport network handled 30.4 million passengers in September, up 2.5% year over year, reaching 247 million for January–September, a 4% increase on 2024.
  • Granada‑Jaén set a record for operations in September and 18 airports logged their best September on record, including Barcelona, Málaga, Palma, Alicante, Tenerife South and others.
  • Bilbao closed its best summer on record and has surpassed 5 million passengers year to date, with international traffic up 7% and domestic down 2%, putting the airport on track to approach about 7 million this year despite a terminal designed for 4.5 million.
  • Córdoba doubled passengers to 17,224 in the first nine months and quadrupled its September total to 3,182, driven chiefly by Vueling’s new CórdobaBarcelona route launched on September 18.
  • Santiago de Compostela fell 12.2% year to date with 347,035 fewer passengers and a 27.8% cargo drop, while Valladolid is down 60.7% to 59,689 after Ryanair’s March exit, with local reports noting Vueling’s expected return this month could ease the decline.