Fuerteventura sees 2% drop in passengers in February

Aena Airports in the Canary Islands Reach 4.5 Million Passengers in February, Up 1.2%

Aena’s airports in the Canary Islands handled 4,546,710 passengers in February, marking a 1.2 % year‑on‑year increase, according to data released Thursday by the airport operator.

Of the total travelers, 4,528,534 were commercial‑flight passengers: 1,545,064 travelled on domestic flights (down 0.1 % from February 2025) and 2,983,470 on international flights (up 2.1 %).

The Fuerteventura Airport saw a 2 % drop in passengers in February, while the Canary Islands recorded 38,779 aircraft movements (up 0.1 %) and 2,648 tonnes of cargo (up 3.5 % from February 2025).

Passenger Rankings in the Archipelago

• Gran Canaria Airport: 1,354,603 passengers (+1.6 %)
• Tenerife South Airport: 1,258,924 passengers (+1.1 %)
• César Manrique–Lanzarote Airport: 709,321 passengers (+0.5 %)

Followed by:

• Fuerteventura Airport: 547,745 passengers (‑2 %)
• Tenerife North – Ciudad de La Laguna: 517,621 passengers (+3.1 %)
• La Palma Airport: 127,557 passengers (+7.7 %)
• El Hierro Airport: 22,747 passengers (+3.8 %)
• La Gomera Airport: 8,192 passengers (‑1.9 %)

Over 9.1 Million Passengers in the First Two Months of 2026

For the January‑February period, Canary Island airports recorded 9,139,022 travelers, a 0.6 % increase over the same period in 2025.

• Commercial passengers: 9,101,290 (domestic: 3,128,239, down 1.1 %; international: 5,973,051, up 2 %)
• Aircraft movements: 79,209
• Cargo handled: 5,267 tonnes

More Than 20.55 Million Passengers in Spain’s Airports

Across Spain, Aena’s network handled 20.55 million passengers in February, a 2.8 % rise from February 2025. This growth is slower than the 4 % increase recorded between February 2025 and February 2024 (the latter being a leap year).

The 0.5 % (≈108,000 people) increase is attributed to passengers shifting to Aena airports after the rail accident on 18 January, especially on routes:

• Madrid‑Barajas ↔ Málaga‑Costa del Sol
• Madrid‑Barajas ↔ Sevilla
• Madrid‑Barajas ↔ Barcelona‑El Prat (due to high‑speed rail technical issues)

In February, Spain logged 175,332 aircraft movements (‑1.9 % vs. February 2025) and 108,238 tonnes of cargo (+9.1 % YoY).

For the first two months of 2026, Aena’s Spanish airports saw 40.9 million travelers (+2.7 % vs. 2025), 348,763 movements (‑1.3 %) and 211,731 tonnes of cargo (+8.6 %).

25.4 Million Passengers Across the Aena Group

The Aena Group (46 airports + 2 heliports in Spain, London‑Luton, and 17 airports in Brazil) reported 25.4 million passengers in February, a 3.7 % increase over February 2025.

• Aircraft movements: 218,751 (‑1.9 % vs. 2025)
• Cargo: 119,929 tonnes (+7.3 % YoY)

Cumulatively, up to February 2026 the Group handled 51.2 million passengers (+3.5 % YoY), 439,945 movements (‑1.3 %) and 235,805 tonnes of cargo (+7.2 %).

Barajas Surpasses 5 Million Passengers

Adolfo Suárez Madrid‑Barajas Airport topped the Spanish airports with 5 million passengers, a 5.3 % growth over the same month last year.

Other leading airports:

• Barcelona‑El Prat (Josep Tarradellas): 3.8 million (+3.8 %)
• Málaga‑Costa del Sol: 1.5 million (+3.5 %)
• Gran Canaria: 1.3 million (+1.6 %)
• Tenerife South: 1.2 million (+1.1 %)
• Alicante‑Elche Miguel Hernández: 1.2 million (+5.3 %)
• Palma de Mallorca: just over 1 million, ‑3.1 % vs. February 2025

A record 18 airports set new February passenger highs, including Barajas, Barcelona‑El Prat, Málaga, Gran Canaria, Tenerife South, Alicante‑Elche, Valencia, Sevilla, Lanzarote, Tenerife North, Bilbao, Asturias, La Palma, El Hierro, Vitoria, Badajoz, Córdoba and Son Bonet.

Operations

• Barajas led with 32,735 movements (+3.9 % YoY)
• Barcelona‑El Prat: 24,474 (+0.2 %)
• Gran Canaria: 11,617 (+0.6 %)
• Málaga‑Costa del Sol: 11,144 (+1.9 %)
• Palma de Mallorca: 8,829 (‑4.2 %)
• Alicante‑Elche: 8,001 (+5.6 %)
• Tenerife South: 7,940 (‑2.5 %)

February 2026: Most Operations at Eight Airports

The month recorded the highest number of operations at eight airports: Málaga‑Costa del Sol, Gran Canaria, Alicante‑Elche, Sevilla, Tenerife North, La Palma, Murcia Region International, and Son Bonet.

Cargo

• Barajas handled the most cargo: 65,279 tonnes (+6.5 % YoY), marking its busiest February ever.
• Barcelona‑El Prat: 17,746 tonnes (+24 %, a monthly record)
• Zaragoza: 13,335 tonnes (+9.1 %)
• Vitoria: 5,582 tonnes (+4.5 %)