Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport recorded the highest number of passengers with 66.2 million, up 9.9% year-on-year.
Spain’s capacity is projected to hit all-time-high levels during the summer 2025 season, following a record year for passenger traffic in 2024, as airport operator Aena gears up for a new phase of infrastructure investments.
According to analysis of the latest OAG Schedules Analyser data, airlines are set to offer approximately 118 million departure seats from and within Spain during the northern summer 2025 season, reflecting a year-on-year increase of more than 3% and a 14% rise compared to summer 2019. About 82 million seats this summer will be to international destinations.
This planned capacity growth follows Aena’s announcement of record passenger traffic in 2024, with its Spanish airports handling 309.3 million travelers, a 9.2% increase compared to 2023.
Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport recorded the highest number of passengers with 66.2 million, up 9.9% year-on-year, followed by Barcelona El Prat (BCN) with 55 million passengers (+10.3%) and Palma de Mallorca with 33.3 million (+7%). In total, 21 airports set all-time passenger records, including Alicante, Malaga and Seville.
In response to the sustained growth, Aena is preparing significant infrastructure investments as part of its DORA 2027-31 plan, which will focus on expanding capacity, modernizing facilities and incorporating sustainability measures.
The company says the plan is designed to ensure that airport infrastructure is scaled to meet future demand while supporting economic and environmental objectives. It will be developed in consultation with airlines, local governments and other stakeholders.
Looking ahead to the summer 2025 season, the UK is set to remain Spain’s largest international market, representing approximately 23% of all international departure seats. Capacity in the Spain-UK market is scheduled to grow by 6.5% year-on-year.
Germany will retain its position as the second-largest international market—despite capacity remaining flat—while Italy (+2.8%), France (+0.6%) and the Netherlands (+11.7%) complete the top five.
BCN is scheduled to see the largest capacity growth among airports, with almost 1 million additional departure seats available compared with summer 2024. This rise is being driven by more than 550,000 seats added by Barcelona-based LCC Vueling, as well as almost 130,000 by Ryanair. Additionally, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines are each adding more than 40,000 seats from BCN this summer.
The growth in Spain’s market comes as Routes Europe 2025 heads to Seville from April 8-10, hosted by the government of Spain, the Regional Ministry for Tourism, Culture and Sport of the Government of Andalucia and Seville City Hall.
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