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Airlines predict a record summer at Alicante Airport
New flights to Armenia and North Africa will join the expanded UK connections for summer 2026
Airlines are gearing up for what could be the busiest summer ever at Alicante Elche Miguel Hernández Airport, with early forecasts pointing to a 9% rise in seat capacity compared to last year.
According to preliminary figures gathered by the Costa Blanca Tourist Board, airlines are planning to put around 16 million seats on sale between April and October 2026. That would mean close to 88,000 flight operations across more than 230 routes linking Alicante with 32 countries.
Last summer saw 14.7 million seats offered, which was already up 3.4% on the previous year. If the new projections hold, this summer’s growth would be significantly stronger. However, these figures are still based on airline schedules and slot requests, so final numbers could shift slightly. And of course, putting 16 million seats on sale doesn’t automatically mean 16 million passengers will pass through the terminal.
For British residents on the Costa Blanca and those expecting visiting friends and family, the UK market remains key. Full schedules from Ryanair and easyJet are still to be confirmed, although easyJet has already indicated it plans to increase capacity to Alicante by around 3%.
Jet2 has confirmed a notable boost, adding flights from its new base at London Gatwick and putting 560,000 seats on sale to and from Alicante, which is 53,000 more than last summer.
Vueling is also expanding strongly. The airline plans to increase capacity on its London Gatwick route by around 24%, offering 131,000 seats and up to 13 weekly flights. It will also maintain its Cardiff connection and strengthen services to Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris Orly, alongside domestic routes including Tenerife North, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Santander, Bilbao, Barcelona and Mallorca.
Beyond the UK, Germany is also gaining importance, with Eurowings launching flights to Hanover and Ryanair planning new routes to Friedrichshafen and Saarbrücken. Eastern Europe is also growing, with Wizz Air starting flights to Bratislava and a brand new link to Yerevan in Armenia opening up an entirely new market.
North Africa is back on the map too. Vueling is adding Constantine and restoring Tangier, while Royal Air Maroc plans to operate between Casablanca and Alicante. Austrian Airlines will connect Vienna with the Costa Blanca, Luxair returns with Luxembourg and Air Serbia is set to launch Belgrade services.
Image: Alicante-Elche T2-Salidas Facebook
