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British tourists are leading the way as Alicante-Elche airport heads for a record year
More than 2.3 million passengers passed through in July alone, with nearly 12.5 million already recorded in the first seven months of 2026
The numbers coming out of Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport confirm what anyone who's driven past it lately might have suspected: it's extremely busy. July saw more than 2.3 million passengers pass through, an 11.1% increase on the same month last year, pushing the cumulative total for the first seven months of 2026 to nearly 12.5 million, up 9.6% year on year.British travellers continue to account for the largest share of that traffic by some distance. In July alone, 734,000 passengers flew between Alicante and UK airports, reinforcing just how central this route is to the airport's performance. Germany was second with around 144,000 passengers, followed by Poland with approximately 125,000 and Belgium with close to 119,000.
The international market did the heavy lifting overall, growing by 11.6% to just under 2.1 million passengers in July. Domestic traffic also grew, up 7.4% to around 250,000, a solid result even if the pace was more modest.
It's not just passenger numbers that are up. Flights operated in July reached 14,281 movements, an 11.3% increase on July 2025. For the year to date, the airport has handled 78,300 total movements, up 9.9% on the equivalent period last year.
The growth pattern across both passengers and operations tells a consistent story: demand at Alicante is rising across the board, not just from one market or one type of traveller. For a province whose economy is closely tied to tourism, particularly from northern Europe, those are encouraging figures.
With August still to be counted, the full-year total is shaping up to be one of the strongest the airport has seen.
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Image: wikicommons
