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Not just Brits: Alicante Airport sees record summer as Polish and Italian visitors soar
Passenger numbers hit almost 9 million over the summer, with traffic on course to push the airport beyond 21 million for the year
Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport has recorded its busiest summer on record, with almost nine million passengers travelling through the terminal between June and September. The figures also reveal a growing mix of nationalities, with Polish, Italian and Belgian passenger numbers rising sharply alongside the airport’s established British market.A total of 8,929,405 passengers passed through the airport over the four months, an increase of 11.13% on the same period last year. For the first time, passenger numbers exceeded two million in each of June, July, August and September.
The strong summer has helped take the airport’s total passenger traffic for the first nine months of 2026 to 16,867,055, up 10.1% on 2025. If that trend continues through the final quarter, the airport could finish the year with more than 21 million passengers, setting another annual record.
The growth comes as Alicante prepares for further airport development. Plans for a new boarding pier and a replacement General Aviation building have moved forward, with Aena beginning the process of acquiring more than 88,000 square metres of land in Elche.
British visitors still lead, but other markets are catching up
British passengers remain the airport’s largest international group. Nearly 2.92 million travelled through Alicante between June and September, up 7.5% on the same period last year.
Spanish passengers ranked second, with 981,089 journeys, an increase of 6.1%. Germany was third, with 564,060 passengers, up 16.5%.
Poland was one of the standout markets. Passenger numbers reached 483,597, an increase of 32%, while Belgium recorded 452,408 passengers, up 22.6%. Italy saw the sharpest growth among the top ten nationalities, with 370,681 passengers, a rise of 39.3%.
The figures reflect the growing range of flights available from European airports. New connections to Friedrichshafen and Saarbrücken in Germany, and Naples, Catania and Venice in Italy, have helped expand access to the Costa Blanca. Routes to Polish cities including Warsaw, Kraków, Gdańsk, Wrocław and Katowice have also been added or increased in frequency.
The figures may also reflect a longer-term change in who is choosing to settle in the province. The local property developers’ association, Provia, has observed growing numbers of Polish buyers purchasing homes in the area over the past five years.
Mayte García, chief executive of Hosbec, the hotel and tourism association, said diversification was important for the destination. She described growth in markets such as Italy, Poland and Belgium as “very good news”, while pointing to the need to pay attention to countries where passenger numbers are falling.
France was among those declining markets, with 361,649 passengers, down 5.7%. Switzerland also recorded a fall, dropping 8.9% to 145,327.
Expansion plans gather pace
The planned airport expansion is intended to provide more space for passenger processing and security checks as traffic increases. The new boarding pier is expected to serve passengers arriving from outside the Schengen area, including the UK, and is planned to include a centralised border control point, shops, restaurants and its own VIP lounge.
The land acquisition process affects 25 plots, including property belonging to Elche’s Ayuntamiento and car rental company Aeroautos. Owners have a 15-working-day period to submit objections. No final compensation figures have yet been announced, and completing the acquisition could take at least a year.
The wider development programme for 2027 to 2031 is estimated at €1.154 billion and includes improvements to parking, access roads and aircraft taxiways. The terminal’s current surface area is expected to increase by almost 30%.
Construction of the main new facilities could still be some way off, with the first works potentially not beginning until 2028.
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