ALICANTE-ELCHE airport set a new annual passenger record in 2025 with just under 20 million travellers- a third of which were from the UK.
The 19,950,394 total beat the previous record of 18.4 million passengers, set in 2024.
December’s figures clocked in at 1.3 million- up 8.4% on a year earlier- to confirm a trend of increasing ‘out of season’ travellers.
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Several carriers have announced or already launched new routes for the winter season or for next summer.
The latest data was released by airport operator Aena on Tuesday.
A record number of flights were run last year, totalling 126,081, an increase of 8.4% compared to 2024.
International services accounted for 88% of total traffic in 2025 logging a 10.6% annual growth with 17.45 million passengers.
Domestic flights reported a 4% fall with 2.47 million users.
The United Kingdom market was once again dominant with 6,553,349 passengers.
Germany was a distant second with 1,242,657 followed by the Netherlands, with 1,235,605, Belgium on 1,035,375, and the rising market of Poland, with 1,023,583.
Plans are at hand to expand the busy airport with the demolition of the old terminal to create a new facility to cater for non-Schengen Zone travellers including the UK.
An investment of €1.154 billion was announced last year which will be pumped into the facility between 2027 and 2031.
Improvements will also include upgrades to parking areas, access roads, and other infrastructures in addition to improvements to runway taxiways to allow flights to land and depart more quickly.
Regional politicians have called for a second runway, but so far that demand has not been met.
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