MALAGA Airport hit record passenger numbers last month as the ongoing suspension of high-speed rail forces travellers to find other ways of making their way to the Costa del Sol.
An unprecedented total of 1.6 million passengers passed through the airport during February – 3.5 per cent more than during the same period in 2025.
Almost 300,000 of those were travelling to and from Madrid, indicating the extent to which the shutdown of high-speed rail services in Andalucia has contributed to the rise.
The line linking the capital to Andalucia was cut off after two high-speed trains derailed in Adamuz, Cordoba in Spain’s deadliest rail accident since 80 people were killed in Santiago de Compostela in 2013.
A total of 46 people died after the rear carriages on a Madrid-bound Iryo service carrying over 300 passengers flipped onto an adjacent line and collided with an oncoming train destined for Huelva.
An investigation into the causes of the accident continues.
The impacted stretch of track is now open but Malaga remains cut off thanks to a separate landslide in Alora.
The transport ministry expects the line to fully reopen on March 23.
Of the 1.6 million passengers who used Malaga Airport in February, more than 1.25 million were on international flights.
By country, the UK remains the undisputed top dog with more than 305,000 Brits using the airport last month.
The UK is then followed by Germany (115,365), the Netherlands (91,431), Poland (77,269) and Italy (74,683).
In total, 3,061,153 passengers have passed through Malaga Airport so far this year – 4.3 per cent more than in the same period last year.
That also corresponds to growth at a national level, with airport operator Aena reporting that Spanish airports served more than 2.8 per cent extra passengers last month compared to the previous February.
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