Nine out of ten international passengers at Alicante-Elche airport travel with a 'low cost' airline

Alicante-Elche airport has broken all historical records in 2024. With 18.4 million passengers, it surpassed 2023 figures by 17%, and the first month of 2025 also marked the best start of the year ever. The growth of the Alicante terminal exceeds the average of Spanish airports in 2024, which was 9%, establishing itself as a benchmark within the country.

Part of the credit goes to international traffic, which reached 15.8 million. The vast number of routes to Europe and the wide range of airlines, such as Ryanair and EasyJet, which have set up bases at El Altet, have only enhanced the airport's facilities and forecasts.

In fact, the arrival of these low-cost carriers is a significant driver for Alicante-Elche airport's traffic. Nine out of ten international passengers arriving at the terminal did so with a 'low cost' airline, according to the 'Tourism Sector Report in the Province of Alicante. Balance 2024 and prospects 2025', prepared by the Alicante Chamber of Commerce and Cajamar.

With over seven million passengers arriving on low-cost airlines, the figure has grown by 17% compared to 2023. Additionally, the Alicante terminal is now the fourth busiest airport in Spain for passengers on such airlines, accounting for 10.9% of the national total, only behind Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, and Malaga.

The opening of new routes and the emergence of new airlines, such as the Hungarian Wizz Air, have boosted traffic with Eastern European countries. In fact, Hungary experienced a 119.8% increase year-on-year, reaching 177,719 passengers, while Poland, with which Ryanair has announced a new route, has become a key market, the fifth for Alicante in traffic, reaching 846,741 passengers, 57% more than the previous year, details the Chamber of Commerce report.

Additionally, the recovery of British tourism, which recorded 700,000 more passengers than in 2023, has led to the restoration of pre-pandemic seat numbers. Low-cost airlines like Jet2 have opened bases at other English airports, such as London-Luton and Bournemouth, further increasing the offer to travel to Great Britain.

Regarding the airlines that have transported the most passengers, Ryanair remains by far the most used, with 7.3 million travellers, followed by EasyJet, with over two million, and Vueling, with nearly 1.98 million. Jet2 and Norwegian Airlines also make a strong entry with 1.2 million and 931,381 passengers, respectively. Wizz Air, which has just opened a route with Belgrade, also grew in 2024 and now exceeds 415,000 annual passengers, highlights the study released by the Alicante Chamber, together with Cajamar.

The Alicante Chamber of Commerce reports that 2024 "has exceeded the figures forecast by the chamber organisations every month of last year." The 18.4 million travellers are above the traffic forecast in the neutral or "most likely" scenario, which estimated 17.3 million passengers. It even surpassed the most optimistic scenario, which expected 18.3 million passengers.

"The evolution of traffic justifies, if anything, more strongly, the need to undertake the expansion works at Alicante-Elche Airport as soon as possible, as otherwise, the airport's capacity limit would be reached sooner than expected," argues the Alicante Chamber study.