(Reuters) – Aena’s Spanish airports chalked up 300 million passengers last year, marking a second consecutive annual record and reaching the landmark ahead of target, the airport operator said on Monday.
The number of passengers travelling through its Spanish airports rose 9,2% from 2023 to 309.3 million, Aena said, passing 300 million a year earlier than the company expected.
Aena reaped the benefits of a flourishing tourism sector that contributed heavily to robust Spanish economic growth in 2024, contrasting with other big euro zone economies such as France and Germany.
The busiest airport was Madrid’s Adolfo Suarez Barajas, followed by Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat and Palma de Mallorca.
Aena is already working on investments for the 2027-2031 period to ensure infrastructure is able to meet future demand, the company added.
Last year was also a record year in terms of cargo as Spanish airports moved about 1.3 million metric tons, up 18.6% from 2023.
Last month global airlines body IATA forecast a record 5.2 billion passengers would fly in 2025. Aena did not provide an updated outlook for the current year.
(This story has been refiled to fix the dateline to Jan 13) for proof
(Reporting by Javi West Larrañaga; Editing by Inti Landauro and David Goodman)
