Alicante airport is heading into winter with new routes, record summer numbers and serious expansion plans

With 5% growth projected for the winter season and over 14.7 million passengers already through the doors this year, the momentum shows no sign of slowing

After a summer that broke records across all three peak months, Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport is now turning its attention to the winter season, and the early signs are encouraging. Airlines have provisionally scheduled more than 4.2 million arriving seats between late October and late March, across more than 22,000 flights and up to 203 routes served by 33 airlines connecting the airport to 32 countries and 128 airports.

José Mancebo, director of the Costa Blanca Tourist Board, is cautiously optimistic. "With the current schedule, we are working with a growth scenario of around 5%, although there are still slots to be added," he says. "Therefore, we must be cautious with the figures until the season is fully configured, at which point we are operating within the 5 to 10% range."

That follows a summer in which the airport recorded double-digit passenger growth every month, with figures rising 10.5% in June, 11.1% in July and 11.4% in August, making it the fastest-growing major airport in the Aena network. Cumulative passengers for the first eight months of the year have now passed 14.7 million, putting the airport firmly on course to surpass last year's record of 19.9 million.

New winter routes are a key part of the picture. Wizz Air will connect Alicante with Târgu Mureș in Romania from January 2027, while Ryanair begins flying to Catania in Sicily on Saturday October 25, with Wizz Air adding the same route from December 15. On the domestic front, Volotea launches a new service to A Coruña on December 2, followed by Fly2Galicia's route to Santiago de Compostela the following day.

One of the most strategically significant developments is the continuation of Pegasus Airlines' daily service to Istanbul throughout the winter. "Consolidating Istanbul as a year-round connection also has strategic value," says Mancebo, noting that Sabiha Gökçen Airport opens access to wider international markets beyond Turkey itself.

The British market remains the dominant source of passengers, with routes from across the UK maintaining a strong presence in the winter schedule and growth confirmed on the Jet2 connection to London Gatwick.

All of this sits alongside the recently approved €868 million investment plan to expand the terminal , with Aena projecting the airport will handle 22.3 million passengers annually by 2031. For a Costa Blanca airport that only a few years ago was firmly in Málaga's shadow, the trajectory is remarkable.

"Our goal is not growth for growth's sake," Mancebo adds, "but rather to have an increasingly stable, diversified, and balanced air network throughout the year."

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