The province of Malaga boasts excellent connections by land, sea and air. Malaga-Costa del Sol airport has some of the highest passenger numbers in Spain. Cities including London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, New York and Moscow have a direct link with the airport.
In terms of passenger traffic, the airport is currently the fourth busiest in Spain, the third busiest in the Iberian Peninsula and the 20 busiest in the European Union. The hub is located in the Churriana district of the city and operated by AENA (Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea).
In 2019, Malaga-Costa del Sol airport welcomed 19,856,299 passengers (16,851,281 on international flights), counting a total of 144,920 take-offs and landings. These figures make Malaga airport a major gateway for tourism into the Costa del Sol and the whole of Andalusia, as around 85% of all international flights land at the hub and it is the only airport to offer such a wide range of destinations.
The features of Malaga-Costa del Sol airport
Malaga airport has two runways. One of these is used exclusively for take-offs while the other is dedicated to landings to facilitate air traffic. There are three terminals - 1, 2 and 3 - which are interconnected so passengers can avoid going outside and get to their gate with ease.
Over sixty airlines operate at the airport providing daily connections to twenty Spanish cities and over a hundred destinations in Europe, primarily the United Kingdom, Central Europe and Scandinavia, but also the biggest cities in Eastern Europe.
A brief history
Malaga airport was founded in 1919 to meet France’s need to create a commercial air link that connected the country and its colonies, passing through Spain. Following a number of test flights, on the 1 September 1919, Didier Daurat, the first ever director of Malaga airfield, opened the first commercial airline connecting Toulouse and Casablanca via Malaga.
In 1936, Malaga airport became an airbase and a year later the home of Escuela de Especialistas del Ejército del Aire. By the year 1946, civil operations had been reinstalled at the airport. Connections to national and international destinations were now the norm and a couple of years later a passenger terminal was built. In 1960 the facilities were modernised, the runway was extended and a new terminal was constructed and opened in 1968. Following the growing demand for non-scheduled flights, in 1972 a terminal for non-scheduled traffic was created. In 2011, Malaga airport became the headquarters of Helitt Líneas Aéreas and an operational base for airlines including Ryanair, Vueling and Norwegian. Until the 6 June 2011, the name of the hub was Malaga airport, when it officially became Malaga-Costa del Sol airport.
Fuente: Málaga hoy
Malaga airport and MICE tourism
The excellent infrastructure of Malaga-Costa del Sol airport and its boundless connections to a wide variety of destinations is one of the reasons why the province of Malaga is one of business travellers’ favourite destinations. Cities such as London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, New York and Moscow - among many others - have a direct link to Malaga airport. What about you? Have you ever been to Malaga airport?
