Aena hits record number of passengers and freight traffic in 2024

January 16, 2025

Spanish airport operator, Aena, recorded more than 369.4 million passengers last year, marking a second consecutive annual record, as well as 1.42 million tonnes of cargo.
Aena’s portfolio, which includes 46 airports and two heliports in Spain, as well as 17 airports in Brazil and London Luton in the UK, saw a total of 369.4 million passengers, marking an 8.5% increase from 2023. Overall, the group handled 3.2 million aircraft movements, up 7.1% from 2023, while freight volumes were up 18.6% from the previous year.
The busiest airports were Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas with 66.2 million passengers (+9.9% year-on-year) and Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat with 55 million passengers (+10.3% year-on-year). Passenger records were set at 21 airports in total, with Palma de Mallorca, Málaga-Costa del Sol, Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández, Gran Canaria, Bilbao, La Gomera, Tenerife Sur and Valencia among those also recording high volumes of passenger traffic.
The surge in passenger traffic across Spain reflects the country’s flourishing tourism sector, a key driver of Spain’s robust economic growth in 2024. In anticipation of continued growth, Aena is already working on infrastructure investments for the 2027-2031 period. A statement from Aena said: “The sustainable growth of airports in economic, environmental and airport infrastructure terms contributes to generating wealth and creating jobs in the areas they serve.” Consequently, “the determination of future needs is based on thorough technical assessments.”
In Brazil, Aena’s 17 airports handled 43.4 million passengers (+5.6% on the previous year) and nearly 481,000 flights (+5%). Congonhas in Sao Paulo handled 23.1 million passengers, while Recife, Pernambuco in the northeast of the country saw 9.6 million passengers.
London Luton registered 16.7 million passengers (+3.3%) and 131,972 flights, although freight at the UK air transport hub dropped by 17.8%.