Palma airport registered a record number of passengers landing or taking off at its facilities in 2023. For yet another year, Son Sant Joan International Airport was the third busiest airport in Spain, only surpassed by Madrid and Barcelona airports. Palma was not the only airport to record a record number of passengers during 2023, as in the national total, Aena’s airports in Spain closed 2023 with more than 283 million passengers, 16.2% more than in 2022 and 2.9% better than in 2019. Historic record for the country with data that confirm the recovery after the pandemic of 2020.

Passengers at Palma Airport in 2023

The total number of passengers at Palma airport in 2023 amounted to 31,105,987. This represents an increase of 8.9% over the previous year. Son Sant Joan was thus the third airport in Spain with the highest number of passengers. Ahead of it, Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport, which recorded the highest number of passengers in 2023 with 60,220,984, representing a growth of 18.9% compared to 2022. And Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat, with 49,909,544 (+19.9% compared to 2022).

The ranking of airports with the highest number of passengers in 2023 would be as follows:

  • Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas, with 60,220,984, (+18.9% compared to 2022).
  • Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat, with 49,909,544 (+19.9% compared to 2022).
  • Palma de Mallorca, with 31,105,987 (+8.9%).
  • Málaga-Costa del Sol, with 22,344,373 (+21.1%).
  • Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández, with 15,747,678 (+19.2%).
  • Gran Canaria, with 13,961,638 (+12.4%).
  • Tenerife South, with 12,337,244 (+14%).
  • Valencia, with 9,948,141 (+22.6%).

Of the total number of passengers last year, 282,388,924 were commercial passengers: 189,725,690 travelled on international flights, 18.2% more than in 2022, while 92,663,234 travelled on domestic flights, 12.6% more than in 2022.

Operations

pasajeros del aeropuerto de Palma en 2023

In terms of operations, the airport with the most movements in 2023 was Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas, with a total of 389,179 (+10.6% compared to 2022), followed by Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat, with 318. 957 flights (+12.5%); Palma de Mallorca, with 228,920 (+3.7%); Málaga-Costa del Sol, with 161,684 (+12.2%); Gran Canaria, with 129,552 (+8.4%); and Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández, with 100,547 landings and take-offs (+11.6%).

On balance, throughout 2023, Aena managed 2,403,918 aircraft movements, 8.5% more than in 2022; and 1,079,676 tonnes of freight were moved, 7.9% more than in 2022, which is an all-time record for freight transport.

In the words of the Chairman and CEO of Aena, Maurici Lucena, “these record figures in air transport are fundamental for the economic and social development of Spain. We should all congratulate ourselves for them. Also the airlines that, like Aena, suffered the harsh consequences of the pandemic, and are now carrying more passengers than ever”.