Next week is Easter week. Traditionally a busy week in Spain. Although Aena airports are expecting fewer flights than last year, travel agencies are expecting more bookings.
The airports of Spain’s Aena network will operate 60,352 flights during Easter week. This year it falls from 22 March to 1 April. It is 3.3% less than last year, when there were 62,436 flights, reports the airport operator.
The busiest days are the days when the holiday season comes to an end. Thus, a total of 6,237 flights to and from Aena airports are scheduled for March 31, while 6,179 are scheduled for April 1.
More than 5,500 flights are scheduled for the first three days. On March 22, 5,595, March 23, 5,545, and March 24, 5,572. Tuesday 26 March is the least busy day with 4,756 flight movements.
Busiest airports
As for airports, Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport will be the airport with the most flights this Easter, as usual. In total, there are 11,656 flights, 7.2% more than last year. Here, too, March 31 and April 1 are the busiest, with 1,110 trips per day. March 26, with 987 flights scheduled, is the least crowded day.
Barajas is followed by Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat airport, from which a total of 9,703 flights will be handled this season, 0.6% more. Here, too, the busiest day is 1 April, with 1,016 flights.
The rest of the ranking of Aena’s busiest airports is completed by Palma de Mallorca, with 5,359 flights (-26,8%), Málaga-Costa del Sol, with 4,606 flights (-10,7%), and Gran Canaria, with 4,594 flights (-14%).
More bookings in Easter week
Travel agencies expect an Easter week with 10% more tourists than in 2023. Foreign travellers account for 75% of bookings in the inbound sector, compared to 25% of domestic travellers, and the countries with the highest number of foreign tourists are the Canary Islands, followed by Madrid and Barcelona.
Popular destinations of Spaniards
Among the most popular domestic destinations for Spaniards are the Canary Islands, followed by Madrid and Barcelona. Paris, Rome, London and New York are also popular. Asian countries such as Japan, China, Vietnam and Thailand are also popular destinations. The war in Gaza has caused a drop in demand in Israel and Jordan. This season, some agencies have noticed an increase in demand for less common destinations such as Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Nepal.
