This summer, Palma’s airport in Mallorca, Son Sant Joan, will break all historical records in terms of air traffic. Both the number of planned seats and the number of flight movements will reach unprecedented levels.
This is evident from data released by the Spanish Association for the Coordination and Facilitation of Slots (AECFA). This consists of the aviation authority AENA and fourteen European airlines. Moreover, it concerns the traffic forecasts for the summer period from March to October.
According to AECFA, the airlines will offer 33,483,816 seats. That is an increase of 16.3% compared to 2023. This follows a year that already set a record with an increase of 9.7% compared to 2019, until then the year with the most planned seats (29.6 million).
Increase in flight movements
The expected increase in the number of flight movements is 5.9%. With a total of 185,192 movements, compared to 174,265 the previous year, already showing a significant increase in holiday demand.
This forecast confirms the tourism revival that started in 2022 and further strengthened in 2023. AECFA predicts that July 13 will be the busiest day at Palma airport. On that day, 1,075 movements are expected. In contrast, April 10 will be the quietest day with 622 movements. The daily average of planned operations is 822.
Larger aircraft for greater efficiency
The increase in the number of airline seats is largely due to optimisation measures that airlines are implementing. They will, among other things, use larger aircraft to save on fuel and operational costs.
Ryanair
Just like last year, Ryanair is the airline with the largest number of operations at Son Sant Joan. With 41,078 expected movements, this is an increase of 7.1% compared to 2023. Other important players are Eurowings (23,026), Vueling (14,418), Jet2 (11,109), Air Nostrum (10,785), Condor (8,123), Air Europe (7,498), Tui Airways (5,124) and EasyJet (4,670).
Optimistic prospects for tourism
Foreign tourism groups and major tour operators, represented by industry bodies ABTA (UK) and DRV (Germany), suggest that Mallorca will record tourism activity levels well above normal for the third consecutive year. This of course depends on the stability of geopolitical factors, energy costs and inflation developments until the start of the tourist season.
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