The Spanish region of Asturias is popular. The popularity of this green, mountainous area on the Cantabrian Sea has grown strongly since the coronavirus pandemic.
First, Spanish travellers who could not leave their country discovered the ‘Switzerland of Spain’ as a new holiday destination. And a few very hot summers are giving more and more people the idea of spending their holidays in Northern Spain. After all, the heat there in summer is more bearable than further south on the Mediterranean coast.
Best January ever
In January, Asturias Airport (OVD) in Oviedo registered a total of 122,640 travellers. This figure represents an increase of 6.3% compared to the same month in 2023. It also makes last month the best January in the airport’s history. This is evident from figures provided by the Spanish airport authority Aena. Of the total number of passengers, 122,525 used commercial flights, of which 98,095 had national origins or destinations, while 24,430 corresponded to international traffic.
The number of flights operated in January was 1,035. That figure represents an increase of 7.4% compared to the same month in 2023. Of these flights, 1,000 were commercial, 9.1% more than the year before, Europa Press reports.
Airport expansion needed
Aena estimated in December 2021 in a Master Plan for all airports under its management that Asturias Airport would reach 1,918,000 commercial passengers and 15,760 commercial activities in the long term. In ‘Horizon 1’ (short term), the Asturian airport would reach 1,386,800 users in the coming years. In ‘Horizon 2’ (medium term), 1,624,300 people. These predictions are now well outdated. 2023 ended with 1,974,850 passengers. That is 38% and more than a million travellers above the number reached in the year in which the master plan was approved. And 3% above the most optimistic estimate in the document.
This means that work is needed at the airport, writes El Comercio. This involves an additional parking garage, the expansion of the check-in desks and the security checkpoint area.
Also read: Asturias does not want to be Benidorm
