Costa Blanca airport smashes November passenger record boosted by big number of UK visitors

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ALICANTE-ELCHE airport smashed its November passenger record by almost a fifth, with nearly a third of travellers coming from the UK.

Airport operator Aena said that just under 1.28 million passengers passed through the facility last month- up by 19.6% on a year ago.

International travellers accounted for the bulk of the figures with 1.08 million recorded in an annual rise of 18.5%.

AIRPORT CONCOURSE

Domestic passengers rose to 193,489 people with a yearly hike of 24.8%.

The United Kingdom market dominated foreign arrivals with 421,321 with the Netherlands a distant second on 85,096 passengers followed by Germany with 75,105.

Belgium and Poland also stood out with 74,371 and 66,080 travellers respectively.

Alicante-Elche airport also set a November record with 8,566 flights- 23% more than the same month last year.

The airport broke its annual passenger record in October and the latest figures show 17.2 million travellers in the first 11 months of 2024, which is 1.4 million above the 2023 full year record total.

Flight numbers are up over the 11 months by 15.5%.

The Valencian government is continuing to campaign for a second runway but the national government, for the time being, is only green-lighting a terminal expansion.

There have also been talks to establish a first-ever transatlantic route between Alicante-Elche and New York.