Aena Group airports reach 36.1 million passengers in May, sustaining broad traffic growth across Spain, Brazil and the UK

Aena reported continued traffic growth in May 2026, with its global airport network handling 36.1 million passengers, up 4.7% year-on-year.

Across the first five months of 2026, the group recorded 150.9 million passengers, a 4% increase compared with the same period in 2025. Growth was supported by stronger summer scheduling, partly influenced by shifts in demand following geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East and temporary modal shifts from rail after a January train accident.

Spain: Strong May performance

Spain-based airports handled 30.7 million passengers in May, up 5% year-on-year. The January–May total reached 124.6 million passengers (+3.7%).

Major hubs performed strongly:

• Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport: 6.0 million (+4.8%)
• Barcelona–El Prat Airport: 5.5 million (+6.4%)
• Palma de Mallorca Airport: 4.0 million (+4.9%)
• Málaga–Costa del Sol Airport: 2.7 million (+6.3%)
• Alicante–Elche Airport: 2.1 million (+11.9%)

Cargo and movements also grew, with freight up 3.9% in Spain and aircraft movements up nearly 5%.

Brazil: mixed performance

Aena Brasil handled 3.7 million passengers in May (+1%). Growth was driven by São Paulo Congonhas, while Recife continued to decline. Year-to-date Brazilian traffic rose 5.3%.

London Luton: strong passenger growth

London Luton Airport recorded 1.73 million passengers in May, an increase of 8.2%, though cargo volumes declined significantly due to runway maintenance works.

Overall trend

The results confirm steady expansion across Aena’s diversified airport portfolio, with strong leisure-driven demand in Southern Europe, stable growth in Brazil, and solid passenger recovery in the UK market, despite some cargo headwinds and external shocks influencing routing and seasonality.