Neither the increase in rates, nor the high price of plane tickets, nor the extreme heat that Spain is suffering from are slowing down the massive arrival of tourists to Spain by land, sea and, above all, air. The Spanish airports managed by Aena have broken a new historical activity record in July, with more passengers than ever in this key month for air transport and the holiday sector.
The network has surpassed all records with more than 29.7 million travelers, 10% above the same month last year and 1.2% above July 2019, before the pandemic, on previous record year, according to data published by Aena yesterday. And if nothing goes wrong, everything points to the fact that the 2023 team will also break all the highs. In the accumulated up to July, 159 million passengers have already been exceeded, above the levels before the pandemic (see graph) and contributing to Aena’s good results -607.7 million euros in profits during the first semester.
It is the classic sun and beach destinations that contribute to the growth. The tourist who wants a typical leisure offer has pushed the airports of Palma, Malaga, Ibiza or Valencia far above their previous best records. El Prat and Barajas, however, remain below the pre-covid figures. With more than 4.9 million (-7.9% compared to 2019) and 5.5 million passengers (-6.8%) in July respectively, they do not manage to benefit like other large airports from this explosive demand for fly to Spain despite leading the activity in absolute numbers.
Although Barcelona has reached the equator of the summer campaign equaling the number of international destinations before the covid air crisis, which was still felt last year, the 37 airlines that offer these flights from the Catalan capital they have not yet activated 100% of the prepandemic frequencies, as indicated by the latest report from the Barcelona Air Traffic Observatory.
Sources in the sector also point out that the slow recovery of connections with Asia and the cancellation of flights with Russia and Ukraine since the beginning of the war – a market with more weight in Catalonia than in other communities – is slowing down the recovery of El Prat more than in other large Spanish airports. Something similar happens in Barajas, they add from the air sector.
The company leading the increase in activity in Spain is, as always, Ryanair. Although this campaign the Irish low-cost carrier strengthens its leadership, with pre-pandemic growth well above its competitors this summer. If in July 2019 the airline transported almost 5.2 million passengers to Spain, last month it moved nearly 6.4 million, 30% more. Its immediate competitor, Vueling, transported more than 4.8 million travelers to Aena airports in July, barely 5.3% above the same month in 2019. Iberia, Air Europa and Iberia Express complete the top 5 airlines with the most activity this summer in Spain, although the first two are below the 2019 records.
Good air transport data in July contrasts with a June that fell short of expectations. A few weeks ago the CEO of the Ryanair group, Michael O’Leary, expressed some concern that the macroeconomic situation could affect the spending of travelers during the second half of the year in a context in which the price of tickets has not left to grow above general inflation in Europe from March 2022, with the sole exception of January this year. Perhaps to anticipate this possible contraction in demand, the airlines have moderated the increase in flight prices, by 6% in June and at the same level as inflation, as recorded by Eurocontrol in its recent situation report.
