The network of airports managed by Aena in Spain maintains a high pace of activity after accounting for 225.5 million passengers between January and August 2026, which represents an advance of 4.1% compared to the same period of the previous year.
In these first eight months of the year, air operations grew by 4.4% to exceed 1.8 million movements, while cargo traffic reached 878,168 tons, 1.8% more.
The good performance of the year was reinforced by a particularly intense August, in which Spanish airports served 34.8 million travelers (+4.7% year-on-year) and 273,292 flights (+4.3%). Air cargo, on the other hand, decreased by 5.2% in the month, standing at 104,356 tons.
In the overall Aena Group — which includes 46 airports and two heliports in Spain, London Luton Airport, Leeds Bradford Airport, and 17 airports in Brazil — consolidated activity between January and August 2026 totaled 272.24 million passengers (+4.1%) and 2.3 million operations (+3.7%), while cargo transport fell by 1.2%, to 979,844 tons.
If we analyze only the month of August, the group managed 41.3 million users (+4.7%), 330,526 flights (+4.5%), and 116,723 tons of cargo, a figure that implies a decrease of 5.7% compared to the same month of the previous year.
Within the national network, Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport again ranked first in August with 6.5 million passengers (+4.8%) and 39,606 movements (+6.5%), in addition to leading cargo traffic with 59,695 tons, despite recording a decrease of 12% in this area.
Following behind were Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat, with 5.9 million travelers (+4.6%), 34,772 flights (+4.4%), and 17,588 tons of cargo (+8.5%); Palma de Mallorca, with 4.8 million passengers (+2.3%) and 32,324 operations (+2.8%); and Málaga-Costa del Sol, which totaled 3 million users (+6.6%) and 20,312 flights (+5.3%).
The rest of the major Spanish airports also reflected the strength of summer demand. Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández recorded a notable increase of 11.4% in passengers (2.3 million) and 11.7% in operations (14,069). It was followed by Ibiza, with 1.5 million travelers (+2.5%) and 13,643 flights (+5.2%); Gran Canaria, with 1.3 million users (+3.1%) and 12,038 movements (+5.8%); Valencia, with 1.2 million passengers (+10.1%); and Tenerife Sur, which slightly surpassed one million users, although with a decrease of 4.2%.
In the cargo segment, after Madrid and Barcelona, the airports of Zaragoza stood out, with 15,895 tons (+4.8%), and Vitoria, with 5,138 tons (+8.7%).
In the international sphere, Aena's network of 17 airports in Brazil recorded nearly 31 million passengers (+3.8%), 298,589 flights (+0.2%), and 87,300 tons of goods (+2.6%) between January and August 2026.
During August, these Brazilian facilities served 3.9 million users (+3.2%), 39,983 operations (+6.5%), and 10,285 tons of cargo, a figure that represents a decrease of 7.3%.
By management blocks in Brazil, the group of six airports of ANB totaled 1.43 million passengers in August (+2.2%) —with Recife Airport reaching 811,536 users (-2.7%), 6,643 flights (-2.1%), and 4,095 tons (-4.8%)—, while the BOAB block concentrated 2.5 million travelers (+3.7%). Within this latter, Congonhas Airport in São Paulo stood out with 2.1 million users (+3.5%), 18,280 operations (+0.9%), and a strong correction in cargo of 26.8% (3,428 tons), which dragged the total volume of the block down to 4,380 tons (-17.9%).
In the United Kingdom, the evolution showed solid growth in passengers, but with tensions in logistics activity.
London Luton Airport accumulated up to August 12.5 million travelers (+6.1%) and 92,902 flights (+2.4%), contributing nearly 2 million users in August (+7.8%) and 12,867 operations (+2%).
However, its cargo traffic contracted by 27.8% in the accumulated period, down to 14,375 tons, and by 18.2% in August (2,082 tons), as a result of the nighttime closure of the runway due to resurfacing works.
On the other hand, Leeds Bradford Airport, incorporated into the group on May 7, closed the first eight months of the year with 3.1 million passengers (+3.2%) and 26,402 flights (+3.1%), after adding 561,312 users in August (+3.2%) and 4,384 operations (+4.2%).