16.5% of Flights to Spain in May Came From The UK

16.5% of Flights to Spain in May Came From The UK

Malaga Airport is living up to its new expansion

with record number of Brits coming to

the Costa del Sol

Even though the summer has just started Spanish airports are already seeing record passenger numbers.

Things may be heating up with the Brexit but no matter what comes from the result it’s clear that Brits just can’t get enough of Spain.

While things are still heating up in the relationship between the EU and the UK, with people throwing around xenophobia and mistrust, the latest data suggests that Spain is still very much beloved by the UK.

The figures in question show that 16.5% of all the passengers arriving at Spanish airports during May were either coming from or going back to airports in the UK, helping lead to the overall rise of 11.3% in overall passengers over the last month. A total of 13.43 million Brits have passed through a Spanish airport during the first five months of 2016.

Spanish airports were just under 12% busier this May than they were in May of last year. So it looks like Spain really could see their old tourism records smashed in 2016.

During the first five months of 2016 all 16 of Spain’s major airports saw a dramatic increase in visitors. El Prat in Barcelona alone saw 16 million passengers during this time; a rise of 13.4% compared to last year.

The Barajas airport in Madrid was just as busy. They saw just over 19 million passengers themselves and Malaga Airport saw an impressive 5.7 million passengers. Overall over 21 million people made their way through Spanish airport terminals in May. That’s one record down already as this number is much higher than the older record set in May of 2008.

The Spanish airport management company Aena said that this rise in popularity is due to the cheaper fuel, leading to a drop in airfares, as well as the relative safety of the country. Spain is now a safer country than other popular tourist destinations Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia.

The drive is almost definitely coming from tourism though as the increase is mostly down to British tourists due to the cost of living being so low, and Spain being so safe and for so many other reasons. Germans came in second with 11.5% of international flights coming from Germany, with Italy and France coming in third and fourth.