madrid: Passenger numbers at Spain’s airports hit a record high in 2023, official figures showed on Monday, the latest sign that the main tourism sector is recovering strongly from the pandemic.
Aena, the national airport operator, said in a statement that a total of 283.2 million people used domestic airports last year, an increase of 16.2% compared to 2022.
This figure is 2.9% higher than in 2019, the last full year before global travel restrictions imposed to deal with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic shut down the tourism sector. %it was high.
“These record numbers in air transport are fundamental to Spain’s economic and social development. We should all celebrate this result ourselves,” said Maurici, CEO of Aena. Lucena said in a statement.
With 60 million passengers, Madrid’s airport is Spain’s busiest, followed by Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca on the Balearic Islands and Malaga on the south coast.
Spain is the second most visited country in the world after France, and tourism is vital to the country’s economy, accounting for nearly 12 percent of its gross domestic product.
In 2020, international travel restrictions related to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic devastated Spain’s vital tourism sector.
The industry began a gradual recovery in 2021, but there was a temporary pause when new travel restrictions were temporarily introduced due to the rapid spread of the new Omicron variant.
Passenger numbers at Spanish airports in 2022 increased compared to the previous year, but remained below pre-pandemic levels. –AFP