For the first time since 2006, Spain’s busiest 10 airports showed growth in 2014 – with traffic across the whole network of Spanish airports operator, Aena, reaching 195.9m passengers, a rise of +4.5%.  

 

“Aena is now the leading airport operator in the world by number of passengers,” says Spain’s Minister of Development, Ana Pastor, from the Ministry of Public Works & Transport.

The news should offer comfort to travel retailer World Duty Free Group, whose Milan-listed holding entity World Duty Free, last Thursday issued a streamlining plan for its business which is saddled with high long-term guarantee payments to Aena, for its retail concessions in Spain.

According to Aena, international passengers grew +5.7%, faster than the overall rate to 136.4m while domestic traffic hit 58.5m (+ 2%). Spain’s biggest gateway, Adolfo Suarez Airport Madrid-Barajas processed 41.8m passenger (+5.3%), a strong rebound following a -12.1% collapse in 2013 (see table). However, the Iberia hub remains well off its high of 52.1m passengers in 2007.

Meanwhile the number two airport, Barcelona-El Prat achieved a new record with more than 37.6m passengers (+6.7%); third-placed Palma de Mallorca hit 23.1m passengers (+0.4%) and Malaga-Costa del Sol in fourth place set a new record of 13.75m (+6.4%).

MALAGA ADDS +30% MORE RETAIL

Last week, Malaga unveiled 13,000sq m of extended retail space, inaugurated by Minister of Development, Ana Pastor (below). The new space costing €2m ($2.4m) has a total of 55 commercial units representing a +30% increase in surface area from 10,000sq m in 2012.

In her speech, Pastor stressed that Málaga-Costa del Sol has been earmarked investment of €154.2m, representing about 60% of total investments in Andalusian airports from the government.

At Malaga, WDFG operates an expanded walk-through store covering 2,585sq m which was revamped last year. In addition, the retailer operates a 167sq m Victoria’s Secret standalone shop that was opened last month, plus three express shops, one arrivals shop and two pop-ups, with one more opening in the coming months.