Airports in Spain

Spain is one of the 3 most popular tourist destinations in Europe. Therefore, no wonder there are so many international airports connecting the country to all parts of Europe, but to the other parts of the world as well. To be more precise, there are 49 international, domestic and regional airports offering commercial flights. Skim through our short guide to international airports in Spain to see which one is the best option to reach your destination.

All the main low-cost airlines like RyanAir, EasyJet and WizzAir are connected to Spain airports, but which one is the best depends on where you are flying from. Make sure to check our map, it might help you decide which airport is the best for you.

Busiest airports in Spain

According to the local Spanish newspaper, last year saw the increase in passenger numbers for the most importan airports. That being said, Madrid Airport was the busiest with almost 51 million passengers served, follow by the Barcelona Airport (41.6 million), Palma de Mallorca Airport (28.5 million), Malaga Airport (18.4 million), while the top 5 closed Alicante Airport with 13.2 million passengers.

Major airports in Spain

Madrid Airport – IATA code MAD

~ 50 Mio. passengers

Madrid-Barajas Airport also known as Adolfo Suárez Airport is the main international airport serving the area of the Spanish capital.  It’s the largest airport in Europe by size and 6th busiest in terms of passenger traffic. It is only 13km northeast of Madrid’s historic centre. The airport is the primary hub and maintenance base for Iberia and has five passenger terminals named T1, T2, T3, T4 and T4S. It is named after former Spanish president who died in 2014. As one of the biggest airports in the world, it has great connections both to the city and to the rest of the region as you can see in Airport bus Madrid post. From the Spanish capital you can visit many places like Seville or Bilbao. If you wish to explore more options from Madrid, you can check them here.

Barcelona Airport – IATA code BCN

~ 42 Mio. passengers

Barcelona-El Prat Airport is an international airport located 12km southwest of Barcelona citz centre, in the municipalities of El Prat de Llobregat, Viladecans, and Sant Boi. It’s the main airport in Catalonia, second largest in the country after the airport in Madrid and one of the busiest in the world. It is a main base for the main Spanish airlines and a hub for Iberia, as well as the Irish Ryanair and the Norwegian Air International. The airport has 3 takeoff and landing areas and two passenger terminals, T1 and T2. Airport bus Barcelona will show you all the options for reaching the city centre from the airport. Barcelona is the most popular destination in Spain, but you can explore other places in the region, e.g. Madrid, Valencia or Bilbao.

Palma de Mallorca Airport – IATA code PMI

~ 29 Mio. passengers

Palma de Mallorca Airport is an international airport only 8km east of Palma, adjacent to Can Pastilla village. It is also known as Son Sant Joan Airport and it’s the country’s third largest airport. The airport is the main base for the Spanish carrier Air Europa and also a focus airport for Ryanair, EasyJet and Vueling. During summer, this airport is one of the busiest on the continent as it is a very popular tourist destination. The airport has good connections with Palma and other resorts nearby, so you can use one of the two bus lines running all day long.

Malaga Airport – IATA code AGP

~ 19 Mio. passengers

Malaga Airport is the fourth busiest airport in Spain after Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca. It is an extremely important airport for Spanish tourism since it serves Malaga and the entire region of Costa de Sol. It is located 8km southwest of the city centre. With over 60 connections worldwide, the airport handles approximately 14 million passengers each year, but sometimes even more. You can reach the city in 20min by taking a public bus Line A Express or by train.

Alicante Airport – IATA code ALC

~ 13 Mio. passengers

Alicante-Elche Airport, originally known as El Altet, is the fifth busiest airport in the country in terms of passengers traffic serving the area of the Valencian community and the region of Murcia. It is located in Elche, 10km east of the city and 9km southwest of Alicante. The airport is a base for Air Nostrum, Evelop Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Ryanair and Vueling. Check how to get to the city center from Alicante airport. 

Gran Canaria Airport – IATA code LPA

~ 12 Mio. passengers

Gran Canaria Airport, sometimes referred to as Gando Airport, is the country’s 6th busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic. It is located 19km south of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria city centre and 25km from the popular tourist resorts and areas in the south. It is the operative base for Binter Canarias, NAYSA, Canaryfly, Ryanair, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Vueling Airlines.

Tenerife Airport – IATA code TFS

~ 10 Mio. passengers

Tenerife Sur Airport, before known as South-Reina Sofia, is the larger airport of the two international ones serving the Tenerife island and the second busiest airport in the Canary Islands.

Ibiza Airport – IATA code IBZ

~ 8 Mio. passengers

Ibiza Airport is an international airport serving the Balearic Islands of Ibiza and Formentera. It is located 7km southwest of the Ibiza Town. Since the island is an extremely popular holiday destination, it features many seasonal routes and domestic services accross Europe. It also serves as a hub for Vueling.

Lanzarote Airport – IATA code ACE

~ 7 Mio. passengers

Lanzarote Airport is also known as Arrecife Airport and it serves the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. The airport is situated in San Bartolomé, Las Palmas, 5km southwest of Arrecife town. It provides connections to many European metropolitan and leisure destinations.

Valencia Airport – IATA code VLC

~ 8 Mio. passengers

Valencia Airport is located in Manises due to which is also known as Manises Airport. It’s the country’s tenth busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic and second in the region after the airport in Alicante. It is only 8km west of the city of Valencia. The airport features flights to about 20 European destinations.

Fuerteventura Airport – IATA code FUE

~ 5.6 Mio. passengers

Also called: El Matorral Airport
Nearby cities: Fuerteventura, Gran Tarajal, Antigua
To Puerto del Rosario city from the airport: public bus – 15min

Seville Airport – IATA code SVQ

~ 7.5 Mio. passengers

Also called: /
Nearby cities: Dos Hermanas, Marchena, La Palma del Condado
To Seville city from the airport: public bus – 30min

Minor airports in Spain

Bilbao Airport – IATA code BIO – (~ 5 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: /
• Nearby cities: Barakaldo, Portugalete, Basauri
• To Bilbao city from the airport: public bus – 20min

Tenerife Airport – IATA code TFN – (~ 6 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: Los Rodeos Airport
• Nearby cities: Salto del Pino, Tacoronte, Guamasa
• To Santa Cruz city from the airport: public bus – 30min

Menorca Airport – IATA code MAH – (~ 3.4 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: Mahón Airport
• Nearby cities: Es Castell, Es Murtar, Sant Climent
• To Mahón city from the airport: public bus – 20min

Santiago de Compostela Airport – IATA code SCQ – (~ 3 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: / Compostela Airport
• Nearby cities: Roxos, A Estrada, Silleda
• To Santiago de Compostela from the airport: shuttle bus – 25min

Girona Airport – IATA code GRO – (~ 2 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: Girona–Costa Brava Airport
• Nearby cities: Banyoles, Llagostera, Pals
• To Girona city from the airport: public bus – 30min

Oviedo Airport – IATA code OVD – (~ 1.4 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: Asturias Airport
• Nearby cities: La Manjoya, San Claudio, Las Caldas
• To Oviedo city from the airport: shuttle bus – 60min

La Palma Airport – IATA code SPC – (~ 1.3 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: /
• Nearby cities: Tijarafe, Tinizara, Puntagorda
• To Santa Cruz de la Palma city from the airport: public bus – 20min

Murcia Airport – IATA code MJV – (~ 1.1 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: Murcia–San Javier Airport
• Nearby cities: Alcantarilla, Molina de Segura, Orihuela
• To Murcia city from the airport: public bus – 25min

A Coruña Airport – IATA code LCG – (~ 1.1 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: Alvedro Airport
• Nearby cities: Oza, Visma
• To A Coruña city from the airport: public bus – 15min

Vigo Airport – IATA code VGO – (~ 1 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: Vigo–Peinador Airport
• Nearby cities: Redondela, Peinador, Ponteareas
• To Vigo city from the airport: public bus – 20min

Almeria Airport – IATA code LEI – (~ 1 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: /
• Nearby cities: Granada, Murcia, Lorca
• To Almeria city from the airport: public bus – 35min

Jerez de la Frontera Airport – IATA code XRY – (~ 1 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: La Parra Airport
• Nearby cities: Solete Alto, Lomopardo, Cuartillos
• To Jerez de la Frontera city from the airport: public bus – 20min, train – 10min

Reus Airport – IATA code REU – (~ 0.9 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: /
• Nearby cities: Vila-Seca, Tarragona, Cambrils
• To Reus city from the airport: public bus – 20min

Santander Airport – IATA code SDR – (~ 0.9 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: Seve Ballesteros Airport
• Nearby cities: Monte, Cueto, Muriedas
• To Santander city from the airport: shuttle bus – 15min

Granada Airport – IATA code GRX – (~ 0.8 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: Federico García Lorca Granada-Jaén Airport
• Nearby cities: Santa Fe, Armilla, Albolote
• To Granada city from the airport: public bus – 25min, shuttle bus – 20min

Zaragoza Airport – IATA code ZAZ – (~ 0.4 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: /
• Nearby cities: La Muela, Zuera, Fuentes de Ebro
• To Zaragoza city from the airport: public bus – 30min

Melilla Airport – IATA code MLN – (~ 0.3 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: /
• Nearby cities: Farkhana, Beni Ansar, Nador
• To Melilla city from the airport: public bus – 10min

San Sebastián Airport – IATA code EAS – (~ 0.3 Mio. passengers)

• Also called: /
• Nearby cities: Irun, Gornutz, Hendaye
• To San Sebastián city from the airport: shuttle bus – 30min

Airports in Northern Spain

Here is the list of all the airports located in the northern regions of the country.

• Vigo Airport
• Santiago de Compostela Airport
• A Coruna Airport
• Asturias Airport
• Santander Airport
• Bilbao Airport
• San Sebastian Airport

Airports in Southern Spain

And here is the list of all the airports located in the mainland and the southern regions:

• Madrid Airport
• Zaragoza Airport
• Girona Airport
• Barcelona Airport
• Reus Airport
• Menorca Airport
• Palma de Mallorca Airport
• Ibiza Airport
• Valencia Airport
• Alicante Airport
• Murcia Airport
• Almeria Airport
• Granada Airport
• Malaga Airport
• Jerez Airport
• Lanzarote Airport
• Gran Canaria Airport
• Tenerife North Airport
• Tenerife South Airport
• La Palma Airport

Airports in neighbouring countries

Airports in Portugal

Airports in France

Spain Airports Map

The map below shows all airports in one place, divided by their size. Click on the map “legend” on the left to distinguish large, medium, and small Spain airports.

Frequently Asked Questions