The airports in Aena’s network closed March at 8.1 million passengers, a fall of 59.3% compared to the same month last year. This decline, which began in late February as the Covid-19 crisis started to take hold, became more acute in March following the restrictions imposed on people’s mobility around the world.
The total number of travellers came to precisely 8,128,859, of which 8,087,923 were commercial passengers with 5,340,490 on international flights, 59.1% less than in March 2019, and 2,747,433 on domestic flights, down by 59.8%.
Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport handled the highest number of passengers in the network in March with 1,975,303, down by 59.7% compared to the same month in 2019. It is followed by Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat, with 1,417,647 (-64.3%); Málaga-Costa del Sol, with 613,438 (-54.7%); and Gran Canaria, with 586,343 (-55%).
As for the number of operations, a total of 99,630 aircraft movements were handled in Aena’s airport network in March, 43.8% less than in the same month in the previous year.
The airport with the highest number of movements was Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas, with a total of 19,837 (-42.1%), followed by Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat, with 13,846 flights (-46.7%); Gran Canaria, with 7,034 (-40.8%); Málaga-Costa del Sol, with 6,288 (-35.7%), and Palma de Mallorca, with 5,872 (-43.7%).
Freight transport
Throughout March and continuing today, Aena is focusing the efforts of its airports on the operation of essential flights to ensure the arrival of medical supplies along with other goods needed to provide for the public at large, while it is also helping Spaniards to return and non-resident foreigners to head back to their home countries. In addition to these operations, other critical ones are being conducted such as emergency, National Transplant Organisation and law enforcement agency flights.
In March, 66,692 tons of freight were shipped in the network, 29.8% less than in the same month in 2019, due to the fact that a very substantial part of the usual freight is carried by commercial passenger aircraft.
The four airports with the highest freight traffic were Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas, with 35,758 tons (-26.7%); Zaragoza, with 10,292 tons (-40.6%); Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat, with 10,014 tons (-38.5%); and Vitoria, with 5,167 tons (-4.5%).