Canary Islands Airports Experience August Surge
The airports across the Canary Islands had an exceptionally busy August, according to the latest data released by Aena. A total of 4,730,200 passengers traveled through the archipelago’s gates last month, representing a strong 5.2% increase compared to August 2024. This impressive figure highlights the enduring and growing appeal of the islands as a premier travel destination.
Breaking Down the Passenger Numbers
Of the nearly 4.73 million total passengers, the vast majority—4,703,664—were on commercial flights. The data shows a healthy balance between domestic and international travel. Domestic flights within Spain carried 2,186,713 passengers, a 6.1% year-on-year increase, while international routes saw 2,516,951 passengers, growing by 4.6%. Beyond passenger traffic, operations were also up with 40,714 aircraft movements (a 2.8% increase) and 2,618 tons of cargo transported, which rose by 3.7%.
Island-by-Island Airport Traffic
The traffic was not evenly distributed, with some islands seeing remarkable growth. Leading the pack was Gran Canaria Airport, which handled 1,294,008 passengers, a 6.2% increase. It was closely followed by Tenerife South Airport with 1,110,732 passengers, though its growth was more modest at 1.1%.
The other islands showed fascinating trends. César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport welcomed 825,901 passengers (+3.6%), while Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna saw a significant jump of 9.7% to 683,589 passengers. Fuerteventura Airport stood out with a massive 10% surge, serving 628,755 travelers. La Palma recorded a slight 0.5% increase to 138,846 passengers. Interestingly, El Hierro was the only airport to see a decline, with traffic dipping 4.1% to 34,086 passengers. Finally, the small La Gomera Airport posted an impressive 9.2% growth, handling 14,283 passengers.
Year-to-Date Performance
The positive trend extends beyond just the summer peak. From January through August 2025, the Canary Islands airports have registered a cumulative total of 36,401,682 passengers. This marks a 5% increase over the same period in 2024.
Commercial passengers for this period reached 36,185,568. Domestic travel accounted for 14,993,983 of these passengers (up 5.3%), and international travel accounted for 21,191,585 (up 5%). Aircraft movements from January to August rose by 4.7% to 321,755. However, cargo transport saw a slight dip, decreasing by 1.8% to 21,283 tons.
Aena’s Wider Network Performance
The strong performance reflects the broader success of Aena’s network. This group, which includes 46 airports and two heliports in Spain, London-Luton Airport, and 17 airports in Brazil, closed August 2025 with 38,994,561 passengers—a 4% increase. The group also managed 312,165 aircraft movements (+0.9%) and transported 123,718 tons of cargo, a substantial 6.3% increase from the previous year.
