International flights to Spain saw a 7.4% increase in capacity in September

The monthly report from the State Secretariat for Tourism sets out the scheduled air capacity to Spain by airlines for September 2026 from a selection of origin markets; it also compares this with the scheduled capacity for the same period in the previous year. These markets account for 84.2% of the total number of international seats scheduled for flights to Spain this month. When interpreting the data, it should be noted that timetables are subject to change by the airlines.

Scheduled seats on flights

The total number of scheduled seats for international flights in September 2026 stands at 13.1 million, compared with the 12.2 million seats on scheduled flights for the same month in 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.4%.

Comparing seat capacity forecasts with figures recorded for the same period in 2025, September forecasts a positive trend for the main origin markets – the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Germany – with seat capacity increases of 8.7% and 13.2% for the first two; Germany and France, meanwhile, show a more moderate outlook, with increases in seat capacity this month of 3.4% and 0.4% respectively.

The Nordic countries show an uneven pattern: Denmark and Sweden are projected to see rapid growth of 7.2% and 8.3% respectively, while Norway is expected to see a modest increase of 1.2%. In contrast, the projected number of seats in Finland is set to fall by 1.2%. Once again this month, Poland stands out for its rapid growth, with a projected growth rate of over 30%, as does Turkey, with year-on-year growth of 19.3%. For its part, the US capacity has increased by 0.3%. Among the Latin American countries, Mexico and Colombia have the highest volume of scheduled capacity in September.

Arrivals in July

In July 2026, the number of passengers arriving in Spain from international airports totalled 12.4 million, representing an increase of 5.8% compared with the same month in 2025, according to another press release from the State Secretariat for Tourism. 61% of them chose low-cost carriers (LCCs) for their journeys, representing an increase of 8.9%, while the remaining 39%, who travelled with traditional airlines, saw a rise of 1.4%.

87.4% of total passenger traffic came from Europe and rose by 6.1%. Imports from the Americas accounted for 5.7%, up 3.1%, while imports from Asia accounted for 1.7%, up 4.1%.

Between January and July, Spain welcomed 67 million international passengers, representing a 5.2% increase compared with the same period in 2025. This represents 3.3 million additional arrivals, with LCCs accounting for 2.7 million of this increase.

Origin markets

In July, there was an increase in international passenger arrivals from the main markets. There was a notable year-on-year increase by Poland and Belgium. There has been a decline in the number of arrivals from the US compared with previous months. In terms of market diversification (other countries), China and Canada stand out for an increase in international passenger arrivals. The main Latin American countries recorded increases, with Brazil and Mexico standing out in particular. Arrivals from the Persian Gulf countries continue to decline, with the exception of Saudi Arabia, which has begun to recover.