With Spain’s Constitution-Day and Immaculate-Conception holidays creating one of the busiest domestic travel peaks of the year, airlines have scheduled 21,955 flights between 5 and 8 December, according to airport operator Aena. Friday (5 December) alone will see a record 5,743 take-offs and landings—up 3 % on the equivalent day in 2024—followed closely by Monday’s return-rush at 5,496 movements.
Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas tops the list with 4,610 operations during the four-day window, while Barcelona-El Prat will handle 3,659. Gran Canaria (4,759), Málaga-Costa del Sol (1,608) and Alicante-Elche (1,224) round out the five busiest hubs. Aena says extra staff have been rostered for security, passport control and ground handling; the Civil Guard has also increased patrols after isolated pick-pocketing incidents last year.
![Spanish Airports Brace for 21,955 Flights over Constitution Long-Weekend Surge]()
For business-traveller managers, the figures translate into fuller cabins, higher fares and a heightened risk of delays—especially on Friday morning outbound and Monday evening inbound legs. Travel-policy teams are advising employees to arrive at least 2.5 hours before departure and to build buffer time into Monday meetings.
The surge is also an early test of Spain’s phased roll-out of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES). Madrid-Barajas and Málaga began limited EES checks in October; Aena will run the system at full capacity on select non-EU arrivals for the first time this weekend. Although Spanish citizens and EU residents can use biometric e-gates, third-country nationals unfamiliar with kiosks should expect longer queues.
Operational performance over the holiday will shape Aena’s resource planning for the even larger Christmas wave later in the month and give clues as to how well Spanish airports are adapting to post-pandemic demand and new border-tech requirements.
Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas tops the list with 4,610 operations during the four-day window, while Barcelona-El Prat will handle 3,659. Gran Canaria (4,759), Málaga-Costa del Sol (1,608) and Alicante-Elche (1,224) round out the five busiest hubs. Aena says extra staff have been rostered for security, passport control and ground handling; the Civil Guard has also increased patrols after isolated pick-pocketing incidents last year.
For business-traveller managers, the figures translate into fuller cabins, higher fares and a heightened risk of delays—especially on Friday morning outbound and Monday evening inbound legs. Travel-policy teams are advising employees to arrive at least 2.5 hours before departure and to build buffer time into Monday meetings.
The surge is also an early test of Spain’s phased roll-out of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES). Madrid-Barajas and Málaga began limited EES checks in October; Aena will run the system at full capacity on select non-EU arrivals for the first time this weekend. Although Spanish citizens and EU residents can use biometric e-gates, third-country nationals unfamiliar with kiosks should expect longer queues.
Operational performance over the holiday will shape Aena’s resource planning for the even larger Christmas wave later in the month and give clues as to how well Spanish airports are adapting to post-pandemic demand and new border-tech requirements.
