Malaga Airport Guide: Spain’s Costa del Sol Holiday Hub
Malaga Airport is the gateway to the Costa del Sol, with two runways, two terminals and a million Gatwick passengers a year. Read the full guide.
By The Aviation Hub
7 min read
Updated October 20, 2026 
Malaga Costa del Sol Airport is the main gateway to southern Spain and the fourth busiest airport in the country. It lies on the coast between the city of Malaga and the resort of Torremolinos, and it has been flying passengers from the same site since 1919. Malaga Airport handled around 26.8 million passengers in 2025, most of them holidaymakers bound for the Costa del Sol. For British readers it is one of the most familiar airports in Europe, and the London Gatwick route alone carries more than a million people a year.
Malaga Airport at a Glance
The codes are AGP and LEMG. The airport sits around 5 miles (8 km) southwest of the centre of Malaga, at an elevation of 16 m (53 ft). Two asphalt runways serve two active terminals, Terminal 2 and Terminal 3, which share a single building. Terminal 1 still stands but is closed to the public.
Aena, the Spanish state controlled airport operator, owns and runs the field. In 2025 Malaga Airport handled roughly 26.8 million passengers and about 187,000 aircraft movements. Ryanair, Vueling and Norwegian all base aircraft here, easyJet runs a seasonal base and Air Europa has a presence too. Opening hours, parking charges and live flight information are on the airport’s official website.
How Malaga’s Airport Came to Be
The first scheduled service began on 1 September 1919, when the French pioneer Didier Daurat opened a mail and passenger line linking Toulouse, Barcelona, Alicante, Malaga, Tangier and Casablanca. That makes Malaga one of the oldest airports in Spain still operating on its original site. The field spent its early decades as a modest civil and military station.
Tourism changed everything. The Costa del Sol boom of the 1960s turned a quiet provincial field into a holiday gateway, and a new passenger terminal opened in 1968. The airport took its current title in 1965. A further terminal, now called Terminal 1, followed in 1972 to cope with the charter flood from Britain, Germany and Scandinavia.
Terminal 2, named after the Malaga born painter Pablo Ruiz Picasso, opened in 1991. The Malaga Plan of 2004 brought the biggest expansion yet, delivering Terminal 3 in 2010 and a second runway in June 2012. The old Terminal 1 was retired from passenger use once the new facilities were fully open.
Runways at Malaga Airport
Malaga Airport has two asphalt runways set at a slight angle to each other. The original runway 13/31 is 3,200 m (10,500 ft) long and 45 m wide. The newer runway 12/30 is 2,750 m (9,022 ft) long and 45 m wide, and it opened in June 2012. The different numbers reflect a real gap of about 14 degrees between their headings.
The second runway lies north of the original, on the far side of the terminals. In easterly winds, the usual summer pattern, arrivals use runway 12 and departures runway 13. In westerly winds the roles swap, with arrivals on 31 and departures from 30. Together they allow the field to cope with the extreme summer peaks when the Costa del Sol fills up. Approaches from the northwest onto 13 and 12 bring aircraft in over the Guadalhorce valley. The reverse direction brings arrivals in from the Mediterranean over the Guadalmar district.
The field has seen two serious accidents. In 1982 a Spantax McDonnell Douglas DC-10 overran the runway after a rejected take off, killing 50 people. In 2001 a Binter Mediterraneo CASA CN-235 lost power on approach after both engines were shut down, and four of the 44 on board died.
Terminals and Airlines
Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 are joined into one building, so the distinction matters mostly for check in. easyJet checks in at Terminal 2 while most other airlines use Terminal 3. Piers B and C belong to Terminal 2 and handle non Schengen traffic, with Pier C also able to take Schengen flights. Pier D, the long modern finger attached to Terminal 3, handles Schengen departures.
The airline mix at Malaga Airport is dominated by low cost carriers. Ryanair is the largest, and Vueling, easyJet, Jet2.com, Norwegian and Eurowings are also major players. British Airways, Lufthansa, KLM, Air France, SAS, Finnair and Swiss provide the legacy connections to their hubs. Iberia and Air Europa cover the domestic trunk routes. Transavia, TUI and Wizz Air fill out a long list that reaches more than 60 airlines in summer.
Since Brexit the non Schengen piers have become busier, as every British flight now needs passport control. Aena has installed extra automated gates to keep the queues down at the morning and evening banks.
Routes and Destinations
The United Kingdom is the dominant market. London Gatwick was the busiest route in 2025 with around 1.24 million passengers, and Manchester, Stansted, Luton, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh and Glasgow all carry heavy traffic. Amsterdam, with about 1.05 million passengers, and Dublin, with about 853,000, are the next largest international routes, followed by Brussels.
Barcelona is the busiest domestic route with around 1.04 million passengers, and Madrid follows with about 651,000. Beyond Europe, Marrakech is the busiest destination with roughly 226,000 passengers, and Casablanca, Tangier and Doha follow. Long haul is thin but growing, with seasonal services to New York and Montreal in recent years. Traffic peaks sharply from June to September, though winter has grown as retirees and golfers extend the season.
Getting to and from Malaga Airport
The cheapest sensible option is the Cercanias suburban train. The station sits under Terminal 3 and trains run roughly every 20 minutes. Malaga Maria Zambrano, the city’s main station, is around 12 minutes away and the fare is under EUR 2. The same line runs the other way to Torremolinos, Benalmadena and Fuengirola, which covers most of the coastal resorts for a few euros.
The bus station in the transport hub outside Terminal 3 handles local services into Malaga and longer distance coaches to Marbella, Estepona, Granada and Seville. By road the MA-21 links Malaga Airport to Torremolinos and the city, with a connection from the MA-20 ring road. The A-7 coastal motorway carries hire cars west to Marbella in about 45 minutes.
Taxis to the city centre cost around EUR 25 to 30 (about £21 to £26) and take 15 to 20 minutes. Ride hailing has a dedicated pickup zone. Two car parks offer about 3,700 spaces, and the car hire centre is one of the largest in Spain, which tells you a lot about how most arrivals leave the airport.
Spotting and Photography
Malaga is a popular spotting airport because of the variety of low cost and leisure carriers, the Mediterranean light and easy access. The best known location at Malaga Airport is the raised ground near the threshold of runway 13, west of the terminal, which gives a clear view of arrivals when the wind is from the east. Spotters also use the beach and roads around Guadalmar for aircraft climbing out over the sea.
When the wind blows from the west, arrivals come in over the water onto runway 31, and the IKEA car park between the MA-20 and MA-21 catches them on final in the afternoon. The Malaga aviation museum near the old terminal is worth a visit on a quiet day.
Stay off private land, keep clear of the perimeter fence and do not block access roads. The Guardia Civil patrol the area and will ask for identification if anyone looks out of place, so carry a passport.
What Comes Next
Capacity is the issue. The airport is nearing the limits of its terminals, with summer peaks stretching the terminals and the car parks. In 2024 Aena began talking about an extension of Terminal 3 and more stands, and the operator’s next investment plan is expected to fund it.
Environmental limits and local opposition are milder than at northern European fields, but the Guadalhorce river mouth beside the runways is a protected nature reserve, which restricts any further land take. The verdict is that Malaga Airport will keep growing, but through a bigger terminal rather than another runway. See how it compares with other leisure gateways on the Airports of the World map.
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