AIRPORT WELCOMES 13 MILLIONTH PASSENGER

13 millionth passenger this year arrives at Alicante-Elche

THE 13 millionth passenger of the year arrived at AlicanteElche airport on Tuesday.

Last year's historic figure of 12,344,945 passengers has already been surpassed and national airport authorities AENA estimate around half a million more people will arrive or depart from the airport until the end of December.

This means the Costa airport will have gained well over one million more passengers in 2017 in comparison to last year.

Alicante has consolidated its ranking as Spain's fifth busiest airport after Madrid Barajas, Barcelona's El Prat, Mallorca and Málaga - and ahead of Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

Passenger number 13 million of 2017 was Sergio Óvide, an executive travelling from Barcelona to Alicante on a Vueling Airbus 320.

He was welcomed at the airport by manager Tomás Melgar and central government delegate for Alicante José Miguel Saval.

The increase in passengers had led to more flights and the need to expand the apron, as reported in Costa Blanca News last week.

Experts say 2017 may be Alicante-Elche's peak year for some time, as other Mediterranean holiday destinations such as Tunisia and Turkey are now back on the market after overcoming security concerns.

Meanwhile, the airport's main setback continues to be the lack of a railway link and improved road access - which has been in the pipeline for several years but placed on the backburner due to state budget restrictions.