The largest airport in Northern Spain with 5.129.583 passengers

Awarded by the International Airport Council as the Best in Europe in the category of 5 to 10 million passengers for the quality of service offered

It is the airport of reference in northern Spain and the main external connectivity node in the Basque Country. It closed 2022 with a total of 5,129,583 passengers and 44,919 operations,  which meant a recovery of 87% in traffic compared to 2019, the best year in its history. The Bilbao aerodrome maintains its growth in 2023 in both domestic and international flights and launches routes to Riga, Marrakech, Warsaw, Olbia and Ponta Delgada.

It has a major business traffic component and it has been awarded by the International Airport Council as the Best in Europe in the category of 5 to 10 million passengers for the quality of service offered. Bilbao Airport’s area of influence is not cofined to the Basque Country alone, but also extends to neigbouring communities to the south, east and west, such as Cantabria, Burgos, La Rioja and Navarra, with a population of over three million. It has also been voted the second best aerodrome in Europe and ranks 24th among the world’s leading aerodromes, according to the annual ranking by air passenger rights organisation AirHelp.

The airport is located only 12 kilometres from Bilbao, and has extensive parking facilities for those travelling to it by car, in addition to regular bus services and taxis.

Largest airport in Northern Spain: Catchment area

Ranked 14th in terms of passenger numbers.

Ranked 7th, disregarding island airports.

An airport with a major business traffic component (34%).

5,129,583

passengers 2022

(a recovery of 87% compared to 2019)

44,919

operations

(a recovery of 87.1% compared to 2019)

Source: Aena. Provisional non audited data 2019 (round trip)

Traffic distribution

Airline

Flight

Constant growth in passenger numbers

Bilbao airport finished last year with 5.905.804 passengers, an increase of 8% on the previous year.

Rising use has been constant, with a percentage increases of 7% in 2015 and 2016, 8% in 2017, prior to the current record figures.

Annual traffic evolution

Residence

44 %

Biscay Region

31 %

Rest of Spain

25 %

Foreign