Compiled with the help of artificial intelligence, based on Spanish-language information. Source below the article.
Busy end to August across the islands
Aena’s airports across the Canary Islands handled a total of 5,134 flights between Friday 28 and Monday 31 August 2026, coinciding with the final weekend of the month and the traditional return leg of the summer holiday season. Of those, 1,302 took place on Sunday alone.
The four-day total represents a 2.5% increase (+126 flights) on the 5,008 flights operated across the archipelago during the equivalent period last year.
How each island airport performed
By airport, Gran Canaria recorded 1,475 operations (+65 compared with 2025), followed by Tenerife North with 978 (+40), Lanzarote with 818 (+10) and Tenerife South with 817 flights (-29). Meanwhile, Fuerteventura was expecting 636 flights (+18), La Palma 290 (+20), El Hierro 88 (+2) and La Gomera 32, the same figure as last year.
Nationwide surge in traffic
Across Spain as a whole, Aena’s airports were expecting 29,592 operations between Friday 28 and Monday 31 August 2026. That figure represents a 2.6% rise on the 28,826 flights operated during the equivalent period last year.
The busiest day across the entire national network was Sunday 30 August, with 7,492 scheduled flights, closely followed by Saturday 29 (7,434) and Friday 28 (7,433). Monday 31 is set to bring the operation to a close with 7,233 registered movements.
Madrid leads the national operation
By facility, Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport will lead the national operation with 4,972 flights over the four days (compared with 4,671 in 2025), reaching its peak on Friday 28 with 1,266 operations. It is followed by Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, which was expecting 4,421 flights, and Palma de Mallorca, with 4,053 programmed operations, a figure identical to last year.
In the south and east of the mainland, Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport will handle 2,507 flights during this return operation, while Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández will process 1,779 arrivals and departures, with Saturday being its busiest day.
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