Alicante-Elche Airport will have 143 destinations across 32 countries and 32 based aircraft during the summer of 2026.

Alicante-Elche Airport is once again heading into what is expected to be the best summer season in its history, with the prospect of setting new passenger records month after month.

The 2026 summer season will begin on March 29 and run until October 25, 2026. During this period, airlines will offer nearly 16 million seats, representing a 9% increase and 1.3 million more seats compared to summer 2025, according to forecasts from the Costa Blanca Tourism Board.

Moreover, for the first time in its history, the airport will have direct flights to 32 countries—two more than in the previous summer season—thanks to the addition of Armenia and Slovakia to its destination network.

Notably, despite having direct flights to 32 countries and being more connected than ever, Alicante-Elche Airport still lacks a direct connection to Istanbul (Turkey) and does not offer intercontinental flights, unlike other Spanish airports such as Bilbao, Palma de Mallorca, Málaga, Santiago de Compostela, or Valencia.

In total, 33 airlines will connect El Altet with 143 direct destinations, including 12 new routes and three that will now operate year-round after being launched during the 2025–2026 winter season. Compared to summer 2025, the net increase is two routes, due to the discontinuation of connections such as Liège (Belgium) by TUI, Klagenfurt and Maastricht by Ryanair, Nice by easyJet, and Guernsey by Aurigny Airlines.

Additionally, the airport will introduce three completely new destinations: Yerevan (Armenia), operated by FLYONE; Tangier (Morocco), by Vueling; and Saarbrücken (Germany), operated by Ryanair.

As for the launch schedule, the Vienna route operated by Austrian Airlines will begin on March 25. A day later, on March 26, Jet2 will launch its connection to London Gatwick, followed by Wizz Air starting its new route to London Luton on March 31.

In April, on the 1st, routes to Casablanca (operated by Royal Air Maroc), Luxembourg (by Luxair), and Friedrichshafen (by Ryanair) will begin, while on April 2 Ryanair will also launch its connection to Saarbrücken. Later, on May 2, Vueling will start the route to Tangier, and a few days later, on May 5, Eurowings will launch its connection to Hanover.

During June, two more new routes will be added: on June 1, Air Serbia will inaugurate the Belgrade connection, and on June 4, FLYONE will launch the route to Yerevan. After the peak summer season, on September 15, Wizz Air will begin operating the Venice Marco Polo route.

The United Kingdom consolidates its position as the main market for Alicante-Elche Airport with 24 direct destinations. It is followed by Germany with 18 destinations, the domestic market with 14, and Poland with 10 direct destinations.

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