Airline schedules from the UK to Alicante-Elche for winter 2026-2027 include 1,535,625 seats, a decline of 4.7%, according to the British market report presented by HOSBEC at World Travel Market in London.
The reduction concerns UK connections between November 2026 and April 2027, rather than the airport’s overall activity, whose total scheduled capacity continues to grow thanks to a broader mix of international markets.
The hotel association identifies winter connectivity as a key concern because of the importance of British visitors to Benidorm and the Costa Blanca during those months.
More seats for Valencia and Castellón
The Valencian Community’s three airports have a combined 1,793,533 seats scheduled from the UK for the season, with different trends at each airport.
Valencia has 246,717 seats and an increase of 1.8%, while Castellón reaches 11,191, up 5.7%, in contrast to the reduction at Alicante-Elche.
HOSBEC president Federico Fuster is calling for cooperation with Aena, public authorities and airlines to support Alicante’s growth and protect its winter connectivity.
The association links that objective to reducing tourism’s seasonality and stresses that connections should not be taken for granted even while British demand remains strong.
A market approaching record figures
The report forecasts that the Valencian Community will end 2026 with 3.05 million British tourists, 21.2 million overnight stays and total spending of €3.35 billion.
The visitor forecast is 7.5% above the figure for 2019 and spending is 36% higher, although overnight stays remain below the 21.7 million recorded that year.
Up to September, Alicante-Elche received 2.7 million passengers arriving from the UK, up 6.7% on 2025 and 16.2% on 2019, according to Aena figures included in HOSBEC’s analysis.
Manchester and Gatwick are the main origin airports for that traffic, accounting for 13.5% and 12.5% respectively.
By airline, Ryanair accounts for 44% of British traffic, followed by easyJet with 21.1% and Jet2 with 20.6%, within the analysis presented in London.
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