Alicante airport plans 1,726 flights for the long weekend

Today's essentials (5 key points)

• Aena expects Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández airport to handle 166 more flights than last year over the 9 to 12 October holiday, the biggest rise among the five Spanish airports it analysed.
• On Friday 9 October, Open-Meteo forecasts a high of 23 degrees in Alicante under cloudy skies, with mornings down to 8 degrees inland in Villena.
• The DGT has warned of heavy traffic on the roads around Alicante during the long weekend and has listed the hours it expects to be worst.
• VOX councillors in Alcoy have asked the local government to suspend the variable part of the municipal waste charge, but no decision has been reported.
• València Basket beat Hapoel 93-82 and has won its first four games in Europe's top club competition.

Today's essentials

Alicante airport plans 1,726 flights for the long weekend. Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández airport expects 1,726 flight movements from Friday 9 to Monday 12 October 2026, the period covering Valencian Community Day and Spain's National Day. TodoAlicante reports the forecast using Aena figures.

That is 166 more flights than on the same holiday in 2025, a rise of 10.64%. TodoAlicante says it is the strongest growth among the five Spanish airports Aena looked at for this long weekend. Across Spain, Aena's airports are expected to handle 27,744 flights over the same four days.

Saturday 10 October should be the busiest day at Alicante, with around 470 movements. Friday 9 October follows with about 430 flights, up from 371 on the same day in 2025. Sunday 11 October is expected to have 415 and Monday 12 October 414, the day most travellers head home.

Fares have also gone up. Booking platform Kiwi.com, quoted by TodoAlicante, puts the average ticket to or from Alicante for this weekend at 166.5 euros, 23.3% more than in 2025. Kiwi.com also reports a 129% increase in bookings for Spanish flights over the long weekend. Alicante is the third-biggest Spanish departure airport in those bookings, with 10.5% of the national total, behind Madrid and Barcelona. The most popular destinations from Alicante include Palma de Mallorca, Rome, Ibiza, Barcelona, Budapest, Seville, Milan, Madrid, London and Bucharest.

The weekend comes during a record year for the airport. According to Aena data published by CBNoticias, it handled 14,739,523 passengers in the first eight months of 2026, up 9.9% on the same period in 2025. Aena says August 2026 was the best month in the airport's history, with 2,337,378 passengers (up 11.4%) and 14,069 flights (up 11.7%). Forecasts for the full year differ: TodoAlicante expects the airport to pass 20 million passengers, while another report based on Aena figures puts the total closer to 21 million. Aena usually publishes its annual traffic figures in January.

What this means for you: if you are flying out on Saturday 10 October, leave extra time for check-in and security, because it is the busiest of the four days. If you still need a flight, expect higher prices than last year. If you are collecting visitors, flights arriving on Friday or Saturday are the most likely to meet queues and full car parks.

Weather today

Mild and cloudy on the coast, cool morning inland. On Friday 9 October 2026, Open-Meteo forecasts cloudy skies in Alicante, with temperatures between 17 and 23 degrees and only an 8% chance of rain.

Wind in Alicante should reach up to 13 km/h, so a light top is enough for most of the day. Inland, Villena starts much colder at 8 degrees and rises to 21 degrees under mostly clear skies, with no rain expected and wind of up to 6 km/h. Wear layers if you are heading into the hills early.

On the coast, Benidorm should range from 15 to 23 degrees under cloud, with no rain expected and wind of up to 16 km/h, the strongest on the Costa Blanca today. The weather is fine for a walk along the seafront, though there will be little sunshine for the beach.

Transport & traffic

• DGT warns of heavy traffic around Alicante. The DGT, Spain's traffic authority, has warned that roads around Alicante will be busy over the long weekend and has named the hours it expects to be worst, TodoAlicante reports. The airport will be busy too. Aena, which runs Spain's main airports, expects Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández to handle 1,726 flights between Friday 9 and Monday 12 October, with Saturday the busiest day. That is 166 more flights than over the same holiday last year, the biggest rise among the five Spanish airports Aena analysed. The heavy road traffic comes at the same time as these extra flights, so getting to the terminal by car may take longer than usual. If you are driving to the airport or leaving town for the weekend, check the DGT's traffic updates before you set off. Avoid the hours it has flagged if you can.

What's changing for you

• Alcoy waste charge: a suspension request, not a decision. In Alcoy, VOX spokesperson David Abad has asked the town's PSOE-led government to suspend the variable part of the municipal waste charge straight away, both the obligation and the payment. For now this is only a request from an opposition group. elperiodic Alicante does not report any reply from the council. If you live in Alcoy, the charge still applies as it stands, so keep paying it and watch for any announcement from the town hall before you change anything.

Local news to know

• Dénia promotes its food scene at Saborea España. Dénia took part this week in the general assembly of the Saborea España association in Ciudad Real, which elperiodic Alicante says strengthens the town's standing as one of Spain's leading food destinations.
• Dvořák, Saint-Saëns and Beethoven at the ADDA. ADDA·Simfònica Alicante's 2026-27 symphony season includes 'Natura', a concert with Carles Marín and Nayden Todorov featuring works by Dvořák, Saint-Saëns and Beethoven, according to AlicanteOut.
• 'Cómicas' at the Teatro Principal. According to AlicanteOut, the Teatro Principal de Alicante is staging 'Cómicas', a comedy show by some of Spain's best-known female comedians, aimed at a general audience.