Major Airports in Spain

Spain is one of the world’s most-visited countries, and its airport network is built to match. Two big mainland hubs — Madrid and Barcelona — handle the long-haul and business traffic, while a string of island and coastal airports absorbs the vast summer holiday rush to the Balearics, the Canaries and the Mediterranean costas.

Below we map and rank Spain’s major airports by the number of nonstop destinations each one serves, drawn from live route data on AirportRoutes. Because the figures come from observed flight data — a large sample rather than a complete published timetable — we treat them as a strong guide to relative connectivity rather than exact, official totals. The map includes the Canary Islands, which sit off the northwest coast of Africa, to the southwest of the mainland.

Which Spanish airports have direct flights to the US?

Long-haul flying in Spain is concentrated in the two big hubs. Madrid–Barajas is the country’s intercontinental powerhouse — with around 95 intercontinental destinations and nonstop links to roughly 9 US cities, including New York, Miami, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Charlotte. Madrid is also Europe’s leading gateway to Latin America.

Barcelona-El Prat adds nonstop service to about 7 US cities — among them New York, Newark, Miami, Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Beyond those two, direct US service is rare: the Canary Islands airports carry plenty of long-haul, but mostly to Latin America and West Africa, and the Balearic and costa airports focus almost entirely on Europe.

🆕 New for summer 2026: nonstop US flights to regional Spain

One carrier has gone notably wider than the rest. For summer 2026, United Airlines flies from New York (Newark) to six Spanish destinations — and beyond the two big hubs it now reaches regional Spain directly, with seasonal routes to the Costa del Sol, the Balearics, the Basque Country and, brand-new this year, Galicia. United is the only US carrier on most of these, and its Newark–Santiago de Compostela service (from 22 May 2026) is the first-ever scheduled nonstop between the United States and Galicia.

• Madrid (MAD) — year-round
• Barcelona (BCN) — year-round
• Málaga (AGP) — seasonal · gateway to the Costa del Sol
• Palma de Mallorca (PMI) — seasonal · the Balearic Islands
• Bilbao (BIO) — seasonal · the Basque Country and northern Spain
• Santiago de Compostela (SCQ) — new for summer 2026 · Galicia, and the first-ever nonstop US service

In short: most nonstop travel between Spain and the United States still runs through Madrid or Barcelona — but, as the list above shows, United is steadily opening up regional Spain to direct US flights.

A closer look at Spain’s biggest airports

✈️ Madrid–Barajas (MAD)

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Spain’s busiest airport, named after former prime minister Adolfo Suárez, is the hub of Iberia and the country’s main long-haul gateway. Its vast, bamboo-roofed Terminal 4 — designed by Antonio Lamela and Richard Rogers — is one of Europe’s largest, and Madrid is the leading European airport for flights to Latin America.

Serving Madrid, MAD reaches about 164 regularly-served nonstop destinations, including roughly 95 intercontinental routes. Top destinations include Palma, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Gran Canaria.

Main airlines: Iberia, Ryanair, Air Europa, Vueling, Air Nostrum. See the full route map for MAD on AirportRoutes →

🏛️ Barcelona-El Prat (BCN)

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Barcelona-El Prat, officially named after Catalan president Josep Tarradellas, is Spain’s second-busiest airport and the main base of low-cost carrier Vueling. It blends heavy tourism and business traffic for Catalonia with a growing long-haul network.

Serving Barcelona, BCN reaches about 169 regularly-served nonstop destinations, including roughly 61 intercontinental routes. Top destinations include Palma, Madrid, Frankfurt, Paris, Paris-Orly.

Main airlines: Vueling, Ryanair, Wizz Air, easyJet, Iberia. See the full route map for BCN on AirportRoutes →

🏝️ Palma de Mallorca (PMI)

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Palma de Mallorca is the gateway to the Balearic Islands and one of the most seasonal major airports in Europe: relatively quiet in winter, it explodes in summer to become one of the continent’s busiest, packed with holiday flights from across Europe.

Serving Palma, PMI reaches about 114 regularly-served nonstop destinations. Top destinations include Menorca, Ibiza, Barcelona, Madrid, Seville.

Main airlines: Ryanair, easyJet, Vueling, Iberia, Air Europa. See the full route map for PMI on AirportRoutes →

☀️ Málaga-Costa del Sol (AGP)

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Málaga-Costa del Sol is the main airport for Andalusia and the year-round gateway to the Costa del Sol. One of Spain’s busiest, it mixes sun-and-beach tourism with a growing number of digital-nomad and business travellers drawn to the south coast.

Serving Málaga, AGP reaches about 136 regularly-served nonstop destinations. Top destinations include Melilla, Barcelona, Paris, Ceuta, Copenhagen.

Main airlines: Ryanair, Vueling, easyJet, Norwegian, Wizz Air. See the full route map for AGP on AirportRoutes →

🏖️ Alicante-Elche (ALC)

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Alicante-Elche, named after the poet Miguel Hernández, is the gateway to the Costa Blanca and one of Spain’s busiest low-cost and charter airports, serving the holiday resorts and large expatriate communities of the southeast coast.

Serving Alicante, ALC reaches about 135 regularly-served nonstop destinations. Top destinations include Barcelona, Manchester, Oran, London, Paris-Orly.

Main airlines: Ryanair, easyJet, Norwegian, Vueling, Jet2. See the full route map for ALC on AirportRoutes →

🌋 Gran Canaria (LPA)

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Gran Canaria is the busiest airport in the Canary Islands and a year-round destination thanks to the archipelago’s mild winter climate. It is a key inter-island hub for Binter Canarias and carries significant traffic to mainland Europe, West Africa and Latin America.

Serving Las Palmas, LPA reaches about 71 regularly-served nonstop destinations. Top destinations include Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Madrid, Barcelona.

Main airlines: Binter Canarias, Vueling, Ryanair, Iberia Express, Jet2. See the full route map for LPA on AirportRoutes →

🌴 Tenerife Sur (TFS)

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Tenerife South (Reina Sofía) is the main holiday airport for Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, handling the bulk of the island’s international winter-sun traffic — while Tenerife North focuses more on inter-island and mainland routes.

Serving Tenerife, TFS reaches about 104 regularly-served nonstop destinations. Top destinations include Gran Canaria, Madrid, La Palma, London, Rome.

Main airlines: Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2, TUI Airways, Wizz Air. See the full route map for TFS on AirportRoutes →

🍊 Valencia (VLC)

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Valencia serves Spain’s third-largest city, on the Mediterranean coast, and has grown quickly on the back of low-cost expansion, linking the region to a wide European network alongside its domestic links to Madrid and the islands.

Serving Valencia, VLC reaches about 95 regularly-served nonstop destinations. Top destinations include Madrid, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Ibiza, Bergamo.

Main airlines: Ryanair, Wizz Air, Iberia, Vueling, easyJet. See the full route map for VLC on AirportRoutes →

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