Málaga Airport (AGP): the complete airport guide

Málaga Airport at a glance

Name, codes and operator

The airport's official name is Aeropuerto de Málaga-Costa del Sol, published in English by Aena as Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport. Most people simply say Málaga Airport.

• Codes: IATA AGP, ICAO LEMG. AGP is the code on your ticket and baggage tag; LEMG is the aeronautical code used by air traffic control and in ENAIRE's aeronautical publication, which records the aerodrome as "MÁLAGA/Costa del Sol".
• Operator: Aena S.M.E., S.A., the Spanish airport operator. The site is shared with a military air base administered by the Spanish Air and Space Force; passengers never use the military side.
• Postal address: Avda. Comandante García Morato s/n, 29004 Málaga (ENAIRE AIP).
• Size: two runways, 12/30 (2,749 m) and 13/31 (3,198 m). In 2025 Aena recorded 26,760,549 passengers, 186,990 aircraft movements and 4,662 tonnes of cargo.

This website is an independent passenger guide. It is not Aena, not an airline and not a booking agent. Aena runs the terminal and its services; airlines set check-in and boarding rules; the Policía Nacional runs border control; the Agencia Tributaria runs customs; ground handlers deal with checked baggage on the airlines' behalf.

Why you will see several names

All of these refer to the same airport:

• "El Rompedizo" and "García Morato" are names the airfield carried in its early decades. The street name in the official address still keeps García Morato.
• "Málaga Airport" became the official name by Ministerial Order in September 1965.
• "Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport" has been the official name since a Ministerial Order of 18 May 2011.
• "T1", "T2" and "T3" are not separate airports or separate terminals to travel between. They are the historic names of the buildings that now form one connected terminal, and they survive as zone labels (see How many terminals?).

Where the airport is

Aena and ENAIRE both place the airport 8 km south-west of Málaga city centre, on the Guadalhorce plain within the municipality of Málaga, between the city and Torremolinos. The 8 km figure is the official distance from the city, not a road distance and not a driving time; neither Aena nor ENAIRE publishes a road distance or a drive time to any address.

Two practical yardsticks that are published: the Cercanías C-1 train reaches Torremolinos in 10 minutes and Málaga Centro-Alameda in 12 minutes (Consorcio de Transporte Metropolitano timetable, checked 9 October 2026). The airport stands 16 m above sea level.

For satellite navigation, Aena publishes a single GPS point for the terminal: 36.675653, -4.490974. Aena names no approach road, so follow your satnav and then the airport signs. Every way of getting in and out is compared on the transport page.

How many terminals does Málaga Airport have?

One. Málaga-Costa del Sol is a single connected passenger terminal. Aena's live flight information gives the terminal as "PAX" for flights at Málaga, and Aena's own indoor map models one terminal building, simply called "Terminal".

The confusion comes from history. The airport grew in stages, and its buildings became known as T1, T2 and T3, the last of them opening in March 2010. Aena describes the 2010 building as joining the existing T1 and T2 "to form a single passenger terminal area". The old names live on as zone labels, and you will meet them in a few places:

• Aena places every car-hire desk at "Basement. Terminal 2".
• Aena describes the lost property office as being in the "departures area of Terminal T3".
• The main security checkpoint is referred to as the "T3 filter", and Aena's VIP products carry a "T3" label.
• A handful of flight records still show "T3" instead of "PAX".

What to do if your booking or boarding pass names a terminal: nothing different. There is one set of entrances and one departures level. Go to level 1, find your check-in desk number on the screens and follow it. The desk number tells you where to go; the terminal letter does not.

The building level by level

Aena's hub text speaks of floors 0, 1 and 2, but its indoor map shows five terminal levels. Knowing all five saves time if you are going to car hire or a bus gate.

The point to remember: road drop-off is at level 1, but the train, the bus stop and the taxi rank are at level 0. If you arrive by public transport you go up one floor to check in. The full step-by-step route is on the terminal walk-through.

Opening hours and the quiet night window

The airport is open 24 hours a day. ENAIRE's aeronautical publication lists the airport, customs and immigration as H24, and Aena's contact page says it is "open 24 hours a day, every day of the year".

That does not mean the terminal is busy all night. In Aena's flight data for 9–23 October 2026 there were no scheduled departures between 03:00 and 04:59 and no scheduled arrivals between 03:00 and 06:59, with a late-night arrivals peak around midnight and a heavy first wave of departures from 05:00–06:00. This is a seasonal snapshot, not a rule.

Aena's assistance page tells passengers on very early flights to check the terminal's opening times, and Aena publishes no policy on sleeping in the terminal. Shops and restaurants keep their own hours. Treat an overnight wait as a fallback, not a plan; if a disruption leaves you stranded, accommodation where it is owed is the airline's responsibility.

The Schengen split and border rules

Whether you pass passport control at Málaga depends on the Schengen area, not on the EU. Aena publishes three groups:

• Schengen countries (including all Spanish domestic flights, Melilla and Ceuta): no passport control. After security you go straight to your gate.
• EU countries outside Schengen: Ireland and Cyprus. These flights do pass passport control, even though they are inside the EU.
• All other countries, including the United Kingdom, Morocco and long-haul destinations: passport control on departure and on arrival.

Aena's standing advice at Málaga is that anyone who must clear passport control should go to the boarding area as soon as the gate appears on the screens. The passport queue, not the walk, is the usual pinch point. Aena recommends arriving 3 hours before a non-Schengen flight and 2 hours before a domestic or Schengen flight; your airline's check-in and boarding deadlines are separate and contractual.

Border systems: the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) is in operation at the EU's external borders and, since 10 April 2026, has replaced passport stamping for non-EU nationals on short stays, who have their face and fingerprints recorded instead. ETIAS is not yet in operation (European Commission, checked 9 October 2026). For travel to the UK, Aena notes that an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) has been required for entry from 2 April 2025; British and Irish citizens do not need one. Aena does not check your documents: the airline does, and border control is the Policía Nacional. Details are on the security and passport control page.

Airlines, routes and who flies here

Aena's destinations page listed 158 destinations operated by 58 companies when checked on 9 October 2026. These numbers change with every timetable season.

A snapshot of Aena's flight data for the fortnight of 9–22 October 2026 (a shoulder-season period, not a yearly share) shows the airport's character:

• Largest airlines by departures: Ryanair (1,120), Vueling (513) and Iberia (488), followed by Qatar Airways, easyJet, Norwegian, Transavia, Jet2.com and British Airways. 68 airlines operated in the period.
• Busiest destinations by departures: Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, Melilla, Amsterdam and London Gatwick.
• A very broad British and Irish network, from the London airports to Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Belfast and Dublin, plus strong Nordic, Dutch, Belgian, German and French links.
• Melilla and Ceuta: Ceuta is served by Hélity helicopter.
• A long-haul layer with Qatar Airways, Etihad, Turkish Airlines, LATAM, American, Delta, Avianca, Aeroméxico and Azul in the same period.

For what is flying today, use the live departures and arrivals pages.

Facilities and services

• VIP lounges: Aena lists two. The VIP Lounge Costa del Sol (level 2, airside) publishes hours of 04:00–00:00 and prices of €48.00 for adults and children from 11, €22.20 for children aged 6–10, with children 0–5 free (checked 9 October 2026). The VIP Lounge Relax & Go is temporarily closed; Aena states that online sale is unavailable. Aena does not say whether the open lounge can be reached after departures passport control. See lounges.
• Fast Lane: Aena's paid priority access to the security checkpoint, open 24 hours, €11.10 per access (checked 9 October 2026). One purchase is one access, valid for three months, but if you reserve a date and time it can only be used from 30 minutes before to 30 minutes after that slot. It does not cover passport control and does not let you arrive later. See Fast Lane.
• Wi-Fi: free network "Airport Free Wifi Aena", with registration. See Wi-Fi.
• Left luggage: there is a left-luggage service run by an outside company, open 08:00–20:00, on (+34) 653 444 747 (checked 9 October 2026). Aena does not publish where the counter is or what it costs, so call before you rely on it.
• VAT refund: DIVA kiosks and the receipt-stamping office are on level 1 in the check-in area at desks 363–386. Validate before you check in your bags. See customs and VAT refund.
• Lost property: Aena's office is on level 1, check-in area, opposite desk 380, before security. Telephone (+34) 913 211 000. Bags that did not arrive are a different matter, handled by your airline's ground handler. See lost and found.
• Information: Aena information desks in boarding area D, opposite the security checkpoints, in the baggage reclaim hall and in the arrivals hall. The arrivals hall also has the Málaga city council and Junta de Andalucía tourist offices.
• Families: Aena publishes a large, free family and breastfeeding room airside on level 1 between zones B and C, plus children's play areas on levels 0, 1 and 2, some with interactive screens.
• Also published: a medical centre on level 0, work areas airside on levels 0, 1 and 2, two bicycle assembly and disassembly stations (levels 0 and 1, before security), ATMs, currency exchange, a mailbox on level 1 and drinking fountains airside.

Aena's general information line is (+34) 913 211 000; the airport's passenger support office publishes (+34) 952 048 837 and (+34) 952 048 851. Assisted travel is covered on the special assistance page, and shops, food and other services on the services page.

A short history

• 1919: on 9 March a Salmson 2A carrying the French aviation pioneer Pierre Latécoère lands on a plot known as El Rompedizo. From 1 September, Didier Daurat runs a scheduled service between Toulouse and Casablanca with a stop at Málaga; Aena describes the airport as one of the original locations of the first airline founded in Spain, in 1919.
• 1937: the field becomes an air base.
• 1946–1948: opened to domestic and international traffic on 12 July 1946; a civil passenger station follows in 1948.
• 1960s: runway extension, a new terminal area, control tower and navigation aids; a new passenger terminal opens on 29 January 1968.
• 1972: a modular station for non-scheduled traffic opens for the charter boom.
• 1991: the Pablo Ruiz Picasso terminal, designed by Ricardo Bofill, opens on 30 November, with separate floors for arrivals and departures.
• 1995: a multi-storey car park connected to the terminal basement opens; it later houses car hire, the origin of today's "Basement. Terminal 2" zone.
• 2002: a new control tower opens.
• March 2010: the T3 building opens, joining T1 and T2 into a single passenger terminal area, with 12 airbridges, 84 check-in desks, 11 reclaim carousels, a 50-bus coach park in the basement and a new railway station on the Málaga–Fuengirola line.
• 2011: the official name becomes Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport.

Aena publishes the airport as holding Level 3 "Optimisation" Airport Carbon Accreditation and as winner of ACI EUROPE's Best Airport award in the 25–40 million passenger category for 2026.