Malaga Airport

Malaga airport is located 8km (5 miles) southwest of Malaga City.

At the moment there are extensive building works at Malaga Airport : the new terminal 3 building opened in March and will give the airport the ability to deal with 30 million passengers a year with 179 check in desks.

There is still a lot of confusion at the airport with more signage needed and some areas which are not yet open. With this in mind we have written the best guide to Terminal 3 that we are able to at this time, but we are going to get together some definitive information about Malaga Airport over the next couple of week when things have died down and we can present a more accurate picture.

Following is work in progress which is due to be completed at the end of 2010/early 2011: The construction of a second runway is still under way.  It will have three rapid exit runways and there are plans for a taxi way parallel to the runway to link up with the new aircraft apron and new building for the fire fighting service.

The airport will have two new exclusive accesses: south access, via the A7 and north access, via the new Malaga west ring road. There will also be a new underground station with a double track which can be accessed via a transportation hub.

There are a large number of Malaga Airport car hire companies and fierce competition means that they are some great deals to be had if you are prepared to shop around a little. We have written a guide on hiring a car at Malaga Airport with details of the car hire firms located in the airport terminal and those further away on the perimeter road.

Car hire firms with their corresponding offices located within Malaga Airport are: Auriga Crown at Malaga Airport - Autos Lido at Malaga Airport - Avis at Malaga Airport - Europcar at Malaga Airport - Goldcar at Malaga Airport - Hertz at Malaga Airport - National Atesa at Malaga Airport - Record at Malaga Airport - Sixt at Malaga Airport and Solmar at Malaga Airport.

If you are not hiring a car, we make recommendations for all private Malaga transfers. Once you are in the arrivals hall you would be met by an English Speaking driver to take you to your hotel or apartment.

If you find the cost of a private transfer a bit expensive you might like to consider getting an online quote for booking a seat on a private shuttle bus which stops at the main resorts and hotels close to Malaga Airport.

The development of other Spanish airports has done little to stifle demand for flights into Malaga and each year this airport exceeds record passenger numbers. This is due in part to the large number of expats who have made the Costa del Sol their home and a huge rise in the number of holiday home owners.

Flights to Malaga are available from a number of UK Airports including Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Cork, Coventry, Doncaster, Dublin, Durham, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, Humberside, Leeds, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester, Manston, Newcastle, Newquay, Norwich, Notts, Southampton and Stansted.

For the time being the main Malaga arrivals are all being filtered through the new Terminal 3. Here we also give you details on live flight arrivals

When you land at Malaga Airport you are directed into Terminal 3.  Make sure you follow the signs and go down the escalators to the baggage reclaim (even if you only have hand luggage) as this is also the way out of the terminal and where the bus stops and taxi rank are.  If you carry on without going down the escalators you will meet passengers who are coming through security and there is no way out.

Malaga departures hall is on the upper floor. Here with give you details of what's available in the departure lounges and information on live flight departures. We also list what shops are in the departures lounge as well as where to find the bars and cafes at Malaga Airport.

Despite the Spanish Airport’s instructions that all UK flights are arriving and departing from the original Terminal 2 this is not proving to be the case.  At the moment if you have baggage you should check in as normal at Terminal 2 upstairs in the departures hall, but you are then directed along a long corridor which connects it to terminal 3 where you will clear passport control and security.  So if you are travelling with only hand luggage and have your boarding pass go straight to terminal 3 and get to the departures lounge from there.  It will save you lot of walking.

The Malaga airport taxis can be found on the ground floor just outside the arrivals hall and when you return they will simply drop you off on the upper level or the nearest place to the arrivals terminal whilst all the work is being carried out.

In the future there will be a huge undercover transport area where you will be able to catch the Malaga airport buses. For now we give you the bus timetable, fares and where the bus stops are.

If you want to take the Malaga airport trains, here you can find where the trains go, timetables and fares. The directions to the train platform are changing each week due to the work at the airport but just ask at the information desk for help.

The Malaga airport parking area is doubling in size but at the moment there is a huge amount of building work going on at Malaga Airport and this is causing a little bit of disruption, not to flights but to the amount of time it takes you to get to and from the airport.

By the middle of 2010 Malaga Airport will have a long-stay car park located in the former P3 (next to the aeronautics activities zone) and a VIP car park with spaces on the T3 Departures and T2 Arrivals forecourt.

Shorter stays users will have a new express car park located on the second floor of P2.

Visit our guide to passenger services at Malaga Airport to find out more about currency exchange, the location of banks and ATMs, VIP Lounges, Lost Luggage, Internet & WiFi points, the Post Office,Chapel, Pharmacy, Medical Centre & Tourist Information and Travel Agency Offices at Barcelona Airport

We provide a location map of Malaga Airport, together with driving instructions from Malaga Airport to the main resorts along the Costa del Sol.

The new accesses to the parking facilities and a new North-South linking tunnel are available.

The access to departures has not changed and the access to arrivals is available only to authorized vehicles.

To save you time finding your way around when you arrive in Malaga, we have provided an up to the minute Malaga Area Guide on sporting and leisure amenities which includes the best Shopping Areas in Malaga, Markets in Malaga, Malaga Golf Courses, the different types of Beaches in Malaga, recommended Restaurants in Malaga, details of Malaga Amusement Parks for family days out and Malaga Local Attractions.

In some ways the most important aspect of all, Malaga Weather gives you a full 3 day, 5 day and 10 day forecast with information on the year round climate in Malaga and the surrounding area.

There is no left luggage store at Malaga Airport, but hopefully when the new terminal is open this will be rectified and there will be somewhere to leave your bags.

To check any information we have provided a full list of Malaga Airport Telephone Numbers

Malaga Airport is the fourth busiest Airport in Spain and handled 11,622,443 passengers and 103,536 flights in 2009. With a flying time of only 2½-3 hours from the UK and Ireland. The Costa del Sol offers the fantastic year long weather and is the perfect destination for a full holiday or long weekend break.

Malaga Airport has for a long time been the only real airport of merit in Andalucia. This is changing a little as low cost airlines such as Ryanair and Monarch have started to offer direct flights from the UK to Jerez Airport, Seville Airport and Almeria Airport

We have written a series of articles about Malaga and on Spain in general which we hope you will find interesting. Visit our Travel Articles on Malaga to find out more about day trips and weekend breaks in Malaga.

If you are thinking of moving to the area, we have provided details on how to obtain your Social Security and NIE numbers, how to fly your pets to Spain and how to get a UK car registered over here.