The company consolidates its growth at Melilla Airport with more than 390,000 passengers in the first nine months of the year, 4% more than in 2024

Air Nostrum reached a historic record in August, surpassing 50,000 passengers in a single month for the first time

Melilla will have a new flight to Valencia in the summer of 2026, bringing the total number of direct destinations offered in the Autonomous City to 12

MELILLA, OCTOBER 8, 2025

The strong operational commitment to Melilla that Air Nostrum, the Iberia franchised airline for regional flights, has been making in recent years continues to be consolidated in 2025. During the first nine months of the year, the company operated more than 7,800 flights, representing a 6% increase compared to the same period last year, and transported more than 390,000 passengers. Passengers, 4% more than in 2024.

The month of August marked a new historic milestone, surpassing 50,000 passengers in a single month for the first time. With these figures, the Melilla market continues to reach record levels, and Air Nostrum expects to reach 760,000 seats by the end of 2025.

During the summer season, Air Nostrum connected Melilla with eleven direct destinations: Malaga, Madrid, Granada, Almeria, Seville, Barcelona, ​​​​Mallorca, Gran Canaria, Santiago de Compostela, Asturias, and Tenerife. The new routes to Asturias and Tenerife, added during the peak of summer this year, have achieved occupancy rates of over 65%, confirming the positive passenger response.

For the 2025-2026 winter season, which begins the last weekend of October and runs until the end of March 2026, Air Nostrum will maintain eight direct routes to Melilla (Málaga, Madrid, Granada, Almería, Seville, Barcelona, ​​Mallorca, and Gran Canaria), offering more than 305,000 seats throughout the period. These routes will operate uninterruptedly throughout the season. Furthermore, the company remains committed to expanding its schedule if demand so requires.

As a sign of Air Nostrum's commitment to the Autonomous City, the company is now taking a new step in its expansion with the announcement of a direct Melilla–Valencia route, which will operate twice weekly (Tuesdays and Thursdays) between July 21 and August 27, 2026. With this addition, Melilla will have direct flights to 12 destinations during the 2026 summer season and will be connected to eight different autonomous communities, a historic record for its route network.

High levels of punctuality in Melilla

Cumulative punctuality from January to September on routes to Melilla reached 90.4%, 3.8 points above the global average for Air Nostrum's network and 2 points higher than in 2024. During the summer months, punctuality in Melilla was more than six points higher than the average for the rest of the routes in the company's network. The introduction of an additional ATR72-600 aircraft for the Melilla market in mid-July has been key to the improvement in figures, rising from 84.4% punctuality in July to 93% in September.

Operational regularity stands at 96%, with the main incidents concentrated in the months of April, June, and July, mainly due to weather conditions.

New measures to improve service in the Autonomous City

As part of its commitment to quality and service in Melilla, Air Nostrum will implement a series of measures in the coming weeks aimed at improving passenger service and reducing the impact of technical or operational incidents. These measures include:

The opening of a permanent Air Nostrum office at Melilla Airport, which will be staffed by its own staff to provide direct passenger service. Its implementation, which depends on the selection and training process, is scheduled for late November/early December.
The permanent deployment of an ATR72-600 reserve aircraft, in addition to the one already scheduled, to handle incidents and peak demand.
The reinforcement of technical crews with the hiring of four new crews to provide a full reserve crew and a permanent standby crew. The training and qualification of the new crews is expected to be completed during the month of November.

Air Nostrum, a leading airline

Air Nostrum is the leading regional airline in Spain and one of the largest European airlines of its kind. It operates for the Iberia Group under the Iberia Regional Air Nostrum brand. It connects 59 destinations in eight countries across Europe and North Africa with its fleet of 46 next-generation aircraft. It has 1,500 employees. In its 30-year history, it has transported more than 110 million passengers.

temas Andalucía Almería Granada Málaga Sevilla Asturias Cataluña Barcelona Comunidad Valenciana Valencia Galicia Santiago de Compostela Islas Baleares Mallorca Islas Canarias Gran Canaria Tenerife Madrid Melilla Valencia