Valencia airport now operating over 95% of pre-pandemic flights 

OVER 95% of airline routes from the terminal in Valencia are now back on track and 65% of seats on planes have been filled so far this year, despite travel restrictions still being in place.

Between January and mid-July inclusive, a total of 383,427 passengers flew into and out of the airport in Manises (pictured above), and nearly seven in 10 hotel rooms in the wider Valencia metropolitan area were occupied.

Antonio Bernabé of the Visit Valencia Foundation says data so far in 2021 paint an optimistic picture for the region's tourism industry, and he is confident of a near-full recovery thanks to the vaccine roll-out and the new 'EU digital Covid certificate' scheme.

Speaking at a holiday sector conference, Bernabé said the Municipal Tourism Commission had set up a new web page where Visit Valencia would publish full figures relating to the industry, such as visitor numbers from abroad and from other parts of Spain, hotel occupancy and airline passengers.

It would also include a tool for searching for holiday apartments for rent which are registered with the tourist board, meaning they are above board and meet specific quality criteria.

Bernabé also mentioned plans to spend up to 10% of the Foundation's annual budget on alleviating problems for year-round residents caused by the city's tourism industry, such as noise control, emissions and use of space – parking and bar terraces being examples of these.

Valencia airport is one of three serving the eastern region, along with Alicante and, to a lesser extent, Castellón, where Ryanair runs flights to and from London Stansted and Volotea, Air Nostrum and Wizz Air operate routes to Bilbao, Sevilla and Bucharest (Romania).

The northern Costa Blanca is about halfway between the airports of Valencia and Alicante, and the southern Costa Blanca within easy reach of those of Alicante and Murcia, meaning holidaymakers are able to 'shop around' to find the best flight deals for when they wish to travel.

All four terminals are on the edge of a motorway, making them an easy drive to coastal and inland locations, and the Valencia metro runs right into the terminal at Manises airport from the stop just outside the main station, where travellers can catch trains to locations in the province of Castellón, the coast of that of Valencia, and long-distance connections to Madrid, Barcelona and the south of France.