Alicante Airport (ALC) — the complete 2026 guide
Everything you need to know about Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández Airport — the main gateway to Benidorm and the Costa Blanca. Airlines, routes, transfers, amenities, security times and busy-period tips.
IATA / ICAO
ALC / LEAL
Passengers (2025)
~18.4 million
Distance to Benidorm
~55 km
Terminal hours
24/7
Nearest airport to Benidorm
The nearest airport to Benidorm is Alicante–Elche Airport (ALC). It sits about 55 km (34 miles) south of Benidorm in the municipality of Elche, just outside Alicante city. For the vast majority of UK, Irish and Northern European travellers, ALC is the fastest and cheapest option.
Alicante Airport (ALC)
- Distance to Benidorm: ~55 km
- Drive time: 45–60 minutes
- Direct Alsa coach: ~50 minutes, €11–€14
- Taxi / private transfer: 45–50 minutes
- Best for: most UK and European travellers
Valencia Airport (VLC) — alternative
- Distance to Benidorm: ~150 km
- Drive time: 1h 35m–1h 50m
- Public transport: train + bus via Valencia
- Taxi / private transfer: €180–€230
- Best for: flights that are significantly cheaper
Murcia–Corvera Airport (RMU) is another option around 125 km to the south-west, but it has far fewer international routes and the transfer to Benidorm is less straightforward. Unless you are visiting the southern Costa Blanca, Alicante remains the best choice.
Address & contact
+34 913 21 10 00(Aena customer service)
Where can you fly to Alicante Airport from?
Alicante connects to roughly 100 destinations across Europe and North Africa. Below is a country-by-country breakdown of the airports with direct routes to ALC.
United Kingdom
- London Gatwick (LGW)
- London Luton (LTN)
- London Stansted (STN)
- London Heathrow (LHR)
- London Southend (SEN)
- Manchester (MAN)
- Birmingham (BHX)
- Bristol (BRS)
- Liverpool (LPL)
- Leeds Bradford (LBA)
- Newcastle (NCL)
- East Midlands (EMA)
- Bournemouth (BOH)
- Cardiff (CWL)
- Exeter (EXT)
- Norwich (NWI)
- Doncaster Sheffield (seasonal)
- Edinburgh (EDI)
- Glasgow (GLA)
- Aberdeen (ABZ)
- Belfast International (BFS)
Ireland
- Dublin (DUB)
- Cork (ORK)
- Shannon (SNN)
- Knock (NOC)
Netherlands
- Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS)
- Eindhoven (EIN)
- Rotterdam (RTM)
Belgium
- Brussels (BRU)
- Brussels Charleroi (CRL)
Germany
- Frankfurt (FRA)
- Munich (MUC)
- Düsseldorf (DUS)
- Berlin Brandenburg (BER)
- Hamburg (HAM)
- Cologne/Bonn (CGN)
- Stuttgart (STR)
- Hannover (HAJ)
- Nuremberg (NUE)
- Memmingen (FMM)
France
- Paris Orly (ORY)
- Paris CDG (CDG)
- Lyon (LYS)
- Nantes (NTE)
- Toulouse (TLS)
- Bordeaux (BOD)
- Marseille (MRS)
Switzerland
- Zürich (ZRH)
- Geneva (GVA)
- Basel (BSL)
Norway
- Oslo (OSL)
- Bergen (BGO)
- Stavanger (SVG)
- Trondheim (TRD)
Sweden
- Stockholm Arlanda (ARN)
- Gothenburg (GOT)
Denmark
- Copenhagen (CPH)
- Billund (BLL)
Finland
- Helsinki (HEL)
Iceland
- Reykjavík Keflavík (KEF)
Poland
- Warsaw (WAW)
- Kraków (KRK)
- Katowice (KTW)
- Wrocław (WRO)
- Gdańsk (GDN)
Czech Republic
- Prague (PRG)
Hungary
- Budapest (BUD)
Romania
- Bucharest Otopeni (OTP)
- Cluj-Napoca (CLJ)
Austria
- Vienna (VIE)
Italy
- Milan Bergamo (BGY)
- Rome Fiumicino (FCO)
- Naples (NAP)
Spain (domestic)
- Madrid (MAD)
- Barcelona (BCN)
- Palma (PMI)
- Bilbao (BIO)
- Gran Canaria (LPA)
- Tenerife (TFS)
Portugal
- Lisbon (LIS)
- Porto (OPO)
Morocco
- Marrakesh (RAK)
- Tangier (TNG)
Algeria
- Algiers (ALG)
- Oran (ORN)
Where can you fly to from Alicante Airport?
The route list above is bi-directional — every airport listed has direct flights both ways. The strongest departure markets from ALC are the UK (London Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds Bradford and Newcastle), the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Eindhoven), Norway (Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger), Germany (Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf), Ireland (Dublin, Cork), Belgium (Brussels, Charleroi) and Poland (Warsaw, Kraków, Katowice). Domestic Spanish links cover Madrid, Barcelona, Palma, Bilbao and the Canary Islands. Year-round North-African routes serve Algiers, Oran and Marrakesh.
Which airlines fly to and from Alicante Airport?
- Ryanair
- easyJet
- Jet2.com
- TUI Airways
- British Airways
- Vueling
- Iberia / Iberia Express
- Air Europa
- Wizz Air
- Norwegian
- SAS
- KLM
- Lufthansa
- Eurowings
- Brussels Airlines
- Transavia
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Air Algérie
- Royal Air Maroc
- Volotea
- Aer Lingus
Getting to and from Alicante Airport
Taxi (official rank)
Fixed tariffs from the airport. To Benidorm: €85–€110. To Alicante city centre: €25–€30. To Torrevieja: €60–€75. To Calpe: €70–€85. Airport surcharge €5.50. Use only white taxis at the official rank outside Arrivals.
Direct coach to Benidorm
Alsa runs the ALC–Benidorm direct coach every 30–60 minutes from outside the bus station on the ground floor. Journey ~50 minutes, fare €11–€14 one-way. Tickets at the Alsa desk or alsa.com.
Bus C-6 to Alicante city
€3.85
Vectalia line C-6 runs every 20–25 minutes between the airport and Alicante city centre, calling at the Renfe train station and the Plaza Puerta del Mar. Journey ~25 minutes.
Private transfers & shuttles
Pre-booked private cars from €60 to Benidorm; shared shuttles from €18–€25 per person. Providers include Shuttle Direct, Hoppa, Resorthoppa and local operators like Beniconnect.
Heading specifically to Benidorm? Read our dedicated Benidorm ↔ Alicante Airport bus guide with full timetables, stops and fares.
Amenities at Alicante Airport
Restaurants & bars at Alicante Airport
Most food outlets cluster in the central plaza of Departures and along the airside corridor after security. Expect Spanish-airport pricing (water €2.50, coffee €2.20, beer €4.50, bocadillo €7–€9).
- La Tagliatella (Italian, landside)
- Gambrinus (Spanish tapas & beer, landside)
- Costa Coffee (multiple locations)
- Burger King (airside & landside)
- McDonald's (landside)
- Pans & Company (Spanish sandwiches, airside)
- Farggi Ice-cream
- Café & Té
- Medas Tapas Bar (airside)
- Enrique Tomás (Iberian ham, airside)
- The Tapas Company (airside)
- Tea Shop
- Areas Express grab-and-go
- Heineken Sky Bar (airside)
Security at Alicante Airport
Alicante uses standard EU/Schengen security with separate Schengen and non-Schengen boarding zones. Liquids over 100 ml must be in hold luggage; laptops and tablets out of the bag unless using a CT scanner (new lanes installed in 2024–2025 have removed this requirement on some belts).
Typical wait times: 5–15 minutes off-peak, 20–40 minutes during summer mornings (05:00–09:00) and 30–60 minutes on the busiest Saturdays in July and August. A paid Fast Track lane (around €6–€10) is bookable on the Aena website and at the entrance to security.
Allow 2 hours for Schengen flights and 2.5–3 hours for UK and other non-Schengen departures, particularly in summer.
Busy periods at Alicante Airport
The airport's peak season runs May to October, with absolute peak in July and August. The quietest months are January and February.
- Busiest days: Saturdays and Sundays in summer (UK and Northern European charter rotations).
- Busiest times: 05:00–09:00 and 17:00–21:00 for departures; 11:00–15:00 and 22:00–01:00 for arrivals.
- UK school holidays: Easter, late May half-term, July–August, October half-term and Christmas all bring significant pressure on security and check-in.
- Quietest: mid-week mornings in January–February and the first two weeks of December.
Insider tips
- Check-in online — most low-cost carriers charge €30+ for airport check-in.
- The cheapest food is at the landside Mercadona-style supermarket near short-stay parking.
- Use the dedicated family lane at security if travelling with under-12s.
- Pre-book a Fast Track slot on Saturdays in July/August — it pays for itself.
- Tap-to-pay works on the Alsa Benidorm bus; cash is no longer required.
- Re-fill water bottles at the free fountains airside (next to gates A20 and B30).