Passenger traffic at Aena's Spanish airports reached an all-time high last year, thanks to a strong rebound in tourism after several years of disruption caused by the pandemic.

The number of passengers traveling through Spanish airports last year rose 16% from 2022 to 283 million, state-controlled airport operator Aena said in a statement Tuesday.

The figure was 2.9% higher than in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic crippled flights, with traffic in December 11% higher than in the same month four years earlier.

"These record figures in air transport are fundamental for Spain's economic and social development," AENA president Maurici Lucena said in a statement. "Airlines (...) suffered the harsh consequences of the pandemic and are now already carrying more passengers than ever."

Spanish airports were among the first in Europe to surpass pre-pandemic activity, as they rely more on leisure and less on business travel, which has recovered more slowly.

The airline industry returned to profitability in 2023 thanks to booming demand in North America, the Middle East and Europe, while largely resolving airport and airline staffing shortages that had reduced schedules the previous year.

(Reporting by Matteo Allievi; edited in Spanish by Benjamín Mejías Valencia)