Spain's newly approved DORA III has published detailed forecasts and investment figures for Ibiza Airport for the 2027-2031 regulatory period, including a passenger forecast of almost 9.72 million by 2031 and €159.6 million in programmed investment.

The Documento de Regulación Aeroportuaria 2027-2031 was approved by the Council of Ministers on September 15 and published in the Official State Gazette on September 19.

Passenger Forecasts for 2027 and 2031

The official DORA traffic forecast puts Ibiza Airport at 9,173,500 passengers in 2027.

By 2031, the figure rises to 9,718,800 passengers.

The document calculates compound annual growth of 1.45% between the two years.

These figures are forecasts used within the airport's regulatory framework. They should not be described as a passenger cap or as a guarantee that the airport will handle exactly those numbers.

Ibiza Already Recorded 9.14 Million Passengers in 2025

The DORA forecasts come after another record year at Ibiza Airport.

Aena recorded 9,138,224 passengers in 2025, an increase of 0.7% compared with 2024.

The airport also handled 85,086 aircraft operations during the year, representing a 2.5% increase.

The 2025 passenger total was therefore already close to the passenger level forecast in the DORA for 2027.

Aircraft Operations Also Forecast to Increase

DORA III forecasts 87,901 aircraft operations at Ibiza Airport in 2027.

For 2031, the figure rises to 92,964 operations.

That represents compound annual growth of 1.41% during the five-year period.

An airport operation refers to an aircraft movement, covering arrivals and departures.

Cargo Forecast Also Rises

The DORA includes a separate forecast for air cargo.

Ibiza Airport is forecast to handle 946,103 kilograms of cargo in 2027.

The figure rises to 1,137,157 kilograms in 2031, equivalent to a compound annual growth rate of 4.71%.

For comparison, Aena recorded 862.5 tonnes of cargo at Ibiza Airport during 2025.

€159.6 Million in Programmed Investment

The DORA III investment tables allocate a total of €159.620 million to Ibiza Airport during the 2027-2031 period.

The amount is divided among strategic, relevant, regulatory and other investment categories.

The largest individual allocation is €55.246 million for the adaptation of the terminal building to new regulations.

Other programmed investments include works involving the airfield and aircraft apron, operational safety, passenger and installation security, communications and information systems, access and urbanisation, electrical systems and sustainability.

The Main Terminal Project

Within DORA III, the strategic investment for Ibiza is formally titled “Adaptation of the Terminal Building to New Regulations”.

The document gives this strategic project an investment threshold of €38.7 million before the end of 2031 and establishes a completion date of December 2035.

This figure is separate from the €55.246 million programmed for the terminal adaptation in the broader investment table, because the two figures serve different functions within the DORA framework.

The €159.620 million figure is the total programmed investment across the different investment categories for Ibiza during the five-year regulatory period.

The DORA Does Not Call It an Expansion

The wording in the official DORA is significant.

The document does not title the Ibiza project as an airport expansion. Its strategic investment is described as an adaptation of the terminal building to new regulations.

Aena has previously said the planned work is needed to adapt Ibiza Airport to new European security requirements, including changes to Schengen and non-Schengen passenger flows, centralised passport control and upgraded security-screening equipment.

The airport operator has also said the project is intended to improve operational processes and the passenger experience.

A Wider Project Has Been Under Development

The current dispute over the airport's future goes beyond the wording used in DORA III.

Aena has separately been progressing technical work for a new functional design of the Ibiza terminal. Its procurement documents refer to the technical assistance required for the adaptation of the terminal to this new functional design.

That process remains part of the wider development of the project, meaning the final configuration of the works is not necessarily identical to every element described in earlier technical documentation.

Official Capacity Figure

DORA III lists Ibiza Airport's current annual passenger capacity at 10 million passengers.

The same table records a current airfield capacity of 40 aircraft movements per hour, an aircraft-platform capacity of 45 movements per hour and a passenger-terminal capacity of 4,400 passengers per hour.

The cargo terminal capacity is listed at 3,500 tonnes per year.

These are infrastructure-capacity indicators and are separate from the passenger and operations forecasts contained elsewhere in the document.

Environmental Targets

Ibiza Airport is also included among 19 airports covered by DORA III's Airport Carbon Accreditation targets.

The programme aims for the airports covered by the indicator to progress through ACA levels, with the target of reaching ACA 5 in 2030.

The DORA also establishes an energy-efficiency objective for the Aena network, measured against the 2019 baseline.

Aena's wider objective is to reach net-zero emissions for its own activities across the airport network by 2030.

Why the Figures Are Being Closely Watched

The publication of DORA III comes at a time of renewed debate in Ibiza over the future size and configuration of the airport.

The Consell de Ibiza and groups involved in Sunday's September 20 demonstration have opposed any project that they believe would increase airport capacity.

Aena, meanwhile, has presented the planned intervention as a modernisation and adaptation programme focused on regulatory requirements, operational improvements, safety and passenger services.

The different descriptions are therefore an important part of the current debate, while the DORA provides the official regulatory figures for traffic forecasts and investment.

Ibiza Airport's Next Stage

The DORA III framework is now formally in force for the 2027-2031 regulatory period.

For Ibiza, it contains a forecast of 9.17 million passengers in 2027 and 9.72 million in 2031, alongside 87,901 and 92,964 forecast annual operations respectively.

It also programmes €159.6 million of investment across the five-year period, including the strategic terminal-adaptation programme.

Further project development and technical work will determine how the planned airport intervention ultimately takes shape.