Bratislava Airport surpasses the 3 million passenger milestone for the first time in its history
Bratislava International Airport reached a historic milestone today. For the first time in its 75-year history, it has handled 3 million passengers within a single year. The milestone, which Bratislava Airport had never reached even over an entire calendar year, was surpassed on 24 August 2026.
Bratislava Airport welcomed its three-millionth passenger today, 24 August. This marks another historic record for the airport during an exceptional year of growth.
“We have never handled three million passengers in a single year during the 75-year history of Bratislava Airport. What makes this achievement even more remarkable is that we have reached this milestone already in August, with more than four months remaining until the end of the year. This is clear confirmation that 2026 will be the most successful year in the history of Bratislava Airport in terms of passenger numbers,” said Dušan Novota, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of M. R. Štefánik Airport (BTS).
The three-millionth passenger was Kristína from Lučenec, who was travelling with her boyfriend, Tosh, on a Wizz Air flight to Oslo. Kristína has been living in Norway for more than 8 years and had spent the weekend in Slovakia attending her best childhood friend’s wedding party. She uses the Oslo–Bratislava route to visit family and friends in Slovakia almost every month.
The airport’s previous annual passenger record was set last year, when it handled a total of 2,438,215 passengers. This figure was already surpassed in early August 2026, and today the airport has reached the three-million passenger milestone for the first time.
The airport’s record pace of growth is also reflected in how quickly it has reached this year’s milestones. Bratislava Airport welcomed its one-millionth passenger on 28 April, approximately three months earlier than in 2025. It subsequently surpassed the two-million passenger mark on 3 July, meaning that it took less than eight additional weeks to reach three million.
“Already when we welcomed our first million passengers in April, we indicated that 2026 would be a historic year for Bratislava Airport. Today’s milestone confirms these expectations. The growth is primarily driven by a significantly broader network of scheduled flights and strong passenger demand for flights from Bratislava. We continue to expect to handle more than four million passengers over the full year,” added Dušan Novota.
Bratislava Airport has repeatedly broken historical records in recent months. In June, it handled more than half a million passengers in a single month for the first time in its history, with 510,152 passengers. Just one month later, this record was broken again, as the airport handled 619,902 passengers in July, the highest monthly passenger volume ever recorded at Bratislava Airport.
During the first seven months of 2026, a total of 2,568,532 passengers passed through the airport, representing an increase of 108% compared with the same period last year. The airport subsequently reached the three-million passenger milestone on 24 August.
Bratislava Airport expects to handle more than four million passengers by the end of 2026, significantly surpassing all previous full-year passenger figures in its history.