It is significant for Spanish tourism as the main international airport serving the Costa del Sol.

The airport has flight connections to over 40 countries worldwide, and over 14.4 million passengers passed through it in 2015.

Direct flights also operate to Africa, the Middle East and also to North America.

[citation needed] The single runway was extended in the 1960s, and a new terminal was erected in the centre of the site.

[citation needed] The terminal was very similar to the ones that were built in Palma de Mallorca, Alicante, Ibiza and Girona.

In 1995, the old passenger building was converted into a general aviation terminal, and a new hangar for large aircraft maintenance was built to the north of the airport site.

[citation needed] Also constructed was a terminal specifically catering for cargo traffic a year later, along with a hangar for maintenance of big aircraft.

[citation needed] The airport's domestic departures section once had the head office of Binter Mediterraneo.

[9] In 2004, the "Málaga Plan" was started, including ideas for construction of a new terminal, and a new runway.

[citation needed] In 2005, the old passenger terminal from the late 60s was demolished to make room for the planned expansion of the airport.

[citation needed] In November 2005, Monarch Airlines opened a base at Málaga.

[10] It based an Airbus A320-200 there, and operated scheduled services were added to Aberdeen, Blackpool and Newquay.

In March 2007, Clickair opened a base at Málaga after announcing a new route to Barcelona.

The runway was placed into service after the airport obtained the safety clearance of Civil Aviation on 30 April 2012.

The runway officially opened on 26 June 2012 and it was inaugurated by the Spanish Minister of Transport, Ana Pastor.

[12][13] In June 2017, Scandinavian Airlines Ireland announced they were to open a base at Málaga.

The building was designed by architect Ricardo Bofill, and was built to be operated in combination with the pre-existing passenger terminal.

[17] The arrivals floor of Terminal 2 was refurbished in early 2011, and all the ceilings were painted between late 2013 and mid 2014.

Terminal 3 (styled as T3) opened on 15 March 2010, with flight operations commencing the following day.

[21] The new terminal building at Málaga Airport was designed by architect Bruce S. Fairbanks.

In early 2024, Aena began talks of the possible expansion of Terminal 3 to increase capacity and to improve passenger experience.

The cargo terminal was opened in 1996, with 16 docking bays for road transport vehicles.

[155] Málaga Airport has a transportation hub outside terminal 3 with both arrival and departure levels.

Since 2024, the Estonian ride-hailing company Bolt has operated exclusive pickup areas at the airport.