While Aena and the island and regional governments pass the buck over who is responsible for the saturation, the saturation does not stop increasing. In the first six months of 2026, Mallorca's main airport has once again pulverized all its records and is already close to 15 million passengers (14.9), which represents 14% more than just three years ago, compared to the first semester of 2023.

Coffee with milk and a croissant, the kind you can't take apart because it's frozen for the hospitality industry, 6.5 euros. A tortilla sandwich, beer, and coffee, 28 euros. This isn't a luxury restaurant, but rather an ordinary bar with shared tables, usually at any of the airports in the Balearic Islands and the rest of Spain. "It's shameful to pay this much for a coffee and pastry. It makes me so angry that, if I can avoid it, I don't have anything. But you can't always. I travel practically every week, and sometimes, on the way back, you have no choice," explains Marta Riera, an executive who works at ARABalears.