From Montreal to Moldova: the direct flights from Malaga you might not expect

The places beyond the usual holiday routes that you can reach with one flight from Malaga, and why the routes exist.

GibraltarBites

Most people in Gibraltar know Malaga airport for London, Manchester and the Canaries. Its departure boards also show Montreal, Riyadh, Reykjavik and Chișinău, along with six cities in Norway. All of them are a single flight from an airport about an hour and a half's drive from the Rock.

This round-up covers the most unexpected of those routes: where they go, when they run, and what to know before you book. Airlines and flight days change every season, so each route links to a Gibraltar Bites page with the details that stay true, and to a tool for checking flights on your own dates.

Across the Atlantic

Montreal. Malaga has a non-stop flight to Montréal-Trudeau, one of very few routes from Andalucia across the Atlantic. Seville is due to get its own from Wednesday 8 September 2027, a seasonal service of up to four flights a week, which the city's mayor described as its first direct transoceanic connection. Montreal has warm summers and hard winters: around 2 metres of snow falls in a typical year. UK passport holders need an Electronic Travel Authorization. Flying direct to Montreal

New York. A seasonal non-stop flight links Malaga with Newark, one of New York's main airports. Summer highs in the city are close to 30°C. UK passport holders travel under the Visa Waiver Program with an approved ESTA. Flying direct to New York

The Gulf and the eastern Mediterranean

Malaga has direct flights to five Gulf capitals and to Tel Aviv. Most run only in some seasons.

  • Doha, all year. UK passport holders need no visa for up to 30 days. Doha

  • Abu Dhabi, seasonal. No visa needed for up to 90 days. Abu Dhabi

  • Riyadh, seasonal, with two airlines. An electronic travel authorisation, e-visa or visa on arrival is needed. Riyadh

  • Bahrain, seasonal. E-visa or visa on arrival. Bahrain

  • Kuwait City, seasonal. E-visa or visa on arrival. Kuwait

  • Tel Aviv, seasonal, with two airlines. An electronic travel authorisation is needed. Tel Aviv

The Gulf is at its most comfortable between November and March, when Doha and Abu Dhabi average around 24 to 30°C by day. From June to August highs pass 40°C. Check the UK Foreign Office travel advice before booking any of these.

Norway

The surprise that started this round-up is Norway. Malaga has direct flights to six Norwegian cities: Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger and Sandefjord through the year, and Haugesund and Trondheim in season.

The reason is a settled Norwegian community on the Costa del Sol. Benalmádena alone had more than 400 Norwegians registered in 2023, according to its mayor, who pointed to Norwegian companies and the Norwegian College of the Costa del Sol. A Norwegian airline has kept aircraft based at Malaga since at least 2018.

Stavanger, Norway's oil capital since oil was found in the North Sea in 1969, is the base for one of Europe's best-known walks. Preikestolen, the Pulpit Rock, rises 604 metres above the Lysefjord, about 40 minutes' drive from the city and a three to four hour walk there and back. Flying direct to Stavanger · All the Norway routes

Further north and east

  • Reykjavík, all year. In early summer it barely gets dark; in December and early January the day lasts under five hours. Reykjavik

  • Tampere, all year. A Finnish city between two lakes that calls itself the Sauna Capital of the World. Tampere

  • Växjö, seasonal. A lakeside town in Småland, home of Sweden's National Glass Museum. Växjö

  • Chișinău, all year. Moldova's capital holds a national wine festival every October, and UK passport holders need no visa for up to 90 days. Chișinău

Getting there and checking flights

Malaga is about an hour and a half by car from Gibraltar, plus time at the frontier. For flights outside the Schengen area, which covers the transatlantic and Gulf routes, Aena advises arriving three hours before departure; for Norway, Iceland, Finland and Sweden it is two hours.

The Where can I fly direct? tool on Gibraltar Bites builds a ready-made question for an AI travel assistant, so you can check which of these routes fly on your dates and what they cost.

Sources: route lists from Malaga airport's destinations table, checked Thursday 29 October 2026; Air Canada's Seville announcement; Benalmádena Town Hall; Aena; entry rules from visa requirements for British citizens; UK Foreign Office travel advice.