Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport

Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport (IATA: BCN, ICAO: LEBL) (Catalan: Aeroport Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat, Spanish: Aeropuerto Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat), also known as Barcelona-El Prat Airport, is an international airport located 15 km (9.3 mi) southwest of the centre of Barcelona, lying in the municipalities of El Prat de Llobregat, Viladecans, and Sant Boi, in Catalonia, Spain. It is the second-largest and second-busiest airport in Spain, the busiest international airport of Catalonia (greatly surpassing Girona, Reus and Lleida), and the seventh busiest in Europe. In 2025, Barcelona Airport handled a record 57,483,036 passengers, up 4.4% from 2024. It is a hub for Level and Vueling, and a focus city for Air Europa, Iberia, EasyJet and Ryanair. The Barcelona–Madrid air shuttle service, known as "Pont Aeri" (in Catalan) or "Puente Aéreo" (in Spanish), literally "Air Bridge", was the world's busiest route until 2008, with the highest number of flight operations (971 per week) in 2007. The schedule has been reduced since February 2008, when a Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line was opened, covering the distance in 2 hours 30 minutes, and quickly became popular. The airport was renamed by the central Government of Spain to its current name on 21 December 2018 in honour of the first Catalan president under the current Spanish Constitution, Josep Tarradellas – a move widely criticised by the Generalitat de Catalunya and separatists due to non-consultation. History Foundation and early years Barcelona's first airfield, located at El Remolar, began operations in 1916. However, it did not have good expansion prospects, so a new airport at El Prat opened in 1918. The first plane was a Latécoère Salmson 300 which arrived from Toulouse with final destination Casablanca. The airport was used as headquarters of the Aeroclub of Catalonia and the base for the Spanish Navy's Zeppelin fleet. Scheduled commercial service began in 1927 with an Iberia service to Madrid Cuatro Vientos Airport. This was Iberia's first route. During the time of the Second Spanish Republic El Prat was one of the bases of LAPE (Líneas Aéreas Postales Españolas). In 1948, a runway was built (now called runway 07-25); in the same year the first overseas service was operated by Pan American World Airways to New York City, using a Lockheed Constellation. Between 1948 and 1952, a second runway was constructed (runway 16–34), perpendicular to the previous, also taxiways were constructed and a terminal to accommodate passengers. In 1963, the airport reached one million passengers a year. A new control tower was built in 1965. In 1968, a new terminal was opened, which still exists and is in use as what is now Terminal 2B. On 3 August 1970, Pan American World Airways inaugurated regular service among Barcelona, Lisbon and New York, operated by a Boeing 747. On 4 November of the same year, Iberia began the "Air-shuttle" service between Barcelona and Madrid–Barajas. A few years later, in 1976, a terminal was built specifically for Iberia's air-shuttle service and a terminal exclusively for cargo, an annexed mail service and an aircraft ramp for air cargo. In 1977, the airport handled over 5 million passengers annually. From the late seventies to the early nineties, the airport was stalled in traffic and investments until the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona. El Prat underwent a major development consisting of the modernization and expansion of the existing terminal, which became known as Terminal B, and the construction of two further terminals flanking that, known as Terminals A and C respectively. Development since 2010 The new Terminal 1 was inaugurated on 16 June 2009, covering 545,000 m2 (5,866,331 sq ft). 70% of today's flights operate from Terminal 1. The old Terminals A, B and C are now known as Terminals 2A, 2B and 2C. Due to the strong drop in air traffic after 1999 and the crisis in the aviation sector in 2001 many charter operations from Girona and Reus were diverted to El Prat, which helped the airport to survive the crisis. On 1 February 2014, Barcelona–El Prat was the first Spanish airport to receive a daily flight with the Airbus A380-800, on the Emirates route to Dubai International Airport. Emirates also offers a second daily flight, also operated by the A380-800. International Airlines Group (IAG) announced in December 2016 flights from Barcelona to the US, Latin America and Asia for the summer of 2017. IAG, formed by British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus, created Level, the second airline, after Norwegian, launching low-cost long haul flights from the Catalan city. They announced flights from June 2017 to Los Angeles, Oakland, Punta Cana and Buenos Aires. On 14 October 2019, the airport was the first target of protesters after the sentencing of the trial of Catalonia independence leaders. In the morning, called upon by Democratic Tsunami thousands flocked all the accesses and concourses disrupting normal operations. Catalan Police ordered the closing of all transportation services (bus, Metro and Rail) to avoid further arrivals of demonstrators. The blockade of the main access road (C-32 highway) with people walking between the terminals and city center made Taxi and other services unavailable. Deployment of riot police from Civil Guard, National Police and Mossos d'Esquadra to evict protesters lead to massive confrontations leaving dozens injured. Using social media the organizers called off the action by night time but disruption continued. More than a hundred flights were cancelled during the 14th of October and twenty more were announced for the next day by the main operator, Vueling. Operations Airlines Most of the traffic at Barcelona Airport is domestic and European, in which Vueling has an operational base. Intercontinental connections have not generated a significant amount of passenger traffic during the last years. In the early twenty-first century the airport passenger carried numbers and the number of operations increased significantly. Low-cost airline traffic grew significantly, especially after the creation of operating bases by Vueling and Clickair at the airport. Vueling and Clickair merged in July 2009, operating under the Vueling name. Other low-cost airlines operate from the airport, including Ryanair, EasyJet, Norwegian Air International, easyJet Switzerland, Wizz Air and Transavia. A new base was established at the airport in September 2010. Infrastructure The airport has three runways, two parallels, nominated 06L/24R and 06R/24L (the latter opened in 2004), and a cross runway 02/20. There are two terminals: T2, which is the sum of the previous Terminals A, B and C, located on the north side of the airport; and T1, on the west side, which opened on 16 June 2009. As of 2014 the two terminals had a combined total of 268 check-in counters and 64 boarding gates. Operations at the airport are restricted exclusively to Instrument flight rules (IFR) flights, except for sanitary, emergency and government VFR flights. A plan for expansion (Plan Barcelona) was completed in 2009, adding a third terminal building (also designed by Ricardo Bofill) and control tower. An additional runway (07R/25L) was also built. The airport became capable of handling 55 million passengers annually (up from 33 million in 2007). The airport expanded in area from 8.45 to 15.33 square kilometres (3.26 to 5.92 sq mi). Further expansion was planned to be finished by 2012, with a new satellite terminal to raise capacity to 70 million passengers annually, this is better explained in Terminal T1 section. Terminals Terminal 1 A new Terminal 1, designed by Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura was inaugurated on 16 June 2009. The airport terminal has an area of 548,000 m2 (5,900,000 sq ft), an aircraft ramp of 600,000 m2 (6,500,000 sq ft), 13,000 new parking spaces and 45 new gates expandable to 60. This terminal is also capable of handling large aircraft like the Airbus A380-800 or Boeing 747-8I. The terminal handles both Schengen and non-Schengen flights. It is split into 5 modules, with Module A handling flights to Madrid, Module B handling Schengen flights, Module C handling Air Nostrum flights, Module D handling non-Schengen European flights and Module E handling non-Schengen non-European flights. Its facilities include: 258 check-in counters 60 jetways (some are prepared for the A380, with double jetways) 15 baggage carousels (one new carousel is equivalent to four carousels in the old terminal) 12,000 parking spaces, in addition to the 12,000 already in Terminal 2 The airport will be able to handle 55 million passengers annually, as opposed to the 30 million people before its construction— and will reach 90 operations an hour. The extension of the airport with a total investment of €5.1 billion will include a new satellite terminal and refurbishment of existing terminals. The civil engineering phase of the South Terminal had a budget of €1 billion. The construction of a satellite terminal (T1S or Terminal 1 Satèl·lit in Catalan) is planned, considering that the airport is on the verge of overcrowding because of a shortage of capacity in the existing terminals. This terminal will be 1.5 kilometres from the current T1 terminal, behind the 02-20 transversal runway. With this, the airport will be able to increase its passenger capacity to 70 million people annually. There are two lounges located in Terminal 1. Terminal 2 Terminal 2 is divided into three linked sections, known as Terminal 2A, 2B and 2C. Terminal 2B is the oldest part of the complex still in use, dating back to 1968. Terminals 2A and 2C were added to expand the airport capacity before the arrival of the 1992 Summer Olympics held in the city. This expansion was also designed by Ricardo Bofill. This terminal is mostly occupied by low-cost airlines, although there are some full-service airlines that also use this terminal. Following the opening of Terminal 1 in 2009, Terminal 2 became almost empty until the airport authorities lowered landing fees to attract low-cost and regional carriers to fill the terminal. While this has helped, the complex is nowhere near full capacity and Terminal 2A is currently unused for departures. Terminal 2C is used only by easyJet and easyJet Switzerland flights, with flights to the UK and other non-Schengen destinations using gates M, whilst flights to destinations in the Schengen area use gates R. Terminal 2B is mostly used by Ryanair and others, like Transavia. T2A is adapted for large airplanes, such as the Boeing 777. The terminal is also split into gate areas, where flights to Schengen destinations use gates U and flights to non-Schengen destinations use gates W and Y. Airlines and destinations The following airlines operate regular scheduled flights to and from Barcelona: Statistics Annual traffic Busiest routes Ground transportation Rail Train Terminal 2 has a Rodalies Barcelona commuter train station (on Line R2), with services every 30 minutes to Maçanet-Massanes, serving several stations in Barcelona's City Centre including Barcelona Sants and Passeig de Gràcia, providing connections with the Barcelona Metro system and national and international high-speed rail services. Rail passengers for Terminal 1 must take a connecting bus from Terminal 2B to Terminal 1. As part of the major aforementioned airport expansion, a new shuttle train is being built to directly connect Terminal 1 to Barcelona Sants and Passeig de Gràcia, providing quicker and more frequent journeys between the airport and city centre. As of November 2023, this new line is expected to be operational sometime in 2026, six years later than originally anticipated. Metro Since 12 February 2016, the airport has been linked to Barcelona by Line 9 of the Barcelona Metro, with a station in each terminal, the Aeroport T1 station situated directly underneath the airport terminal T1 and the Aeroport T2 station close to the Aeroport rail station at the terminal T2. The line connects with several Barcelona Metro lines serving the city centre. Road The C-32B highway connects the airport to a main traffic interchange between Barcelona's Ronda de Dalt beltway and major motorways. There are about 24,000 parking spaces at the airport. Bus The Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) public bus line 46 runs from Paral·lel Avenue. The Aerobús offers direct transfers from T1 and T2 to the city centre at Plaça Catalunya. Another company offers transfers from Barcelona Airport to nearby airports like Reus Airport or Girona–Costa Brava, provincial and national capitals and links with France or Andorra. Ride-hailing Since 2024, the Estonian ride-hailing company Bolt has operated exclusive pickup areas at the airport. Incidents and accidents On 16 May 1940, a Ala Littoria Savoia-Marchetti SM.75 Marsupiale crashed during takeoff because a ladder in the cargo compartment moved during takeoff and jammed the controls. All eight occupants were killed. On 14 April 1958, an Aviaco de Havilland Heron crashed into the sea on approach to the airport because of a loss of control to avoid another aircraft taking off from BCN. All two crew and 14 passengers were killed. On 8 November 1960, an Iberia Airlines Lockheed 1049 Super Constellation (leased from TWA) was on final approach when the left main gear struck a small heap of rubbish short of the runway threshold, tearing off the wheels, the plane continued 170 m (560 ft) along the runway and swerved to the left and caught fire. All 71 passengers and crew survived, but the aircraft was written off. On 22 November 1974, a Cessna Citation I operated by Alpa Servicios Aereos crashed 3 km (1.9 mi) east of Barcelona Airport into the sea because of loss of control of the aircraft. All three occupants died. On 19 February 1998, both occupants died in an Ibertrans Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner plane crash in the borough of Gavà shortly after taking off from El Prat. On 28 July 1998, a Swiftair Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner crashed on approach, killing both crew members, because of speed reduction at low height, improper flap setting, and a feathered right propeller. See also List of works by Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura Notes External links Media related to Barcelona Airport at Wikimedia Commons Barcelona El Prat Airport travel guide from Wikivoyage Official website