€1.76bn investment planned for Barcelona airport expansion

Airport management company AENA  will invest €1.96 billion in Catalan airports until 2031, according to its Airport Regulation Document (DORA III) 2027-2031, which was approved by the Spanish government on Tuesday. 

The bulk of the expenditure will be made at Barcelona-El Prat Airport, where €1.76 billion will be spent over the next five years on works such as the reconfiguration of terminals T1 and T2. 

€112.4 million will also be invested in Girona-Costa Brava Airport, €62.7M in Reus and €22.3M in Sabadell. As pointed out by the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, the total investment in Spanish airports will be €13 billion, which will be paid for with airport fees and AENA's own income.

As the minister explained at a press conference in Madrid, airports currently account for almost 6% of Spanish GDP and around 600,000 jobs. He also noted that passenger traffic has grown by 20% compared to pre-pandemic figures and a new record was set in August after 34.9 million passengers arrived in Spain.

Regarding fees, Puente highlighted that an average increase of 0.33% per year has been approved for the next five years, which will keep Spain with some of the "most competitive" rates in Europe. He also explained that these resources allow Spanish airports to finance their own investments and improvement projects.

Despite the volume of the investment, the minister said the investments will not be made to increase runways or flight capacity, but to improve service, safety and the sustainability of the network.

Protest

This Sunday, more than 210 social, neighborhood and environmental organizations and around 130 academics have called for a demonstration in Barcelona against the expansion of El Prat airport. The march will leave from the intersection of Passeig de Gràcia and Aragó and will arrive at Plaça de Sant Jaume. 

Under the slogan "No expansion, not now, not ever," around 10 columns have been organised to travel to the demonstration on foot, by bicycle, metro and train from neighbourhoods across Barcelona and towns in the metropolitan area.  

"The Catalan and Spanish governments and Aena are engaging in climate denialism and acting irresponsibly when they blindly defend the expansion of the airport," said Joan Manel del Llano, a member of the Zeroport platform.