Barcelona El Prat Airport registers a record 37.5 million passengers for 2014
The number of passengers going through Catalonia’s main airport grew by 6.7% in 2014 compared to 2013. In total, some 37,559,044 people travelled through Barcelona El Prat Airport, the first time this has broken the 37 million mark. The number of flights also increased, by 2.7%, with 283,850 involving the Catalan capital’s main airport. Furthermore, the amount of transported goods increased by 2.4%, with more than 102,000 tonnes of cargo. The type of passenger that registered the highest increase was travellers from within the European Union, which grew by 10.5% in 2014. All the markets registered positive figures except European flights from outside the EU and the Schengen Area, due to a drop in Russian tourists. The Asian market grew by 18.4% and those of the Middle East and Africa by 14.8% and 13.8% respectively.
Barcelona (ACN).- The number of passengers going through Catalonia’s main airport grew by 6.7% in 2014, compared to figures from the previous year. In total, some 37,559,044 people travelled through Barcelona El Prat Airport, the first time that this top transport infrastructure in southern Europe broken the 37 million passengers mark. The number of flights increased by 2.7%, with 283,850 landings and take offs from the Catalan capital’s main airport. Furthermore, the amount of transported goods increased by 2.4%, with more than 102,000 tonnes of cargo. The type of passenger that registered the highest increase was travellers from within the European Union, which grew by 10.5% in 2014. All the markets registered positive figures except European flights from outside the EU and the Schengen Area, due to a drop in Russian tourists. The Asian market grew by 18.4% and the Middle East and Africa by 14.8% and 13.8% respectively.
The last month of the year was a particularly positive one for the Catalan capital’s main airport. In December, 2,410,407 people travelled through El Prat, 4.5% more than those who did so in the same month in 2013. However, the best month of 2014 was August, in which the airport broke another record: that for the number of passenger in a single month. In that month, the number of travellers reached 4.2 million, the best figure in the airport’s entire history, representing growth of 8.6% compared to August 2013. As well as this, another particularly good month was April, which registered the highest monthly percentage growth of the year, with 3.18 million travellers, 10.8% more people than in the same month from 2013.
Looking at each month individually, the number of passengers in January was 2,100,661 (+5.2% on the same month from 2013); in February, 2,140,628 (+6.4%); in March, 2,700,188 (+6.2%); in April, 3,178,569 (+10.8%); in May, 3,397,097 (+5.5%); in June, 3,716,489 (+6.3%); in July, 4,027,585 (+4.9%); in August, 4,243,968 (+8.6%); in September, 3,800,800 (+7.8%); in October, 3,369,084 (+8%); in November, 2,473,568 (+3.8%); and in December, 2,410,407 (+4.5%).
Flights to and from Asia, the Middle East and Africa register a significant increase in number of passengers
The number of passengers from flights within the European Union grew by 10.5% during 2014. Those travelling on non-EU international flights increased by 6.6% and passengers from Spanish domestic flights grew by 1%. Looking at each market to and from which aircraft fly, the Asian market registered the highest percentage increase, with 18.4% growth. It was followed by the Middle-East (+14.8%) and Africa (+13.8%). The number of passengers from flights to and from North America increased by 6.5% in 2014, as did the number from and to Latin America (by 1.2%). Madrid-Barajas Airport accounts for most of Spain’s air connections with South America, although in the last few years, the Catalan capital has managed to attract quite a significant number of routes directly linking this continent with Barcelona’s main airport.
Cargo transport increases
During 2014, the amount of goods transported through Barcelona El Prat Airport reached 102,693 tonnes, which represents a 2.4% increase from the previous year. In terms of volume of cargo transported, however, December registered a decrease of 2.1%, down to 8,773 tonnes for that month. Germany, Qatar, the United States and the United Arab Emirates were the main markets for cargo flights landing or taking off at Barcelona El Prat Airport.
Cargo from or to EU countries increased by 4.3% compared to 2013 figures, while that going to or coming from other international markets grew by 2.8%. Meanwhile, cargo transportation within Spain dropped by 13.9%. In addition, imports through Barcelona El Prat grew by 6.3%, while exports decreased by 1.4%.