barcelona el prat airport

New airport opens next to Andorran and Catalan ski resorts

January 9, 2015 06:28 PM | ACN

The Andorra-la Seu d’Urgell Airport kicked off its public and commercial activities on Thursday, and is able to host aircraft of up to 40 seats. The old La Seu d’Urgell’s airfield, in the middle of a Pyrenean valley and only 15km away from Andorra, has been updated to go beyond being a facility merely used by recreational light aircraft. From now on, small commercial airliners, charter flights and air taxis will be able to operate from this mountain airport very close to Catalonia’s and Andorra’s main ski resorts. The new facilities will be managed by the Catalan Government and Andorra, which will meet half of its operational costs. The Catalan Executive is currently negotiating with 8 companies that may be interested in flying from the airport. Furthermore, the permits needed to host flights from outside the Schengen Area are expected to be granted by the Spanish authorities during 2015.

Barcelona El Prat Airport reaches more than 35 million passengers between January and November

December 11, 2014 09:44 PM | ACN

The number of passengers travelling through the main Catalan airport continues to grow year after year. Between January and November, 35.1 million people used this infrastructure, which represents a 6.8% increase from the same period in 2013. In the first 11 months of 2014, the number of passengers almost reached the global passenger figure for the whole of 2013: 35.2 million. In monthly terms, Barcelona El Prat posted a 3.8% passenger growth in November, reaching 2,473,568 passengers. EU passengers increased by 8.5%, while passengers from non-EU international flights dropped by 3.4% from November 2013 and those from domestic flights decreased by 0.2%. These figures coincide with a great increase of intercontinental passengers going through Madrid Barajas, which increased its global number of passengers by 9.3% in November, after years of drops. Besides, the airline Norwegian has announced the opening of 5 new routes from Barcelona.

Metro connection with Barcelona El Prat Airport begins trials towards full operation by February 2016

November 27, 2014 10:59 PM | ACN

Barcelona’s main airport should be finally connected by underground railway by February 2016, after years of accumulated delays due to the economic crisis. Works in the stretch of the Line 9 that will connect Barcelona El Prat Airport with the rest of the metro network were completed months ago and now trains have started to circulate to run functioning trials. According to the announced schedule, passengers should be able to use this service as of February 2016, in time for the Mobile World Congress, which is the main event of the mobile phone industry at world level, which takes place each year in Barcelona. The Catalan Minister for Territory and Sustainability, Santi Vila, also announced that passengers travelling to and from the airport by metro will have an additional fee on top of the regular underground tariff. However the fee’s amount has not been announced yet. 

Flights from Barcelona El Prat increase by 6.8% for winter season, while Girona shrinks by 20%

October 24, 2014 08:02 PM | ACN

The Spanish Airport Authority (AENA) has announced that this coming winter season over 8.4 million seats will be on offer on flights out of Barcelona El Prat Airport, an increase of 6.8% compared to last year. Seats on intercontinental destinations have increased by 13.6% over last year. The number of flight operations (take-offs and landings) is anticipated to be 47,000: an increase of 4.1% to 2013. In contrast, the airport of Girona Costa Brava (northern Catalonia) has announced it will offer 16 routes this winter season, 20% less than last year. Ryanair has implemented the cuts it announced last May and will no longer be connecting Girona to London or Paris. Ryanair and Wizz Air will be the only airlines flying from Girona to Kiev, and only Ten Airwais will operate charter flights to Nador, Morocco. This summer, Girona airport connected passengers to 69 destinations.

'From Miró to Barcelona' exhibition traces the Catalan artist's legacy to his hometown

September 15, 2014 09:48 PM | Neringa Sinkeviciute

The Joan Miró Foundation, a museum of modern art devoted to the famous Catalan artist, hosts the exhibition 'De Miró a Barcelona' ('From Miró to Barcelona'). The display focuses on 4 art works that Miró wanted to donate to the city of Barcelona: the Airport Mural, the Mosaic at the Pla de l’Os in Les Rambles, a sculpture for the Parc de Cervantes (which ended up in Chicago), and the Joan Miró Foundation. It is a collection of sketches, drawings, photographs and videos made in preparation for these works. Curated by the Director of the Foundation, Rosa Maria Malet, the exhibition is taking place from the 9th of May to the 2nd of November 2014. In accordance with Joan Miró’s will, the exhibition is free of charge.

Barcelona El Prat Airport overtook Madrid Barajas once again in August

September 8, 2014 10:44 PM | ACN

For the second consecutive year, Catalonia's main airport hosted more passengers than its Madrid competitor during the month of August, becoming the busiest airfield in Spain. 4.24 million people travelled through Barcelona El Prat last August, representing an 8.6% increase on the figure from the previous year. Meanwhile, 3.99 million travellers passed through the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (a +5% growth). In the last few years, the Catalan airport has consistently been gaining passengers, particularly attracted by Barcelona's tourist and business activities as well as by the increase of inter-continental flights, while Madrid's airport was losing passengers for a number of years. However, in the last few months, the Spanish capital has started to gain passengers again, although at a slower pace than Barcelona. The first time the Barcelonan airport overtook Madrid's was in August 2013.

Barcelona El Prat airport exceeds 4 million passengers in one month for the first time ever

August 8, 2014 08:58 PM | ACN

This July, Barcelona El Prat Airport broke a new record by surpassing 4 million passengers in one month. 4,027,585 travellers passed through the main Catalan airport last month, an increase of 4.9% from July 2013. This makes Barcelona's airport the second busiest in Spain, only just beaten by Madrid Barajas Airport, which registered 37,831 passengers more than El Prat this month, a total of 4,065,416. There has also been good news from Girona Costa Brava Airport, which reported a 5.5% growth in aeroplane capacity utilisation this year, despite the falling passengers numbers overall. The amount of airport passengers in Spain as a whole has now increased for the 9th consecutive month and represents a 4% rise from this time last year. 

Barcelona Airport recognised as Europe's best, as its T1 Terminal hosts 111 million passengers in 5 years

June 18, 2014 08:59 PM | ACN

In the five years since it opened, the T1 Terminal of Barcelona El Prat Airport has received over 111 million people, overseen approximately 1.3 million take-off and landing operations and processed 70 million items of luggage. The new airport terminal became operational on 17 June 2009 and marked its fifth anniversary on Tuesday. The new terminal has processed twice as many passengers in this period than the older T2 terminal. In addition, Barcelona El Prat Airport was on Tuesday night announced as the best airport in Europe, at the ACI (Airport Council International) Europe Awards 2014 held in Frankfurt. It was the second time the airport has received this accolade.

Barcelona El Prat Airport is about to overtake Madrid Barajas in passenger figures

June 10, 2014 08:51 PM | ACN

In May 2014 the Catalan airfield recorded 3,397,097 passengers, a 5.5% increase on May last year. Madrid's international airport exceeded this number with a total 3,544,649 passengers, 147,562 more than its Catalan rival, with a 4.1% growth. Madrid's airport has recovered from the 10% losses registered over the last 2 years, but it grows much slower than its Catalan competitor. One of the reasons for Barcelona's growth is the notable increase of intercontinental flyers. In the first 5 months of 2014, 13,517,143 people flew from Barcelona, a 7% increase from the same period in 2013. The equivalent figure from Madrid is 15,808,392, representing a 2.8% increase. Meanwhile, the number of passengers arriving at Girona- Costa Brava Airport, continues to decline, with a fall of 20% since 2013.

Barcelona El Prat Airport to be connected by metro by early 2016

June 4, 2014 03:18 PM | ACN

The Barcelona Metro will reach El Prat Airport by the first half of 2016, perhaps even earlier, according to forecasts announced on Wednesday by the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas. The L9 line connecting Barcelona municipality to El Prat Airport and other cities has been under construction since 2002, and was originally anticipated to open in 2008, but the financial crisis and the state of public finances have delayed its full completion. An initial stretch of the line became operational in 2009, located at the opposite end to the airport. Once fully finished, the underground line will consist of two branches spanning across the Barcelona metropolitan area, making it the longest automatic metro line in Europe. The entire project will represent a total investment of €16 billion, €3 billion of which is for the airport connection. The test phase of the airport stretch will begin this autumn and should be completed by early 2016 or earlier.

Barcelona Airport, recognised as the best in southern of Europe by air travelers

May 2, 2014 08:59 PM | ACN / Glòria Ribugent

For the third time, Barcelona El Prat has been awarded as the best airport in southern Europe at the World Airport Awards 2014. The awards, given by Skytrax, are the result of the assessment of almost 13 million passengers from 110 different countries, and has involved 410 airports all over the world. In the global ranking, Barcelona holds the 38th position. In 2013, the Airport of Barcelona registered a record in the number of travellers, with 35.2 million passengers, August being the one with the greatest number of travellers in Spain for the first time ever.

Japanese company Olympus unveils new headquarters for Southern Europe in Barcelona

March 20, 2014 04:17 PM | ACN

Japanese multinational Olympus, specialized in optics and reprography, has unveiled its new headquarters for Spain and Portugal, aimed at becoming its main centre for Southern Europe. The new facilities are located in the business district of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, a city literally attached to Barcelona, between the Catalan capital and El Prat Airport. The new offices occupy 2,500 square meters in a building on the Europa Square, close to the Fira de Barcelona. It will welcome 30 employees of the divisions of Consumer Product, Microscopy, Industry, and Medical Systems. Merging the headquarters for Spain and Portugal constitutes a step forward to gain weight on the Southern Europe market, said Olympus Iberia's CEO.

Amazon might open new logistics centre in Greater Barcelona

March 13, 2014 08:34 PM | ACN

E-commerce giant Amazon is studying the possibility of opening its first logistics centre in Catalonia, as advanced by some newspapers on Thursday. The new facilities could be located in El Prat de Llobregat, next to Barcelona's main airport. The centre could dispose of 210,000 m2 of work space and 151,000 m2 of land, making it larger than the Amazon centre in Madrid, according to ‘La Vanguardia’ newspaper. Works could start soon for the logistics centre to become operational by late 2015, with 3,000 employees expected to be hired. The Catalan Minister for Business and Employment, Felip Puig, regretted this early announcement as the company has not reached a final decision yet. Puig regretted the “reckless” move by the Spanish Secretary for Trade for disclosing the news and added that Catalan authorities continued to “work discreetly” to attract investments from foreign multinationals.

Catalonia approves 3 green taxes expected to raise €50 million per year

February 11, 2014 07:41 PM | ACN

The Catalan Government has approved 3 new environmental taxes on the air pollution emissions of commercial flights, industrial gas and particle emission, and the nuclear production of electric energy. €50 million are expected to be raised per year once the law will be enforced, which is scheduled for mid-year. The Spokesperson for the Catalan Government, Francesc Homs, has admitted that flights at Barcelona’s El Prat Airport would likely be affected. However, he ensured that none of these 3 new taxes would have a negative impact on the consumers. The law specifies that the tax cannot affect pricing, neither for plane tickets nor for electricity, pointed out Homs. He then put in contrast the €98 million fees an airline can have to pay to the Spanish Airport Authority (AENA) with the €1 million in taxes that may be levied by the Catalan Government.

First Airbus A380 serving a regular route between Barcelona and Dubai

February 6, 2014 08:42 PM | ACN

At ten past twelve this Thursday morning, an Airbus A380 belonging to Emirates has landed at the first terminal of Barcelona’s El Prat Airport. It is the very first of such aircrafts, the largest in the world, to operate on a regular route in Spain. The A380 will allow Emirates to expand by 40% - with 2,200 additional seats per week - the current daily number of passengers flying between Barcelona and Dubai, a route which was launched two years ago. Emirates has decided to introduce the A380 in Barcelona due to increasing demands as well as to reinforce the company's commitment to an “important market for Europe” according to Emirates’ Vice-President of Commercial Operations in Europe, Thierry Aucoc.