Barcelona airport is experiencing a turning point brought about by the increase in demand to fly and the new interest of airline companies in opening intercontinental routes. This increase in activity has led it to break two records: the number of intercontinental flights for the whole year and the number of passengers in the month of November, explained the director of Barcelona airport, Eva Valenzuela, this Tuesday in a meeting to evaluate the last exercise.
Throughout 2023, El Prat has offered 50 destinations to other continents compared to 47 in 2019, its previous highest record, although there is still ground to recover in terms of frequencies. In recent months long haul has gained momentum and numerous airlines have announced plans to increase Barcelona's connectivity. Among them, the North American United, which will open a route to San Francisco with daily flights starting next year.
Interest is growing, Valenzuela highlighted, so new destinations are expected next year. This increase brings El Prat closer to the capacity limit for intercontinental connectivity. “We can soon reach the maximum intercontinental connectivity that the airport can currently operate,” stated its director, especially during high season and peak hours.
The technical limitations for long flights, with large planes that need more runway length to take off, are behind the debate on expanding the airport. Valenzuela has reiterated Aena's willingness to participate and provide information at the negotiation table on El Prat to which the central and Catalan governments have committed and which must be activated shortly. In any case, he has insisted that the decision on what model of airport Catalonia wants will have to be decided at said table. “When there is consensus we will implement the necessary technical measures,” he stressed. Recently, Aeroports de Catalunya, belonging to the Department of Territory, considered that passenger traffic is “too concentrated” in Barcelona, a situation that they believe should be “corrected” by strengthening the airports of Reus and Girona.
Precisely last November El Prat broke its historical passenger record for the month of November, with more than 3.8 million travelers. This is the first time that the airport exceeds 2019 records after the pandemic, specifically 3.4%. A demand that continues to grow despite the increase in the price of airline tickets has helped achieve these records. “Demand is robust, the load factor has increased,” said Valenzuela. So far this year, almost 46 million passengers have passed through El Prat, so by the end of 2023 there could be close to 50 million travelers, close to the record of 52.7 million travelers in 2019. The technical limit of the airport It is at 55 million passengers.
Apart from the new routes, El Prat will incorporate other new features by 2024. One of the main ones, the new security control machines that will allow hand luggage to pass through without having to take out liquids or electronic devices. The measure will begin to be implemented in T2 before the summer and will be extended to both terminals progressively.
