Barcelona airport recovers its full operation for the first time since the pandemic began. The significant increase in passenger traffic and, above all, intercontinental flights with large aircraft make it necessary to activate all the runways and spaces of El Prat, they explained this Tuesday from Aena.
Two years ago, in the midst of the covid crisis, the airport had to temporarily close T2 due to low activity. Restrictions on mobility and, specifically, on flights paralyzed the airline industry. The situation has turned around as a result of Easter and the summer season is expected to be positive.
Thus, El Prat has completed this Tuesday the opening of the South Dock of Terminal T1 after the remodeling works that ended in March 2021, in which Aena made a strategic investment of 48.2 million euros included in the first Document of Airport Regulation (DORA I) for the five-year period 2017-2021.
"After this renovation, the airport now has 5 new contact positions for aircraft on intercontinental routes", they point out from Aena. In addition, it will have three levels open to separate the flow of passengers: the departures and arrivals of domestic and Schengen flights will be on the lower level, the arrivals of non-Schengen passengers will be on the intermediate level and the upper level will be the boarding area for departures. of non-Schengen flights. These modifications replace the space that was previously intended for regional traffic flights and thus make room for large aircraft or wide bodies, which operate long-haul routes.
"With the reopening of all its spaces, the Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport responds to the demand for operations expected for this summer season, after a month of April in which the airport registered 3,522,039 passengers and 24,642 operations (departures and arrivals), stand out in Aena.
The new configuration of the South Breakwater seeks to respond to the operational needs of the airport, for the recovery of long-haul routes and "consolidates this infrastructure as the main intercontinental hub in the Mediterranean". In addition to the South Breakwater, this month the end of the Longitudinal Breakwater has been reopened, which has a commercial premises, toilets and more than a dozen boarding gates.
Finally, next Tuesday, May 24, the reopening of Terminal T2C and modules M and R of Terminal T2 is scheduled to reopen, after more than two years closed for renovations and the outbreak of Covid. This will complete the reopening of all the operational spaces of the Catalan capital airport.
The British airline easyJet will be in charge of operating from Terminal T2C, which maintains the same commercial offer prior to the pandemic. Also, to provide service to this space, in the coming weeks it is planned to enable more parking spaces.
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