Barcelona Airport: A change on the horizon

The change will take effect once AENA publishes the available capacity at its Madrid and Barcelona terminals starting summer 2027 (March to October), which will limit growth until the planned works are carried out. 

This methodological change does not increase the airport's capacity. Historic rights are maintained and will only affect new slot requests. This means that airlines looking to grow will be constrained by the terminal in which they operate and by the type of traffic (Schengen, non-Schengen, and non-EU).

Terminal T1 managed 34M passengers, 13% above its theoretical capacity of 30 million.

In Barcelona, the current critical situation "requiring intervention" was already evident back in 2019, the year Terminal T1 handled 34 million passengers, 13% above its theoretical capacity of 30 million. The significant traffic declines in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic "masked" the facility's serious congestion, compounded by the initial uncertainty over how traffic would recover, which delayed decision-making. In 2025, 37.5M passengers used its facilities, 65% of the total that transited through the airport (57.5M passengers).

Added to the above is the significant impact on capacity of the actions planned during DORA III (2027-2031). 

In 2025, 37.5M passengers used its facilities, 65% of the total that transited through the airport (57.5M passengers).

Among these works is a full-scale renovation of T1, adding 70,000 m² of floor space, shifting the facade 38 m², and building new access roads. It will be a highly complex work that will affect access and the check-in and security control subsystems, with a significant impact on capacity parameters, both for access and for the terminal itself.

At the same time, starting in 2027, the remodeling of T2 begins, restoring the old Terminal A building and integrating metro and commuter rail services. This will limit the availability of new capacity until the works are complete.

Meanwhile, on the airfield side, the runway closest to the sea is scheduled to close for 50 days in winter 2027, significantly reducing capacity, in order to raise the runway and renovate the holding bays — with a major impact on expected traffic.

As a preview of this whole set of works, this coming November will bring a significant reduction in capacity, down to 22 arrivals/hour and 22 departures/hour, from the current 38 arrivals/hour and 40 departures/hour, due to the construction of a new rapid exit on Barcelona's crosswind runway. The affected period runs from November 15 to November 27, during which the airport will operate on a single runway, the one closest to the sea. This will therefore be the first month in many years in which traffic at Barcelona Airport actually declines. 

The only room for maneuver in this scenario is to make use of off-peak hours and optimize the slots airlines already hold, by switching to larger aircraft.

The only room for maneuver in this scenario is to make use of off-peak hours and optimize the slots airlines already hold, switching to larger aircraft. One interesting option is changing the type of traffic by exchanging slots between a parent airline and its subsidiaries, as permitted under the regulatory framework — allowing them to reorganize their slots internally. This is particularly relevant for the IAG group (Vueling, Iberia, LEVEL, British Airways, and Aer Lingus), although the group would not have access to the pool for new entrants, since it exceeds 10% of the airport's total slots.

Ultimately, we're looking at a clear shift toward zero growth and a significant loss of opportunities. Not holding slots at the right time clearly limits access to high strategic value flights.

All of this, combined with the current geopolitical situation, rising jet fuel prices, and aircraft delivery delays that will continue until 2030, clearly points to a new landscape in which traffic forecasts for the coming years should be treated with caution, especially at Barcelona Airport.

The need to optimize capacity through an action plan that strengthens Catalonia's excellent airport system remains as pressing as ever.