The change will be defined when AENA publishes the available capacity of its terminals in Madrid and Barcelona starting in the summer of 2027 (from March to October), which will limit its growth until the planned actions are executed.
This methodological change does not increase the airport's capacity. Historical rights are maintained and will only affect new slot requests. This implies that airlines that want to grow will be conditioned by the terminal in which they operate and by the type of traffic (Schengen, NON-Schengen, and Non-EU).
Terminal T1 managed 34M pax, 13% above its theoretical capacity of 30M Pax.
In Barcelona, the current critical situation that "requires intervention" was already detected in 2019, the year in which terminal T1 managed 34M pax, 13% above its theoretical capacity of 30M Pax. The significant traffic declines in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic "hid" the serious congestion of the facility, to which was added the initial uncertainty of traffic evolution that delayed decision-making. In 2025, 37.5M pax used its facilities, 65% of the total that transited through the airport (57.5M pax).
Added to the above is the significant impact on capacity of the actions planned during DORA III (2027-2031).
In 2025, 37.5M pax used its facilities, 65% of the total that transited through the airport (57.5M pax).
Among these actions, a comprehensive remodeling of T1 is planned with an increase of 70,000 m2 of surface area and a 38-meter displacement of the facade and the construction of new 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, which will allow the recovery of the old terminal A and the integration of metro and commuter trains, which will limit the availability of new capacity until the end of the actions.
In addition, in the airfield, the closure of the runway near the sea for 50 days is planned for the winter of 2027, which will significantly reduce its capacity, for a resurfacing of the runway and reform of the waiting aprons with a significant impact on the planned traffic.
As an anticipation of this whole set of actions, this coming November there will be a significant reduction in capacity to 22 arrivals/hour and 22 departures/hour, compared to the current 38 arrivals/hour and 40 departures/hour, due to the construction of a new rapid exit from the transversal runway in Barcelona. The affected period is from 11/15 to 11/27, operating with a single runway, the one closest to the sea. We are therefore facing the first month in many years in which traffic at Barcelona airport will decrease.
The only possible margin in this scenario is to occupy off-peak hours and optimize already owned slots, resorting to larger aircraft.
The only possible margin in this scenario is to occupy off-peak hours and optimize already owned slots, resorting to larger aircraft. The possibility of modifying the type of traffic by exchanging slots between a parent company and its subsidiaries, as allowed by the regulatory framework, is interesting, which allows them to reorganize their slots internally, interesting for the IAG group (VLG, IBE, LEVEL, BAW AND AER LINGUS), although it will not have access to the new entrant pool, for exceeding 10% of the total airport slots.
Definitely, we are facing a clear change in trend towards zero growth and a significant loss of opportunities. Not having slots at the right time clearly limits access to high strategic value flights.
The above, and the current geopolitical situation, the rise in kerosene prices and difficulties in aircraft delivery, which will continue until 2030, clearly indicate that we are entering a new scenario in which we should be prudent in traffic prognoses for the coming years and especially at Barcelona airport.
The need to optimize capacity remains valid through an action plan that enhances the excellent Catalan airport system.