Activity at Barcelona Airport has been picking up in recent weeks. After a week in which it approached 90% of pre-pandemic operations, El Prat has been warming up to kick off the months of highest activity. Announcements of the recovery of routes to Asian destinations, such as Beijing, and even new connections, with the launch of Shenzhen, the technological capital of the Chinese giant, have been taking place.
The Air Traffic Observatory of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce confirms this increasingly accelerated pace at the airport in its latest report. After operating 43 intercontinental destinations last year, El Prat will have 46 long-haul connections this summer, only one less than in 2019, with a recovery that will stand at 98%. The main destinations will be the United States, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Israel, Qatar, and Colombia.
The recovery has been mainly supported by the return of Asian connections. The three weekly frequencies that Air China will operate between the Catalan capital and Beijing starting June 1 have been added, although one is lost compared to before the pandemic, as well as the seven weekly flights to Seoul. Without forgetting the new connection with Shenzhen, with the forecast of three direct flights each week, El Prat's pending tasks are to reactivate routes with Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Lima, considering their volume and economic importance.
The maintenance of routes with the United States, Canada, and Latin America has also contributed to the forecast of a good summer season. The United States stands out, with almost 588,000 seats, 19% less than in 2019, while Canada will have more than 186,300 seats, 20% more than pre-pandemic. Both in the United States and Canada, seasonal summer destinations such as Philadelphia, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, and Washington have been reactivated. In addition, this Friday, it was announced that United Airlines will launch a new daily route connecting Barcelona and Chicago. Seats to Latin America will also grow, with more than 255,400, 4% more than in 2019. Level, which positioned itself in April as the first long-haul operator at El Prat, has added an aircraft for this summer bound for America.
Despite Barcelona Airport having recovered almost all intercontinental connections, frequencies have not done so with the same intensity, with almost 19,000, 8% less than the operations before the pandemic, when there were more than 20,600. The main airlines that manage long-haul routes are Iberia, Vueling, American Airlines, Emirates Airlines, United Airlines, and Air Canada. Compared to 2019, the city has the presence of 37 companies, 12% less than the 42 in 2019.
All in all, El Prat will offer 18.2 million seats this summer, 10% more than in 2022, but still 9% below 2019. It will have 192 destinations, a figure that will place the Catalan capital in ninth position in the ranking of total destinations of European airports. Likewise, Barcelona has recovered a good part of the 103 companies from summer 2019, remaining at 84 (-18%) and a significant dominance of Vueling, with 66% and 38% market share in the domestic and European markets, respectively. On routes to Africa, it is also the main airline and achieves 32%.
The recovery that will come this summer will continue the trend of recent months. From January to April, the airport has registered 14.2 million passengers, 43% more than in 2022 and 6% less than in 2019. Barcelona thus ranks as the seventh European airport with the most passengers, behind Madrid, but it is the second in traffic with destination or origin to the same airport, only behind London's Heathrow. According to Eurocontrol, the general European recovery of pre-pandemic operations will not occur until 2025.