El Prat approaches 90% of 2019 operations this Easter

In the growing recovery of flights, Barcelona airport is overcoming month by month the impact of covid, with a very accentuated improvement, and increasingly accelerated, since the summer of last year. In June and July 2022, traffic was 20% lower than pre-pandemic figures, a percentage that gradually decreased, reaching almost 10% less in December. In January 2023, there was already a 6% decrease in passengers and in February a 4% decrease.

With the start of the summer months in airport operations, El Prat has scheduled a total of 9,575 flights for Easter, starting last Friday, March 31, and extending until next Monday, April 10. According to Aena, the total number of operations represents an 11% decrease compared to 2019, when there were 10,784. A year ago, there were 8,882 operations, an 18% decrease compared to pre-pandemic figures.

The day with the most activity at Barcelona airport for Easter is this Friday, coinciding with the first holiday of the weekend. 928 operations are expected, a 6% decrease compared to the 982 in 2019. The last holiday of this long weekend, next Monday, will be the second day with the most operations at El Prat, with 922, a 16% decrease compared to 2019, when there were 1,070.

To this kick-off of the summer season for Easter are added recent announcements such as the reestablishment after three years of direct flights between Barcelona and China starting in June, predicting improvements for this season, after last year El Prat airport had 24% fewer international travelers compared to 2019. As of June 1, Air China will operate three weekly frequencies between the Catalan capital and Beijing, losing one compared to before covid and awaiting the recovery of the connection with Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Overall, El Prat has scheduled 37.2 million seats for the summer months, 7% less than in 2019. It is the airport that is furthest from the pre-pandemic figures of the entire Aena network, with a total forecast of 221.8 million seats, 4.4% more than in 2019, a result of airlines' greater commitment to sun and beach destinations. Despite being the second airport by volume, only surpassed by Barajas (1% fewer seats compared to 2019), Barcelona is affected by factors such as the slow recovery of cruises or the impact of Brexit.