Barcelona Airport closed 2023 with almost 50 million passengers. Specifically, 49,909,544 travelers passed through the El Prat infrastructure last year, a figure that represents an increase of 19.9% compared to the previous year. Despite this increase, the pre-pandemic threshold of 2019 has not yet been surpassed.
The last year before Covid represented a historical record for the airport, with 52.6 million passengers, 5.3% above the 2023 figures. These almost 50 million travelers are close, but also below, the 50.1 million of 2018, but already well above the 47.2 of the previous year, according to Aena data.
Although the overall passenger figure remains below pre-Covid levels, the last few months have been a record for El Prat. November was the first month in which Barcelona Airport surpassed 2019 figures, and the same happened in December.
The difference compared to pre-pandemic figures has been narrowing during the year, with a record November and December above 2019During the last month of the year, El Prat consolidated this recovery to pre-pandemic levels, registering its best December in history, with 3,872,340 passengers, 17.2% more than in 2022 and 5.6% more than in 2019.
Second in Spain, seventh in Europe
Barcelona Airport has been the second in the Aena network with the most passenger traffic. The Barcelona airport has been positioned behind Madrid's, with 60.2 million, 18.9% more than in 2022 and 2.5% below 2019. The third airport in the network has been Palma, which has already surpassed pre-pandemic figures. It did so with 31.1 million travelers, 8.9% more than in 2022 and 4.7% more than in 2019.
At a European level, Barcelona has remained for the second consecutive year as the seventh airport in Europe with the most traffic, with data up to September. This is concluded by the Barcelona Air Traffic Observatory, prepared by the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and Airport Management and Promotion. According to the report, the airport faces the winter season with 47 active intercontinental destinations, which represents 15% more than in the same season prior to the pandemic.
Globally, 84 companies will operate from the Barcelona infrastructure during this winter season, a figure close to the 103 operators of the last one before the outbreak of the pandemic. Through these companies, El Prat will be connected to 179 destinations. Among them, 103 will be European, 29 will be national, and 47 will be intercontinental. In addition, the airport will offer close to 11.4 million seats, 12% more than in the same pre-covid season and 18% more than last winter.
Rising figures
According to Aena data, 99.8% of the 49.9 million passengers registered by El Prat in 2023 were commercial flight travelers, with 36.18 million international, 23% more than in 2022. The airport also registered an increase in domestic flight passengers, which grew by 12.4%, to 13.6 million passengers.
Barcelona faces the winter season with 47 active intercontinental destinations, 15% more than in the same season prior to the pandemicRising figures are a constant in El Prat's airport statistics: the number of flights also increased, by 12.5% to 318,957, operations that remained 7.4% below those of 2019. As has happened with passengers, the difference compared to pre-pandemic figures has been narrowing throughout 2023. So much so, that the number of movements in December exceeded those of the same month in 2019, with 3.5% more.
Regarding cargo, the Barcelona airport transported 156,485 tons in 2023, a 0.6% increase compared to 2022, when it already registered a notable increase over the previous year. The figure places it as the second airport in cargo transport in 2023, also behind Barajas and ahead of Zaragoza, with which it sometimes disputes this second position. Barcelona has achieved second place on the podium despite the fact that the figure is 11.5% lower than in 2019.
These figures are part of a year that the airports of the Aena network closed with a historic record of passengers, also surpassing pre-COVID figures. The president of Aena, Maurici Lucena, has described these data as "fundamental for economic and social development." Specifically, the set of network infrastructures totaled 283 million travelers, 16% more than the previous year and 2.9% more than in 2019. A recovery in which Barcelona Airport has not yet crossed the pre-pandemic line, but in which it is hot on its heels.