Airports mark the pulse of the cities and communities they serve. If it's by number of passengers, 2024, which we have just left behind, has been a resounding success for Barcelona-El Prat, which will close the year with more than 55 million passengers using its two terminals.
In a few days, Aena's statistics service will make public the exact figures for travelers, operations, and cargo for the past 12 months, although from The New Barcelona Post, where we have recalled the 15th anniversary of T1 and also the stories of the history of the airport, we can anticipate that last year has been excellent for El Prat, and we can also review what have been the keys to getting here.
Large aircraft
As if it were a warning that the year was starting strong, on the first day of 2024 a symbolic aircraft returned: Emirates' Airbus A380 landed at El Prat regularly after several years of absence. Since the outbreak of covid, it had only returned very occasionally, and the Dubai company scheduled smaller capacity aircraft, such as Boeing 777s for its services with Barcelona from Dubai and with a stopover in El Prat to continue to Mexico City. The return of the giant meant a significant daily increase in passengers.
This region, the Persian Gulf, is increasingly better served with Barcelona, either with direct flights or by having these destinations as hubs to continue to other destinations in Asia, Oceania, or Africa. Emirates itself, Etihad, Qatar Airways or Kuwait Airways have improved frequencies and type of aircraft used, tending towards increasingly larger models.
Canadian Air Transat significantly increased its services with Montreal this 2024 and changed the usual aircraft type for a larger aircraft to be able to respond to the demand of Canadians who want to travel to Catalonia and, to a lesser extent, of Catalans who opt for the North American country for Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal. The company is not alone in these services and Air Canada, the country's historical airline (founded in 1936) has also increased its presence at El Prat with more frequencies and larger aircraft, such as Boeing 777s.
The South Korea-Catalonia market has consolidated remarkably and this year up to four different companies have flown the long route between Seoul and Barcelona: Korean Air, Tway, Premia Air and Asiana, which has even scheduled the largest aircraft in its fleet on some dates: the A380. Another company that significantly increased its presence in Barcelona was Saudia. The Saudi Arabian airline returned strongly in summer with its direct flights to Jeddah. The strong commitment of the Arab government to do international business and definitively open its country to tourism were key to its Catalan venture.
Returns
After a long period of operating at half capacity, Air China returned even stronger than in times prior to the pandemic crisis. For the first time, Barcelona had a daily flight to Beijing, complemented by several weekly services to Shanghai. To these must be added direct flights to Shenzhen, another of the great Asian port cities. These, operated by Air Shenzhen, are also in the orbit of Air China, as both airlines belong to the same group.
For its part, Singapore Airlines, one of the most prestigious companies in the world, has once again offered non-stop connections between the city-state and the Catalan capital, something projected since the end of the health crisis. In Asia there was another excellent piece of news with the recovery of the route to Hong Kong after a four-year hiatus by Cathay Pacific. Flights to this region have consolidated remarkably this 2024.
United States, unstoppable
The United States continues to be the star country in terms of intercontinental flights from El Prat. If until a few years ago New York and Atlanta were the only direct destinations, this year it has also been possible to fly to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Chicago, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia, Dallas and Charlotte. The most interesting thing of all is that these are not in the hands of just one operator, but competition is very present. To travel to all these cities there is the option of doing so with Delta, United, American Airlines or Level. American tourism destined for Europe, which begins its continental tours in Barcelona or starts its Mediterranean cruises in the port of our city, has a significant weight in this notable increase in American passengers at El Prat.
And the fact is that the United States is the main market for Level, a company with a Barcelona and intercontinental vocation that, after a few years under Iberia's operational supervision, since the end of this year flies as an independent company within the IAG group's strategy, and has increased its fleet to consolidate its flights not only to the US, but also to Chile and Argentina, where it flies many days at full occupancy. Santiago and Buenos Aires are another of the keys for this intense year at El Prat.
New countries and airlines
The record number of travelers at Barcelona-El Prat's two commercial flight terminals has also been due to new airlines in the area, which have not only debuted as operators at El Prat, but have also opened new routes and even made it possible to directly connect with new countries, such as Uzbekistan, which for the first time has had regular direct services with Catalonia. Cape Verde and its national airline also became a direct service.
The Moroccan case is not new. From Barcelona, one can fly to several destinations in the North African country, although the offer continues to increase, as is the case of Tetouan, a new direct destination. In Romania, this year the cities of Brasov and Bacau have debuted as direct destinations. A unique flight to Central America has also been established, specifically to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, with Iberojet, a company that also flies to Cancun from El Prat.
Ryanair and Vueling
The two European airlines continued to bet heavily on the city. From T1, Vueling remains the reference operator in Barcelona and the one with the most aircraft based at El Prat, and has shown that even single-digit growth is noticeable. The Barcelona-based company promised to grow by 7%, and it was reflected in the number of passengers. The company added Comiso, in Sicily; Tromso, in Norway; Istanbul, in Turkey, and London-Heathrow, in the United Kingdom, to its network of destinations.
Ryanair has entered services that Vueling operated exclusively, such as Alicante or very niche destinations like Reggio Calabria, in the deep south of Italy. This 2024 it has grown by just over 12%, and it is now possible to fly to more than 70 destinations with its group's aircraft, 14 of which are based at El Prat.
The increase in services of the third airline at El Prat by number of users: Easyjet, has also stood out. The company has an operational base in Barcelona, with planes overnighting and local crews working for it. In addition to the services it already covers, this company with three heads ---the British, the European and the Swiss--- is increasingly present in Barcelona as a destination from its different bases. Milan-Linate, Strasbourg and Salzburg have been the novelties, as are the notable increases to Lisbon, London-Gatwick and Paris-Charles de Gaulle.
And another low cost to take into account that is consolidating in Barcelona: Wizz Air, which offers destinations that until a few years ago or even recently required a stopover or change of plane at another European airport: Belgrade, Krakow, Gdansk, Timisoara, Sofia, Tirana, Katowice and other Eastern European cities, in addition to an offer with more well-known EU capitals, are also responsible for the notable figures of air travelers in Barcelona during 2024.
And finally another local low cost, which has its central services in Travessera de Gràcia with Aribau: Volotea. Although until now it had not focused on its own airport, in 2024 it has started to do so with intensity, betting on connecting Barcelona with small and medium-sized cities in Spain, Italy and France.
To bet
To all the above must be added a notable increase in two markets: air cargo and corporate aviation. Both have their own terminals. As for T1 and T2, the record figure is starting to push them to the optimal limit of their capacity, and reforms are already being considered to maximize available spaces.
However, there are still pending issues, such as an ambitious expansion of the airport, although this topic is for later. It is very sensitive and also strategic. Surely throughout 2025 there will be opportunities to talk about it and, from the places where it has to be decided what Barcelona wants to be in the coming years, a move will have to be made. For now, the airport has already fulfilled its mission: it closes the best year in its history.