El Prat Airport or Barcelona Airport (Catalonia, Spain), officially Aeroport Josep Tarradellas Barcelona – el Prat (IATA code: BCN, ICAO code: LEBL), is the airport that serves Barcelona and Catalonia in general. It is located 12 km south-west of the Catalan capital, in the municipality of El Prat de Llobregat, at an altitude of 3.8 m above sea level and is surrounded by the natural wetlands of the Llobregat delta.
It is the largest airport in Catalonia and the seventh busiest airport in Europe. In 2008 and 2009, competition from the high-speed train on the Barcelona – Madrid route, as well as the impact of the economic crisis, reduced passenger traffic for the first time since 1993. In 2010, the number of passengers increased again to 52.7 million in 2019.
It is the most important hub for Vueling and LEVEL, it was the base of Spanair before its disbandment, and since February 2016 it has been the main business of Air Europa, Ryanair and EasyJet. The airport serves mainly various destinations in Europe and North Africa, but also offers several intercontinental flights to North America, South America, Russia and Asia.
In February 2014, Barcelona Airport became the first airport in Spain to host a daily Emirates-operated Airbus A380 flight to Dubai International Airport, marking a milestone in the airport’s history.
The airport has 3 runways.
It has 2 terminals: T1 and T2, and these are 268 check-in counters and 64 boarding gates. Airport flights are only permitted for instrument flight, VFR (visual flight) flights are prohibited, with the exception of flights for medical, emergency and government services.
The airport is the subject of a political debate between the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Spanish government on management and control issues, involving AENA (airport manager) and several airlines, mainly Iberia and Vueling (main users). Part of the controversy stems from the profits that the airport generates, which are used for investment and maintenance at other airports in the AENA network, as well as for public investment in other economic areas.
Analysis of recent years shows that with over 44 million passengers in 2016 and an increase of about 3 million passengers a year, it will reach the 55 million capacity limit in 2023 or 2025, necessitating the expansion of the first Terminal, as envisaged in the Barcelona Plan 1999 year.
Another cheaper option would be to connect to AVE and regional flights at Girona-Costa Brava Airport and, to a lesser extent, Reus to reroute low-cost traffic there.
All internal flights
| Cities | Airport name | Airlines | Terminals |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Coruña | Aeroport de la Corunya |  Vueling |
1 |
| Alicante | Aeroport d’Alacant-Elx | Vueling |
1 |
| Almeria | Aeroport d’Almeria | Vueling |
1 |
| Astúrias | Aeroport d’Astúries | Vueling |
1 |
| Badajoz | Aeroport de Badajoz | Air Nostrum |
1 |
| Bilbao | Aeroport de Bilbao | Vueling |
1 |
| Burgos | Aeroport de Burgos | Air Nostrum |
1 |
| Eivissa | Aeroport d’Eivissa | Vueling /  Ryanair |
1 / 2 |
| Fuerteventura | Aeroport de Fuerteventura | Vueling / Ryanair |
1 / 2 |
| Gran Canària | Aeroport de Gran Canària | Vueling /  Norwegian / Ryanair |
1 / 2 / 2 |
| Granada | Aeroport de Granada | Vueling |
1 |
| Jerez de la Frontera | Aeroport de Jerez de la Frontera | Vueling / Ryanair |
1 / 2 |
| La Palma | Aeroport de La Palma | Vueling |
1 |
| Lanzarote | Aeroport de Lanzarote | Vueling |
1 |
| Lleó | Aeroport de Lleó | Air Nostrum |
1 |
| Madrid * | Aeroport de Madrid-Barajas | Air Europa / Iberia / Vueling |
1 / 1 / 1 |
| Màlaga | Aeroport de Màlaga-Costa del Sol | Vueling / Ryanair |
1 / 2 |
| Menorca | Aeroport de Menorca | Vueling / Ryanair |
1 / 2 |
| Múrcia | Aeroport Internacional de Múrcia | Vueling |
1 |
| Palma de Mallorca | Aeroport de Palma de Mallorca | Air Europa / Vueling / Ryanair |
1 / 1 / 2 |
| Sant Sebastiàn | Aeroport de Sant Sebastià | Vueling |
1 |
| Santander | Aeroport de Santander | Vueling / Ryanair |
1 / 2 |
| Santiago de Compostela | Aeroport de Santiago de Compostel·la | Vueling / Ryanair |
1 / 2 |
| Seville | Aeroport de Sevilla | Vueling / Ryanair |
1 / 2 |
| Tenerife | Aeroport de Tenerife Nord | Vueling / Norwegian / Ryanair |
1 / 2 / 2 |
| Aeroport de Tenerife Sud | Vueling / Ryanair |
1 / 2 | |
| València | Aeroport de València | Vueling |
1 |
| Valladolid | Aeroport de Valladolid | Vueling / Ryanair |
1 / 2 |
| Vigo | Aeroport de Vigo | Vueling |
1 |
How to get to?
There are 7 ways to get from Barcelona Airport (BCN) to Barcelona by subway, bus, train, taxi, car, shuttle or towncar (from KM zero, Plaça de Catalunya):
Subway: 24 min €6
Bus: from Aeroport – Terminal B to Gran Via – Comte Borrell. 27 min €1 – €6
Train: from Estación de tren El Prat Aeroport to Estación de tren Barcelona-Passeig De Gracia. 27 min €1 – €3
Taxi: 15 min €29 – €35
Drive: 15 min €2 – €5
Shuttle: 15 min €14 – €18
Towncar: 15 min €65
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