The Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat airport is at the limit. Barcleona’s main aerodrome has closed 2024 with historic figures, exceeding for the first time the 55 million passengers, reaching a total of 55,034,955 passengers, as announced by Aena this Monday and thus also exceeding its stipulated limit of passengers.
This data, which represents a growth of 10.3% over the previous year and exceeds the pre-pandemic records of 2019, which until now held the record with 52.69 million passengers, comes in the midst of the debate on the expansion of the airport and the ways to make it grow (or not) without affecting (or yes) the Parc Natural del Delta del Llobregat that surrounds the facility.
Exceeding 55 million passengers is no small feat: this figure coincides with the operational limit that Aena had established for terminal T1, which rekindles the debate on the need to expand El Prat’s capacity.
What options does El Prat have for growth?
Although this growth may appear to be a success, the truth is that it comes at a time when over-tourism is one of the main concerns of the people of Barcelona and the impact that the expansion of the airport would have on its natural environment is also of concern and generates consensus.
One of the options proposed by AENA, which defends the urgency of the works, is to lengthen the third runway to increase operations from the current 78 per hour to 90, which would make it possible to attract more intercontinental routes, one of the airport’s pending issues.
For their part, sectors such as the Ministry of Culture, now owner of the Casa Gomis in La Ricarda (located in the possible expansion area), oppose the expansion. This political pulse is under the radar of President Salvador Illa, who seeks to lead the decision with caution to avoid tensions like those experienced in previous legislatures.
Numbers and new routes
In 2024, the airport handled a total of 347,977 flights, an increase of 9.1% over 2023. In addition, December closed with historic figures: 4,072,436 passengers and 26,869 flights, representing increases of 5.2% and 3.3%, respectively, over the same month of the previous year.
Cargo traffic also continues to rise. In 2024, 181,688 tons of goods were transported, 16.1% more than in 2023, consolidating the airport as a key logistics hub for the region.
Moreover, El Prat continues to expand its global reach, increasing its international destinations from 50 to 54 with new connections in America (Dallas), Asia (Hong Kong and Shanghai), the Middle East (Riyadh) and Africa (Oran, Cape Verde and Tetouan).