The President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, and the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez, showed harmony yesterday on the future of Barcelona airport, a debate that remains open and that is usually a source of political confrontation. During the inauguration of Vueling’s new corporate headquarters in Viladecans, both agreed on the need to increase intercontinental flights from Barcelona, ​​connections that would boost the Catalan economy and its global positioning.
Aragonès emphasized that IAG’s low cost guarantees a “very competitive” level of connections with Europe. However, the president insisted on aspiring “to an improvement in competitiveness in the intercontinental arena”. The head of the Catalan Executive framed this need in the “conversations” between administrations on “the future of infrastructures”, with reference to the controversy over the expansion of Barcelona airport. Sánchez went a step further and claimed the Prat extension, which he described as “necessary”. According to the minister, any expansion should serve to transform the airport into an “intercontinental hub” for long-haul flights, “always taking into account the highest environmental standards”. A requirement that, in his opinion, guarantees Aena’s initial proposal. This envisaged extending the third runway by 500 meters and building a satellite terminal to gain capacity and facilitate long-range flights, which require a longer runway to take off – provided that the system of segregated runways is to be maintained. Aragonès did not refer to the formula to promote intercontinental flights, but he did agree with the minister in the diagnosis: Barcelona needs better connections.
El Prat is already approaching pre-pandemic figures – 2019 was an absolute record year – in terms of passengers. The closure of China, the war in Ukraine, Brexit and Norwegian’s exit from long-haul keep it slightly below the historical activity of four years ago. Of the 3,762,656 passengers registered by the airport in March, 2,664,501 traveled on international flights and the rest on domestic flights. In the first quarter, 9,974,051 users passed through the Prat, 94.9% compared to the total of the first three months of 2019 and 56.2% more than in 2022. Vueling remains the leading airline in Barcelona, ​​improving its market share this year.
