Barcelona Airport Flies High As Europe’s Hotspot For Direct Travellers

If you’ve passed done Barcelona’s El Prat Airport recently, you’re surely not alone. The Catalan capital’s bustling aerial hub has conscionable nabbed nan title of Europe’s second-busiest airdrome for ‘origin-destination’ passengers, welcoming an astonishing 53 cardinal travellers successful nan past year.

That’s conscionable awkward of London’s mighty Heathrow, which still clings to nan apical spot, but nan spread is narrowing.

What’s driving each this traffic? The latest Air Traffic Observatory study points to a surge successful group choosing Barcelona arsenic their existent starting constituent aliases last destination, alternatively than conscionable passing done to drawback a connecting flight. In fact, only a mini fraction—about 5.5 per cent—of travellers usage El Prat arsenic a layover. For everyone else, Barcelona really is nan extremity (or beginning) of nan line, and it’s becoming Europe’s go-to airdrome for a due metropolis arrival.

New routes, much seats, and a Gateway to nan world

This isn’t conscionable a happy accident. Over nan past year, Barcelona Airport has upped its crippled by expanding its spot capacity by much than 5 percent and opening nan runway to 12 caller destinations. Four of these are intercontinental, which says a batch astir nan airport’s increasing ambitions. Fancy a travel to Essaouira successful Morocco, Beirut successful Lebanon, Halifax successful Canada, aliases Santa Cruz de la Sierra successful Bolivia? Now you tin alert nonstop from Barcelona – nary exhausting connections required.

The airdrome is besides seeing much title connected long-haul favourites. There are caller operators connected routes to Shanghai and Boston, making it moreover easier for locals and visitors alike to scope distant corners of nan globe. According to nan Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, these caller links are a large logic why El Prat has managed to clasp connected to its position arsenic Europe’s seventh-busiest airdrome overall, contempt nan fierce rivalry.

From Top European breaks to Global destinations: Barcelona’s expanding formation Network

What are group flying for? Unsurprisingly, European metropolis breaks stay apical of nan list. If you’re bound for Palma, Madrid, Rome, Amsterdam, aliases Lisbon, you’re successful bully company—those routes are among nan astir popular. But there’s been a noticeable uptick successful far-flung journeys too, pinch long-haul destinations for illustration Doha, Dubai, and New York climbing nan charts.

And it doesn’t look for illustration nan inclination is slowing down. Month aft month, nan airport’s figures support rising, arsenic much travellers take Barcelona arsenic their main larboard of call, alternatively than conscionable a stopover. Local airlines for illustration Vueling and Level are being urged to activity together to beforehand connecting flights, but for now, nan airport’s existent spot is successful serving group who want Barcelona to beryllium nan prima of nan show.

So, whether you’re disconnected for a play successful Lisbon aliases mounting disconnected connected an escapade to Canada, it seems Barcelona’s airdrome is fresh and waiting—passport successful hand.

Stay tuned pinch Euro Weekly News for much news from Barcelona