After ten months, this Tuesday will mark the second meeting of the year for the technical commission that will address the expansion of the Barcelona-El Prat Airport, aiming to reactivate efforts to have the diagnosis and recommendations on how to optimize the airport’s capacity by early 2025.
The information was shared by the EFE agency, which highlights that the expansion of Barcelona Airport is one of the priorities of the Government of Salvador Illa, although it must be «environmentally respectful.»
One of the proposals involves extending the third runway (06R/21L) by approximately 500 meters towards the La Ricarda lagoon. However, this has faced political opposition due to the potential environmental impact on the ecosystem.
Additionally, they are considering the use of the runways for both takeoffs and landings during specific summer hours, which would reduce the need to extend the runway but could increase noise levels in nearby areas.
EFE also reports that Salvador Illa has not yet stated his preference on the best option for improving the capacity of the Barcelona-El Prat Airport, noting that the focus for now is «listening to the experts.» If there is political agreement on the chosen course of action, expansion work could begin by 2027.
All of this is happening as the airport approaches its maximum capacity, emphasizing the urgency of making a decision and implementing it.
The capacity of Barcelona-El Prat is set at 55 million passengers annually, a threshold that is nearing after a historic increase in traffic this year. Some long-haul airlines were forced to operate from Terminal T2 this summer due to a lack of space in T1, a situation that has underscored the need to address infrastructure expansion.
Between January and August 2024, El Prat handled 36.88 million passengers, a 10.9% increase compared to the same period in 2023, and 7.1% higher than in 2019, prior to the pandemic. The number of operations grew by 9.1% compared to 2023 (reaching 278,611 flights).
The non-European network of Barcelona-El Prat Airport has now surpassed 40 cities in the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
