Barcelona-El Prat Airport sees a surge in passenger numbers post-pandemic

While low-cost carriers dominate, long-haul flights are less common, resulting in travelers often needing to connect through larger hubs. "Despite the strong presence of low-cost carriers, the airport has a relatively limited full-service network carrier presence. Those traveling to Barcelona from the United States will find themselves connecting through major hubs most of the time."

Vueling, a budget airline under the International Airlines Group (IAG), leads traffic, largely focusing on European routes. The airport's rapid expansion, primarily fueled by low-cost carriers, began in the early 2000s, highlighted by the formation of Vueling’s base and its merger with Clickair. Other low-cost airlines like Ryanair, easyJet, Norwegian Air International, Wizz Air, and Transavia operate extensively from Barcelona to various European destinations.

The airport infrastructure, which underwent large-scale expansions in 2009, includes two passenger terminals and three runways. This development has grown the airport's capacity significantly, bringing it from accommodating 33 million passengers to over 70 million.

Domestic and European routes dominate Barcelona's operations. Statistics show the busiest non-Spanish route is Barcelona-Rome Fiumicino Airport, hosting over 1.4 million passengers annually. Connections to Amsterdam, London Gatwick, and Lisbon are also very popular. "The former of these routes is unsurprisingly popular, given the fact that the air travel market between Spain and the United Kingdom is not just the busiest in Europe, but within the entire world as well."

The most popular domestic flight now is the one to Palma de Mallorca Airport, surpassing even the previously busiest route to Madrid. Intercontinental services are prominent too, with Doha Hamad International Airport being the busiest route, exclusively operated by Qatar Airways. Dubai and New York (JFK) also rank highly among international routes.

As Barcelona-El Prat navigates its passenger traffic pool, it must balance the rise of low-cost airlines while maintaining connections with major cities worldwide.