Spain's second-busiest airport serving cosmopolitan Barcelona.
Opened
1963
Location
Barcelona, Spain
Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, commonly known as Barcelona-El Prat, is the main international gateway serving the city of Barcelona and the broader Catalonia region of Spain. It is the second-busiest airport in Spain after Madrid-Barajas and one of the top ten busiest airports in Europe by passenger traffic, handling over 50 million passengers annually in pre-pandemic years.
The airport is operated by Aena, the Spanish state-owned airport operator, and serves as a primary hub for Vueling Airlines and a focus city for several other major European and intercontinental carriers. It offers direct connections to destinations across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, and beyond.
Named in honor of Josep Tarradellas, a prominent Catalan politician and former President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the airport was officially renamed in 2019. Its location on the coast southwest of Barcelona, near the Llobregat Delta, allows for two parallel runways and significant capacity for continued operations.
Terminals
The airport operates two main passenger terminals, Terminal 1 (T1) and Terminal 2 (T2, with sub-terminals A, B, and C), connected by a free shuttle bus service.
Getting to & from
The airport is connected to central Barcelona via the Aerobus express bus service, the L9 Sud metro line, suburban rail (Rodalies de Catalunya), and taxi or ride-hailing services.
Airlines here
Vueling Airlines uses Barcelona-El Prat as its primary hub, while Iberia, Ryanair, easyJet, Air Europa, and numerous other European and intercontinental carriers operate regular services here.
Notable facts
- ›Terminal 1, designed by architect Ricardo Bofill, opened in 2009 and is one of the largest terminal buildings in Europe.
- ›The airport handled a record approximately 53 million passengers in 2019 before pandemic disruptions.
- ›Two parallel runways allow simultaneous landings and takeoffs, significantly increasing capacity.
- ›The airport was renamed after Josep Tarradellas, President of the Generalitat de Catalunya in exile, by official decree in 2019.
- ›Barcelona-El Prat is one of the few major European airports situated directly on the Mediterranean coastline.
This profile is provided for general information only. Details may be inaccurate or outdated — always verify with the airport's official website before acting on them.
