Barcelona airport marks new January record with 3.7m passengers

Plane passengers continue to increase in Barcelona airport, with January setting a new record for the first month of the year with 3,695,529 travelers, according to figures shared by Spain's airport manager AENA.

The Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat airport saw 5.4% more passengers than the same month last year.

Of these, 2,695,626 passengers traveled internationally, accounting for 6.7% more than last year, while 990,823 flew domestically, a slight increase of 1.7% on 2024 figures.

The infrastructure saw 24,585 operations, including cargo shipments, which carried 13,339 tonnes, just 1.8% below last year.

AENA also manages Reus, Girona, and Sabadell airports, all of which have also increased their numbers during the first month of 2025.

Girona-Costa Brava airport had 38,634 passengers, an improvement of 37.2% from last year's data. It also had 1,344 operations, 57% more than last year.

Meanwhile, Reus, in southern Catalonia, saw 1,378 passengers, an increase of 79.7%, despite operating 9.8% fewer landings and departures, 1,276.

Sabadell, despite mainly being used as charter jets, private jets, and school flights, saw 4,973 operations, 14.3% more than in 2024. Despite the almost 5,000 operations, there were only 307 registered passengers, 26.6% less.

Summer season

Airlines at Barcelona-El Prat airport offer 42.9 million plane tickets for the summer season, starting on March 30 and ending on October 25—a slight 1.6% increase from last season.

South American market sees the highest increase compared to 2024, with 18% more seats, while 12,9% more tickets to African countries during the summer season will go on sale, Southeast Asia with 10.7% more seats, 8.9% more for North American airports, and a slight 2.4% increase for European destinations.

Destinations with the most seats offered are Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom, followed by Germany and France.

All-time high in 2024

More than 55 million passengers used Barcelona Airport in 2024, an all-time record high.

The airport's estimated maximum capacity is 55 million. With that figure now breached, the ongoing political and societal debate on the airport's expansion is set to ramp up.

Given the record numbers and with the expansion of the airport still to be implemented, Aena hopes to cater to more passengers by using more off-peak time slots and increasing off-season flights.

The previous annual record was 52.6 million passengers in 2019, the year before the Covid pandemic.