Barcelona airport plans more direct intercontinental routes

The airport of Barcelona is planning to expand its direct international routes for 2018 and 2019, prioritizing Tokyo, Mexico City, Bangkok, Santiago de Chile and Delhi.

Increasing these routes is one of the main objectives of the Air Route Development Committee, set up by the government, Barcelona City Council, the Chamber of Commerce, and Aena (the entitiy that operates the facility.)

The Secretary of Infrastructure and Mobility, Ricard Font, said Barcelona airport still has “a long way to go.” Speaking at a press conference held on Wednesday, Font stressed that there is an “unserved demand” for intercontinental connections of 4.5 million euros. He referred to the number of passengers who have no option of a direct flight to and from the Catalan capital for certain destinations, and who must therefore take connecting flights.

According to Font, it is “very possible” for the route to Mexico to be in operation in 2018. With regard to the number of direct intercontinental routes from Barcelona airport, it has tripled since 2005.

Increased traffic

Barcelona El Prat airport closed 2017 with a historic new record of 47.2 million passengers flying to and from the facility, an increase of 7.1% from 2016 when 44.1 million people used the airport, already a record in itself.

Traffic on domestic flights increased by 7.7% reaching a total of 12.7 million registered passengers, while people flying internationally increased by 6.8% to 34.5 million. The airport also dealt with over 156,000 tonnes of goods, a rise of around 15% compared to last year.

In December 2017, a total of nearly 3.2 million people used the facility, 6.4% more than 2016. Coinciding with the Christmas holidays, passengers flying within Spain increased the most, by 10.%, while 4.5% more people flew internationally.