Barcelona Airport recognised as Europe's best, as its T1 Terminal hosts 111 million passengers in 5 years

Barcelona (ACN.) – In the five years since it opened, the T1 Terminal of Barcelona El Prat Airport has received over 111 million people, overseen approximately 1.3 million take-off and landing operations and processed 70 million items of luggage. The new airport terminal became operational on 17 June 2009 and marked its fifth anniversary on Tuesday. In addition, up until last May, 18.2 million travellers have used the shuttles that connect the T1 and T2 terminals. In addition, the car terminal, with a capacity of 10,000 spaces, has been occupied by 11 million vehicles. The new terminal has processed twice as many passengers in this period than the older T2 terminal, which was previously known as the terminals A, B and C. Moreover, more than 568,000 passengers with reduced mobility have passed through the new T1  Terminal and over 16.3 million taxis have used the new space provided. In addition, Barcelona El Prat Airport was on Tuesday night announced as the best airport in Europe, at the ACI (Airport Council International) Europe Awards 2014 held in Frankfurt. It was the second time the airport has received this accolade.

The T1 terminal officially opened five years ago, when Star Alliance began to operate in the new facilities. In a second phase of opening, on 9 September 2009 the OneWorld group transferred its services to the new terminal, and on 25 October, the Sky Team alliance of airlines followed suit. Currently, 50 airlines operate in this terminal, representing approximately 70% of total airport traffic in Barcelona El Prat Airport.

T1 has during this period become a locus for experts in airport design, from institutions to airport delegations to university students, who come to witness first hand its facilities and operations. In total, it has received 1,071 visits, with 24,588 people. In fact, the terminal and its services have received several awards.

Over five years the facilities have expanded to incorporate other services, such as 2D readable equipment,  mobility systems (Segways), defibrillators, playgrounds, virtual information points and time controls at security checkpoints, among others.

Aiming to become a hub for intercontinental flights

The commitment to Barcelona by some airlines has been one of the developments in the field of long-haul flights, and a result of the work of the Air Route Development Committee (CDRA) formed by the Government of Catalonia, Barcelona City Council, the Chamber of Commerce and Aena. Cities like Doha, Dubai, Miami, Sao Paulo, Beijing and Charlotte have teamed destinations with an airport that connects with Montreal, Toronto, New York, Atlanta, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Singapore and Philadelphia.

Since February this year, the T1 has a daily flight of the A380 operated by Fly Emirates, and its route between Barcelona and Dubai makes El Prat the first airport in Spain to have a regular service to this destination.

Barcelona El Prat, the best airport in Europe

On Tuesday evening, Barcelona El Prat Airport was for the second time announced as ‘the best airport in Europe’ at the 10^th edition of the ACI (Airport Council International) Europe Awards held in Frankfurt. The ACI jury cited Barcelona’s investment in infrastructure and the high increases in international traffic as the reasons for the airport’s success, as well as its commitment to environmental sustainability. The jury was composed of independent members of Eurocontrol, the ECAC, the World Tourism Forum and Air Transport World magazine. Barcelona Airport first won the ‘Best European Installation’ Award in June 2010.