Barcelona El Prat Airport received 30.7 million passengers in the first 10 months of the year

Barcelona (ACN).- Barcelona El Prat Airport received more than 30.67 million passengers in the first 10 months of 2012. Between January and October, 30,675,255 people travelled through the Catalan capital’s airport, which represents a 4% increase compared to the same period last year, according to information released on Monday by AENA, the Spanish Airport Authority. Furthermore, this figure already represents more passengers than the total going through Barcelona’s Airport over the entire of 2010. In addition, the number of international passengers increased by 6.2% and that of those coming from the Middle East, non-Schengen Europe and Argentina grew by 25%. In fact, Barcelona El Prat’s expansion strategy is focused on international flights, especially increasing the number of intercontinental flights and their destinations. However, the number of domestic flight passengers dropped by 11.1%, because of the fall in internal consumption due to the recession. The number of passengers going through the total of Spanish Airports decreased by 4.2% compared to the first 10 months of 2011 and those going through Madrid Barajas dropped by 8%, reaching a total of 38.9 million passengers.

Looking only at October’s figures, the number of passengers travelling through Barcelona El Prat decreased by 0.3% compared to October 2011 because of two factors. Firstly, last year, the long weekend associated with the bank holiday on the 1^st of November covered a few days in October too, increasing the number of tourist flights. Secondly, quite a few international flights with the United States were cancelled last month for a few days due to Hurricane Sandy.

Regarding international markets, the number of passengers going to or coming from the Middle East increased by 26.7% compared to January-October 2011. This increase is partly due to the new daily Emirates flight, linking Barcelona to Dubai. In addition, the number of non-Schengen European passengers has also increased significantly, experiencing a 23.5% raise. This is mostly due to the 32.1% increase in the Russian market. Finally, the Argentinean market was raised by 24.4%, mostly because of the Aerolíneas Argentinas connection with Buenos Aires, which flew more frequently.

More passengers but fewer flights

The number of operations through Barcelona El Prat decreased by 2.9% compared to January-October 2011. Between January and October 2012, 250,840 flights operated through the Catalan capital’s airport. However, the numbers in Barcelona are quite positive considering that the total number of flights going through all of the Spanish Airports dropped by 9.3%. In Madrid Barajas, Barcelona El Prat’s main competitor in attracting intercontinental flights, the number of operations decreased by 12.3%, reaching a total of 318,860 flights. Regarding only the October figures, 25,258 flights went through Barcelona El Prat Airport, 5% fewer compared to October 2011, partially because of the two reasons explained above.

0.6% less cargo transportation than in 2011

Regarding the transportation of goods, 9,270 tonnes went through Barcelona El Prat Airport in October, a 16% increase compared to the same month in 2011. Considering the total amount of cargo flights during the first 10 months of the year, 80,384 tonnes were transported through the Catalan capital’s airport between January and October 2012, 0.6% less than in the same period last year.