Barcelona's airport is growing despite the global financial crisis

Barcelona (ACN).- The economic crisis is not affecting Barcelona-El Prat airport. On the contrary, the number of passengers in the main airport in Catalonia rose 15,1% in November in comparison to last year. This is good news for the sector, especially after the government announced that the airport will be privately managed in the near future. In total, up to 2.320.274 people have flown from or to Barcelona  over the past month. International flights grew the most, with a 19,89% increase. Internal flights within the Spanish state also rose by 8,9%.

Barcelona's airport has been growing throughout the year, in contrast to other airports in Catalonia, that are losing passengers. Over 2010, a total of nearly 27.133.192 passengers travelled through Barcelona-El Prat, leading to a 6,4% annual increase from last year's figures.  

Up to 23.373 commercial flights took off and landed in Barcelona in November. This equates to a 9,3% increase in the total number of flights operated from the Catalan capital. Similarly, the airport experienced a 4,7% increase in freight transported from or to Barcelona.

However, it is not all good news for airports across Catalonia. Girona and Reus airports, operating most of the Ryanair flights in Catalonia, have lost passengers over November. Girona airport's passengers plummeted by 34,2%, while the number of people using Reus airport decreased by 19,1%.

Girona had 209.540 passengers over November. Overall during 2010, the northern airport had 4.672.245 passengers, a 5,9% decrease compared to 2009. In November, 2.403 flights took off and landed in Girona seeing a fall of 24,6%. During the year, the airport saw a total of 41.304 flights, leading to a 8,5% decrease compared to the same period in 2009.

In Reus, in southern Catalonia, the airport is also losing passengers. In November, only 27.825 passengers used Reus' facilities, a decrease of 19,1%. In total, 1.292.037 people have travelled from or to Reus in 2010, which translates to a drop of 16,5% compared to 2009.