Barcelona-El Prat airport to be renamed Josep Tarradellas

One item on the agenda for the controversial Spanish government cabinet meeting held in Barcelona on Friday is a name change for Barcelona airport, which if approved will go from being called the Barcelona-El Prat Airport to the Josep Tarradellas Airport.

The airport, which is managed by the state-owned Adif company, gets its current name from the area just outside Barcelona where it is located, El Prat de Llobregat. Meanwhile, its new name refers to the former Catalan president in exile during the Franco dictatorship.

The name change was reported on the SER radio station on Friday morning, and was later confirmed by the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

Catalan government criticism

For the Catalan government, it was also critical of the move, as it had not been consulted about the name change. Sources insisted that the objections are "nothing against president Tarradellas," but that they are happy with the airport's current name.