flights

Social and environmental groups assert necessity to reduce number of flights and cruises

Organizers of the Mobile World Congress assure the trade fair will go ahead, while manufacturers struggle to meet demand for face masks

Minor disruptions in Catalonia’s road and train network due to early Tuesday rallies against Catalan Trial verdict

35% to 40% of flights took off at least 15 minutes late, with average delays set at 45 minutes

Representatives of the workers have offered a “truce” to the company

Company estimates that 15% of staff went on strike on second day of protests

El Prat receives 5.1 million passengers, 6.2% than in 2018

Low-cost, long-distance carrier will also raise number of weekly flights to New York and Los Angeles

Wednesday and Thursday set to be complicated days for travel

Learn the dates of the upcoming industrial action and the reasons behind it

Seats on offer on intercontinental flights set to increase by 14%, according to Chamber of Commerce

Passengers complained on social media networks on Monday about long queues once more at the Barcelona airport’s passport controls. Sources at the Catalan Department of Territory and Sustainability confirmed a 40–50 minute wait, almost twice as long as normal. The Department claims the delay was due to a lack of police staff. According to the same sources, the situation went back to normal once staff was reinforced. On the other hand, the Spanish police said that this Monday there was more personnel at the passport controls than a week ago and attributed this one time situation to the fact that several flights arrived together in a very short period of time.

The British airline Jet2 launched a new connection this Friday between Reus Airport, located about 100 kilometers from Barcelona, and London-Stansted. In addition, starting Saturday, Birmingham will be added to their routes from Reus. The new connection with London-Stansted will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays whereas the flights between Reus and Birmingham will be available on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. They will offer 228,000 seats and expect to grow by 65% in comparison with last summer. Jet2 already offers seven routes from Reus to Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Leeds, East Midlands, and Newcastle and will offer 30 weekly flights, 10 more than last year.

American Airlines new direct link between Barcelona-El Prat airport and Chicago is expected to increase the airline's passengers in Catalonia by 15%. The new flight will operate from the 6th of May and will be offered alongside the current flights to Miami and New York. American Airlines also flies seasonally direct from Barcelona to Charlotte and Philadelphia. The Regional Sales Director of American Airlines in Spain and Portugal, José A. Blázquez, confirmed these figures in a press conference this Tuesday in the Catalan capital. Barcelona is a key destination for American tourists, said the U.S. Consul General, Marcos C. Mandojana, who highlighted the growing number of connections from Catalonia to his country.

Barcelona’s El Prat airport will be connected with two US and two South American cities starting in June 2017 thanks to LEVEL, the new low-cost carrier of International Airlines Group (IAG). The company chose the Catalan capital to introduce its new brand because of its “international touristic appeal” and also because of the connections from Barcelona’s El Prat airport through Vueling, IAG’s CEO Willie Walsh explained. The new carrier will fly from Barcelona to San Francisco and Los Angeles starting at 99 euros and to Buenos Aires, Argentina and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic starting at 149 euros. The flights will use A330-200 planes with crew from Iberia and IAG. More than 250 jobs are expected to be created in Barcelona, according to Walsh who presented the news this Friday morning at a press conference in Catalonia’s capital city of Barcelona.