El Prat Airport gets a head start on expansion

Barcelona Secreta
David Leon Himelfarb
16 Mar 2026

The future of Barcelona-El Prat Airport remains one of the thorniest issues in Catalan politics, particularly due to the environmental impact that extending the runway into the La Ricarda protected area would entail. However, Aena has decided not to wait for the institutional and environmental conflict to be resolved before taking action.

The airport operator has announced an investment of more than 110 million euros for a series of structural renovations that will begin this year and continue through 2028.

These works do not technically entail an expansion of the airport’s capacity, as the number of flights per hour will remain the same, but they do involve a major overhaul of the current infrastructure.

The airport management’s stated intention is to reduce aircraft taxiing times and, by extension, ground emissions, although the underlying goal remains to lay the groundwork for potential future growth should the European Union ultimately approve the expansion plans...

El Prat Airport gets a head start on expansion - Barcelona Secreta - 16 Mar 2026