Barcelona–El Prat Airport
Barcelona–El Prat Airport
Barcelona–El Prat Airport (IATA:
BCN, ICAO: LEBL) (Catalan: Aeroport Barcelona-El Prat, Spanish: Aeropuerto
Barcelona-El Prat), also known as El Prat Airport, is an international airport
located 12 km (7.5 mi) southwest of the centre of Barcelona, lying in the
municipalities of El Prat de Llobregat, Viladecans, and Sant Boi, in the nation
of Catalonia, in Europe.
It is the largest and busiest
airport in Catalonia, and the seventh busiest in Europe. In 2018, Barcelona
Airport handled a record 50.2 million passengers, up 6.1% from 2017. It is a
hub for Level and Vueling, and a focus city for Air Europa, Iberia, EasyJet, Norwegian
and Ryanair.
The Barcelona–Madrid air shuttle
service, known as the "Puente Aéreo" (in Spanish), or "Pont
Aeri" (in Catalan) literally "Air Bridge", was the world's
busiest route until 2008, with the highest number of flight operations (971 per
week) in 2007. The schedule has been reduced since February 2008, when a
Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line was opened, covering the distance in 2
hours 30 minutes, and quickly became popular.
History
Airport Layout
Barcelona's first airfield,
located at El Remolar, began operations in 1916. However, it did not have good
expansion prospects, so a new airport at El Prat opened in 1918. The first
plane was a Latécoère Salmson 300 which arrived from Toulouse with final
destination Casablanca. The airport was used as headquarters of the Aeroclub of
Catalonia and the base for the Spanish Navy's Zeppelin fleet. Scheduled
commercial service began in 1927 with an Iberia service to Madrid Cuatro
Vientos Airport. This was Iberia's first route. During the time of the Second
Spanish Republic El Prat was one of the bases of LAPE (Líneas Aéreas Postales
Españolas).
In 1948, a runway was built (now
called runway 07-25); in the same year the first overseas service was operated
by Pan American World Airways to New York City, using a Lockheed Constellation.
Between 1948 and 1952, a second runway was constructed (runway 16–34),
perpendicular to the previous, also taxiways were constructed and a terminal to
accommodate passengers. In 1963, the airport reached one million passengers a
year. A new control tower was built in 1965. In 1968, a new terminal was
opened, which still exists and is in use as what is now Terminal 2B.
On 3 August 1970, Pan American
World Airways inaugurated regular service between Barcelona, Lisbon and New
York, operated by a Boeing 747. On 4 November of the same year, Iberia began
the "Air-shuttle" service between Barcelona and Madrid–Barajas. A few
years later, in 1976, a terminal was built specifically for Iberia's
air-shuttle service and a terminal exclusively for cargo, an annexed mail
service and an aircraft ramp for air cargo. In 1977, the airport handled over 5
million passengers annually.
From the late seventies to the
early nineties, the airport was stalled in traffic and investments until the
1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona. El Prat underwent a major development
consisting of the modernization and expansion of the existing terminal, which
became known as Terminal B, and the construction of two further terminals
flanking that, known as Terminals A and C respectively. The development included jetways for direct
access to the aircraft. This reform was designed by architect Ricardo Bofill
Levi.
In 1992, a new control tower was
inaugurated also designed by Ricardo Bofill Levi, but this was replaced by
another much needed control tower in 2006.
The new Terminal 1 was
inaugurated on 16 June 2009, covering 545,000 m2 (5,866,331 sq ft). 70% of
today's flights operate from Terminal 1. The old Terminals A, B and C are now
known as Terminals 2A, 2B and 2C.
Due to the strong drop in air
traffic after 1999 and the crisis in the aviation sector in 2001 many charter
operations from Girona and Reus were diverted to El Prat, which helped the
airport to survive the crisis.
On 1 February 2014, Barcelona–El
Prat was the first Spanish airport to receive a daily flight with the Airbus
A380-800, on the Emirates route to Dubai International Airport. Emirates also
offers a second daily flight, also operated by the A380-800.
International Airlines Group
(IAG) announced in December 2016 flights from Barcelona to the US, Latin
America and Asia for the summer of 2017. IAG, formed by British Airways,
Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus, created Level, the second airline, after
Norwegian, launching low-cost long haul flights from the Catalan city. They
announced flights from June 2017 to Los Angeles, Oakland, Punta Cana and Buenos
Aires.
Air Cargo | Sea Shipping | Express Cargo | International
Movers | Express Cargo
AAC CARGO L.L.C. (Logistics & Cargo Company from Dubai)
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Tel: +971 4 8880718
Air Freight | Sea Freight |
Express Cargo | International Movers | Boat Relocation | Car Shipping | Parcel
| Project Cargo | Fine Arts cargo | Ocean Freight | Cargo | Logistics |
Shipping to USA | Shipping to Europe | Shipping to Africa | Shipping to Asia |
| Shipping to Germany | Shipping to Australia | Shipping to New Zealand |
Shipping to Singapore |
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