Barcelona Airport
Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport (Catalan: Aeroport de Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-el Prat, Spanish: Aeropuerto de Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat) is the international airport of the Spanish city of Barcelona, Catalonia. The airport is also known simply as El Prat.
Terminal 2 of the airport is located about 15 kilometres from the city of Barcelona, Terminal 1 about 5 kilometres away. Both terminals are located on the territory of the municipality of El Prat de Llobregat, after which the airport is named. The airport is Spain’s second airport in terms of passenger numbers, after Barajas near Madrid. The airport handles over 52.6 million passengers annually (2019 figures) and 107,996 tonnes of cargo (2006 figures).
The airport is managed by the Spanish state-owned company AENA, but discussions are underway to transfer management to the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Getting there by public transport
To get from the airport to the city centre, travellers can use the following means of transport:
Aerobús (fastest but most expensive)
Train (Line R2 from Terminal 2)
City bus (Line 46)
Free shuttle buses run continuously between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.
In 2016, accessibility will be significantly expanded with the connection of Metro line 9.
Expansion
The number of passengers at El Prat has more than doubled in less than 10 years (from 13,430,000 in 1996 to 52,686,314 in 2019). This doubling has necessitated the expansion of the airport. On 17 June 2009, Terminal 1 was opened, some 5 kilometres south of the old terminal (now called Terminal 2). The new terminal is capable of doubling the number of passengers again. After Terminal 1 is fully operational, modernisation of the old terminals (2A, 2B, 2C) will begin.
The new terminal received its own metro connection (metro line L9) in 2016. Until then, free shuttle buses run between the new terminal and the old terminal with the train station.
Cost of a Transfer from Barcelona Airport to the City Center
There is no set fare for a cab from Barcelona airport to the city center. Instead, the barcelona airport taxi driver will charge you depending on the distance traveled using a taximeter. However, a ride from Barcelona airport to the city costs around 38€ during the day and 54€ late at night.