Record flights at El Prat: 17,000 operations during Christmas in Barcelona

Barcelona airport is experiencing days of peak activity. Thousands are returning after Christmas and others are leaving to celebrate the New Year. El Prat is handling more than 17,000 flights over the holiday period. Discover how this movement affects the city and travellers.

Barcelona-El Prat airport has become the epicentre of Christmas travel, with a constant flow of passengers and suitcases. This Sunday saw the highest peak in operations of the whole season, with 969 flights in a single day. Activity is divided between those returning after linking the Christmas and Sant Esteve holidays with the weekend, and those taking the opportunity to travel and celebrate the New Year in other destinations.

Travellers include both domestic and international tourists. Many families living abroad have returned to Barcelona to reunite with their loved ones during the holidays. Some explain that, although they live in countries such as the Netherlands or Belgium, they always use the holidays to visit family. Others, such as a young woman from Alicante, have spent the week in the city and are now setting off back for work reasons.

Air traffic at El Prat has grown compared with last year. From the last Friday before Christmas to 7 January, 15,831 flights were scheduled in 2024. This year, the figure rises to 17,217 operations, almost 1,400 more flights. Even after deducting the additional day in this period, the increase remains at around 700 flights.

The increase in travel has also led Renfe to strengthen its service in Catalonia. Between 18 December and 11 January, the company has offered more than 696,000 seats on high-speed and long-distance trains. Most correspond to the Barcelona-Madrid corridor, with 392,000 seats, followed by the Mediterranean corridor to the Valencian Community and Murcia, with 119,500 seats.

El Prat thus closes a Christmas holiday period marked by record numbers of flights and passengers, consolidating its role as one of the city's main points of entry and departure at these key dates.