Barcelona airport closes another record year, with more than 57 million passengers

BarcelonaMonth after month, Barcelona Airport has been registering unprecedented figures, maintaining the growth trend it has seen since the end of the pandemic. However, it closed 2025 with a record-breaking 57.5 million passengers. This marks the second consecutive year that the airport's maximum theoretical capacity has been exceeded, after having first reached that figure.more than 55 million travelers in 2024, one of the main reasons to launchthe expansion project, despite the social rejection of extending the third runway due to its environmental impact.

A new historical milestone is based on the long-standing increase in passengers at El Prat Airport in the months beyond summer, but also on the so-called off-peak hours, previously the least requested by airlines compared to peak hours – early morning and mid-morning. According to Aena, until the controversial extension of the short runway is implemented, this is the only way for the airport to continue meeting the rising demand. "The traffic records of recent years are a clear indication of this need and the situation that will arise in the coming years regarding infrastructure," explains the airport operator. This argument will gain strength as the years go by, unless the supply is limited, as the city of Barcelona has decided to do with its hotel capacity. So far, no airline has complained of operating normally or experiencing excessive delays, nor have passengers noticed any issues, with hotspots like security screening functioning better than in previous years.

However, the airport operator is implementing measures to prepare for this scenario of continued passenger growth, such as the expansion of T1 either the construction of a new exit on the cross runway to shorten night landings, awaiting a lengthening that will not arrive until 2033 or 2034. Before T1 was inaugurated in 2009, the airport was operating for several years above its limit.

The winter season is gaining momentum

During 2025, nearly 361,000 flights were operated, also an unprecedented figure, with every month setting a new record, and international passengers accounting for 75%. April saw the largest increase (+6.6%), coinciding with Easter. This was followed by January (+5.4%), October (+5.6%), November (+5.1%), and December (+5.8%), a winter season that continues to see a rise in seat capacity. Despite these increases, a certain moderation is beginning to be noticeable, after the peak months of 2024 saw double-digit growth.

Conversely, the lowest increases occurred during February (+2.8%) and March (+1.8%). It's worth noting the changes to the schedule of two of the city's main events, Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) and the Mobile World Congress (MWC), as well as the fact that Easter fell in March the previous year. However, in summer, the peak season at Barcelona Airport, passenger numbers continued to rise, in this case, thanks to the leeway offered to airlines by off-peak hours. Except for July (+2.9%), the other months saw growth in line with the annual figure of 4.4%: June (+4.2%), August (+4.8%), and September (+4.3%). Record across the entire Aena network

This unprecedented growth trend is mirrored across Aena's entire network, comprised of 46 airports and two heliports in Spain, London Luton Airport, and 17 airports in Brazil. This network of airports closed 2025 with a record 384.8 million passengers, a 4.2% increase over the previous year. Barajas Airport, the country's main airport, handled a record 68.2 million passengers last year, but with a 3% increase, lower than that recorded in Barcelona. At the other Catalan airports, the figures were more modest and did not reach record levels. Girona Airport handled nearly 2.2 million passengers (+9.4%), and Reus Airport exceeded 1.3 million passengers (+13.1%). Finally, the Sabadell airport, dedicated to aeronautical training and private aviation, handled approximately 62,000 operations (+6.2%).