New record of passengers at El Prat in the first six months of the year
Girona and Reus airports also register increases in passengers between January and June
BarcelonaThe Prat airport closed the first six months of this year with a new passenger record, according to data published this Tuesday by Aena, the Spanish airport operator. Specifically, the Barcelona aerodrome received more than 28.37 million travelers between January and June, an increase of 4.4% compared to the same period in 2025.
Of the 28.37 million passengers who passed through the infrastructure, about 21.34 million were international visitors, 5.3% more than in the first half of last year. Despite the problems in the railway network – especially high-speed rail, often a direct competitor to airplanes – domestic passengers grew at a lower rate, 1.7%, to 6.98 million.
In the month of June, a historic record was also broken, with 5.46 million travelers in one month, 3.2% more than in the same month of 2025, of which 4.16 million were international.
Regarding cargo, both June and the first semester also represented a record. Thus, in the first six months of the year, total operations increased by 3% annually, to 179,342, of which 34,000 were registered last month. In terms of tonnage, cargo traffic increased by 12.3% in the first semester compared to the same period last year, reaching 104,874 tons. In June, the total tonnage that passed through El Prat was 18,500, 16.4% more than a year earlier.
As usual, Barcelona airport was the second in Spain in both passenger and cargo movement, below Madrid. Barajas closed June with 6.08 million passengers and 66,070 tons.
The data comes a few days after Aena has initiated the first procedures to move forward with the airport expansion, with the drafting of the master plan, which sets the foundations for the infrastructure, and the environmental assessment of the project.
Girona and Reus also grow
The other two Catalan airports of Aena also registered growth in both the first semester of the year and in June. Girona was the second Catalan aerodrome, with more than 832,000 passengers between January and June, an increase of 7.8%, of which more than 297,000 were concentrated in June.
For its part, Reus airport closed the first six months of 2026 with over 575,000 travelers, which represents 10.3% more than a year ago. In June, the total number of passengers stood at over 225,000 passengers.