BarcelonaWith the agreement for the unique financing just around the cornerThe Catalan government has opened a new key initiative with the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC). This involves the creation of the Airport Authority of Catalonia, which the executive council agreed to promote this Wednesday at its first meeting after the Christmas holidays. As stipulated in the investiture agreement with the ERC, it will be a specialized body through which the Generalitat (Catalan government) will implement its own policies to achieve "comprehensive governance" of the airport system. "Its creation allows us to overcome the fragmentation we currently have," explained the government spokesperson and Minister of Territory, Silvia Paneque, at a press conference. To this end, the government has tasked a technical committee, coordinated by Public Airports of Catalonia, with drafting a proposal within six months to amend the airport law to create this body and its statutes. The creation of the Airport Authority of Catalonia will therefore require parliamentary approval. The executive branch anticipates it will be operational by 2027.
According to Paneque, the Authority will oversee a "national" airport model, "integrated" into the territory and "with its own voice," engaging in dialogue with Aena and the European Union—until now, Catalonia had no official representation in the aeronautical sector—in aeronautical discussions. The authority will be responsible for developing a strategic plan for airports, airfields, and heliports, planning connections with the transport network, and also promoting the "ecological transition" of the sector. The Departments of Territory and Business will be represented: "The institutional representation is 100% Catalan. It is established as an institutional relations body for Catalonia," he clarified. Once operational, the Airport Authority will be able to participate in planning documents such as the Airport Regulation Document (DORA), to speak "on equal terms" with Aena and Enaire. However, it is necessary to keep in mind that the key powers would remain in the hands of Aena and the State.
The starting gun for this coincides with the likely beginning of negotiations for the 2026 Catalan budget, once the financing model has been resolved. Regarding El Prat Airport, the Socialists and Republicans had also agreed to create a new Airport Governing Council of Catalonia and promote a new governance model to give the Catalan government (Generalitat) more influence in decisions affecting Barcelona's airport. During the summer break, Paneque announced that the Catalan government will make a "concrete" proposal on El Prat's governance in the first quarter of 2026. "Step by step. Today we approved an agreement to establish the technical council that will submit a proposal to us" regarding the agency, the minister said this Wednesday.
The government will have to find a balance so as not to upset Aena, which has expressed its opposition to promoting changes to its centralized governance model. Its president, Lucena, has left the door open to "better coordination with the territories", but always respecting the structure of that listed company, with 51% in the hands of the State as the main shareholder.
Waiting for commuter trains
The announcement regarding the boost to the Airport Authority had been anticipated earlier in the day by the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, in an interview on In the mornings On TV3, he also specified that there will be news next week regarding the joint venture for the transfer of the commuter rail service, which was left pending before the end of the year. This is a commitment that has been dragging on since the fall of 2023, when ERC agreed to it with Pedro Sánchez for his investiture, and it is already behind schedule. "They don't let me close one chapter before they open another!" Paneque exclaimed at the press conference when asked about it. Without specifying dates, he said that "before the end of January" the Catalan government will be in a position to announce the names of the members of the board of directors of the company, which will be controlled by the Generalitat (Catalan government). The joint venture will start with a budget of 1.6 million euros for this year. as explained by AHORA.
El Prat airport gains intercontinental connectivity in winter
El Prat Airport will gain intercontinental connectivity this winter, one of the main objectives Aena hopes to achieve with its expansion. This comes as the airport heads towards another passenger record, forcing it to move towards a less seasonal model to address the summer season's saturation. It is projected that by 2025, it will have exceeded the infrastructure's theoretical capacity, with more than 58 million passengers.
The airport has increased its intercontinental capacity to 3.69 million seats, a 21.9% increase compared to the previous year, according to the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce's Air Traffic Observatory. Between the end of October and March, it offers 46 routes, one more than the previous season, with two out of every ten destined for the United States. Morocco and the United Arab Emirates follow closely behind. Emirates is the leading intercontinental airline at El Prat, with 448,000 seats, followed by the local carrier Level, with 395,000.
This trend has continued since 2022, with sustained growth in intercontinental service throughout the year in all regions, but with even greater growth during the winter months. The agency points to new connection opportunities to expand the network with other airlines such as Qatar Airways, Etihad, Saudia, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Korean Air, as well as the introduction of new, more cost-effective Airbus aircraft models.
