Barcelona airport strains under low-cost carrier surge as expansion stalls
Low-cost airlines have pushed Barcelona's El Prat airport to its capacity limits, while plans for a major expansion face delays until after 2035.
Aggressive growth strategies by low-cost carriers have stretched Barcelona's El Prat airport to the brink of saturation. Vueling, Ryanair and WizzAir together captured nearly 62% of the summer market, a rise of almost two percentage points from the previous year. Between June and August, WizzAir boosted its passenger count by 39.2% to over one million, while Ryanair grew 6.4% and Vueling added 3.7%, preserving a market share close to 40%.
The airport has already exceeded its technical limit of 55 million passengers per year, prompting Aena to start terminal reconfigurations and runway improvements, though the major expansion will not start until the post-2035 regulatory window. Aena plans to invest billions over the next five years in these upgrades, but the new satellite terminal and runway extension are slated for a later period. In contrast, nearby Girona saw a 2.36% drop in summer travelers after Ryanair reduced seats as part of a fee dispute.
