Mass protests planned in Barcelona and Palma against airport expansion projects

This Sunday, protestors in Barcelona and Palma will converge to challenge Aena's 2027-2031 investment plan, which earmarks €1.76 billion for Barcelona El-Prat and projects passenger numbers at Palma's Son Sant Joan Airport to reach about 35.7 million annually by 2031. The demonstrations are part of an international week organized by the Stay Grounded network, with more than 210 local groups and 130 academics supporting the Barcelona march that will move from Passeig de Gracia to Placa de Sant Jaume.

In Palma, over a dozen organisations, including GOB and Greenpeace, will gather outside the Spanish government delegation at 6 p.m. Organisers argue the expansions will increase overcrowding, strain housing markets and threaten the Llobregat Delta, while transport minister Oscar Puente insists runway length and flight capacity will not be expanded. Critics such as Joan Manuel del Llano accuse the Catalan and Spanish governments and Aena of climate denialism, and regional politicians Jaume Bauza and Marga Prohens have denounced the forecast of nearly 50 million passengers as contrary to tourism-containment policies.