Barcelona-El Prat Airport’s proposed €3.2 billion expansion is now expected to be completed in 2038, four years later than first planned, according to Aena’s newly published DORA III investment programme. For passengers and nearby residents, the plan would not bring an immediate change: if authorised and built, it is intended to raise the airport’s capacity from 78 to 90 aircraft movements an hour and allow more long-haul departures from the third runway.

The project remains subject to the European Commission resolving a pending formal notice to the Spanish government over potential environmental effects. DORA III, which covers airport investment from 2027 to 2036, allocates €192 million for adaptation work on the third runway rather than the full expansion.

El Prat handled a record 57.4 million passengers in 2025, exceeding the 55 million annual capacity envisaged under the earlier Pla Barcelona development programme, VIA Empresa reported.

Runway plan centres on long-haul operations

The proposal would extend the third runway and alter how El Prat uses its runways. Its stated purpose is to enable large long-haul aircraft, which need more distance to take off because they carry more fuel and passengers, to depart from the shorter runway.

At present, long-haul departures use the airport’s 3,352-metre main runway. The airport operates an independent runway model, in which long-haul take-offs can prevent landings on that runway during those movements.

  • The current operating capacity is 78 movements an hour: 40 take-offs and 38 landings.
  • The proposed segregated model would target 90 movements an hour: 45 take-offs and 45 landings.
  • The €3.2 billion scheme includes enlarging the Natura 2000 protected area in the Llobregat delta by 34 hectares, with 27 hectares at La Ricarda and seven at El Remolar, according to the proposal described by VIA Empresa.

Aena’s plan also envisages a satellite terminal, linked to terminals T1 and T2 by an automated underground train. Investment in that terminal is not included in DORA III, according to the report.

New authority will plan strategy, not run the airport

The Generalitat and Aena have agreed that the Autoritat Aeroportuària de Catalunya (AAC), a new body for planning the strategy of Catalonia’s airports, will begin operating in January 2027. It will not replace Aena, the state-controlled airport operator that owns and manages El Prat.

For local councils and business groups, the AAC will provide formal representation in discussions on airport strategy, including the relationship between Barcelona-El Prat, Girona and Reus. Its 13 members will include six Generalitat representatives, three from local bodies, two representing economic and social interests, and two independent experts.

“It is not about replacing Aena, because that is unviable,” Òscar Oliver, a member of Foment del Treball’s airport expansion commission and former commercial director of Aeroports de Catalunya, told VIA Empresa.

Aena has a 51% state shareholding and 49% private capital. Its president, Maurici Lucena, said in March that the company would not transfer management of airports to Spain’s autonomous communities, according to VIA Empresa.

Opponents including the Ajuntament del Prat and the Zeroport environmental platform dispute the need for the extension and argue that the environmental consequences would be difficult to offset. The European Commission’s decision on the pending environmental procedure remains the required step before the wider project can proceed.

Reported by viaempresa.cat.