General Information » Getting Around » Air Travel

Barcelona International Airport (www.aena.es), known as El Prat, is 12 kilometres from downtown. The recent addition of a third runway and the eventual completion of another terminal (expected before 2009) will open more air travel options to and from the city.

Shuttles to Madrid depart nearly every half-hour most days, and there are frequent connections to other domestic destinations. Direct flights are available to many worldwide cities on all major carriers, but depending where you're coming from, you may have to connect through other European hubs before landing in Barcelona. Low-cost airlines are making their presence felt too, and are putting more flights on their schedules. There are smaller airports in Girona and Reus, both about 90 kilometres from Barcelona.

Iberia and Spanair are the Spanish airlines and, as members of worldwide alliance programs, have some global reach. Iberia's reputation took a hit in July 2006 when the company's baggage claim workers declared an illegal strike on a busy summer day and shut down Barcelona airport, forcing hundreds of flight cancellations and leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded. Outraged city officials and consumer advocate groups moved swiftly and called for airport management policy changes to prevent future problems. Claims, retributions, political finger-pointing and criminal and civil court cases will be settled well into 2007.