Barcelona’s El Prat airport has logged the busiest August in its history, with 5,673,319 passengers recorded last month, according to figures released by Aena. The tally represents a 4.8% increase compared with August 2024 and marks the eleventh consecutive month of record-breaking traffic at the Catalan hub.
For the fourth month in a row, the airport handled more than five million passengers, underscoring the continued demand for international travel to and from the city. Of the total, 4.37 million were international travellers, a rise of 7% on the previous year, while domestic traffic fell by 2.3% to just under 1.3 million passengers.
The single busiest day came on 14 August, when 195,166 travellers passed through El Prat, setting a new daily record. The peak for arrivals was 29 August, with just over 100,000 people landing — another all-time high.
Between January and August 2025, El Prat has already served 38.4 million passengers, 4.1% more than the same period last year. Cargo volumes have also grown, with more than 35,000 tonnes transported in August, up 13.5% year on year. Operations reached nearly 67,000 flights during July and August, a 3.2% increase.
Girona and Reus airports also reported growth, albeit on a smaller scale. Girona saw 349,535 passengers in August, while Reus handled 232,747 — both figures marking double-digit percentage increases compared with 2024.
The surge consolidates summer 2025 as the strongest in El Prat’s history, cementing its position as Spain’s second airport after Madrid-Barajas. With more than 55 million passengers recorded in 2024, El Prat is now operating beyond its theoretical capacity, yet Aena noted that the historic volumes of this summer passed without major disruptions.
As debates continue over expansion plans and environmental concerns, the numbers suggest that Barcelona remains one of Europe’s fastest-growing aviation hubs — a trend unlikely to slow in the near future.
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