Barcelona prepares for expansion amid signs of recovery

Barcelona Airport has made a "peaceful transition" since the June 2009 opening of the new Terminal 1 (T1), according to national state-run operator AENA.

The second-busiest airport in Spain is now preparing for the next phase of expansion against an encouraging backdrop of rising passenger traffic in the last two months of 2009.

Barcelona was affected by the economic recession that hit Spain. Even with the inauguration of the new terminal, passenger traffic for the year fell by 9.8 per cent to 27.3 million, compared with 30.2 million in 2008.

This relative lack of demand may in a sense have helped ease the introduction of T1, but AENA says the crucial enabling factor was a comprehensive series of pre-inauguration trials.

"The fact that all the systems were ready to go and all the workers knew their new work posts were keys to the transfer," airport managing director Fernando Echegaray told Jane's, adding: "We believe that beyond the development of air traffic, our function is to develop the infrastructure to make it ready for the future."