The Council of Ministers on 15 September approved the third Airport Regulation Document (DORA III), allocating €1.7 billion for improvements at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport over the 2027-2031 period. While the contentious third-runway extension has been pushed to the subsequent DORA IV cycle, the new package funds a satellite terminal, expanded gate areas, upgraded baggage systems and biometric border-control technology. Aena CEO Maurici Lucena welcomed the decision, saying it gives the operator “the investment certainty we need to tackle Barcelona’s structural capacity deficit.” The airport handled a record 60.2 million passengers in 2025 and is forecast to reach its current theoretical cap of 70 million by 2028. Business-travel associations have long warned that gate congestion and slot scarcity were driving some long-haul carriers to relocate seasonal capacity to Madrid or Paris. For corporate mobility managers the upgrade means more medium-term reliability on key routes to Latin America and North America, where tech and life-sciences firms based in Catalonia rely on direct connectivity. The installation of automated e-gates and facial-recognition embarkation should also shorten dwell times for Schengen and third-country nationals alike. However, the absence of a runway extension means peak-hour slot constraints will persist for several years. Airlines report that the summer 2027 slot co-ordination conference already shows requests 8 percent above the declared capacity. Companies are therefore advised to book incentive-travel and group movements early and consider Girona-Costa Brava or Reus as relief gateways for events. The government has paired the DORA III announcement with a commitment to commission an environmental impact study for the runway project by late 2027, hoping to defuse opposition from local residents and conservation groups. Until then, the focus shifts to terminal works that can proceed without major ecological permitting hurdles.
Source: El País
