Ben Pawlowski
THE Catalan government’s decision to approve a long-awaited expansion to Barcelona’s El-Prat Airport has provoked fury among local activists.
On Tuesday, Catalan president Salvador Illa threw his support behind plans to refurbish the airport’s two terminals, build a new subway shuttle train and extend El-Prat’s southern 24L/06R runway by 500 metres.
According to AENA, the company that manages Spain’s airports, lengthening the runway to 3 kilometres would allow Barcelona to accommodate wide-body aircraft, making international travel easier for passengers who would otherwise be forced to travel from Madrid-Barajas or other major European hubs.
However, plans to expand the runway have long been controversial as an increase to the landing strip’s length would impact the protected La Ricarda natural park, which is located next to the airport.
According to the European Commission, the site is home to an ‘exceptional biodiversity that has a crucial role in the migration routes of many European birds’.
The proposal has sparked anger among local residents, environmentalists, scientists and politicians.
Environmental group Ecologistes en Acció said they were ‘astonished’ by the decision and called for ‘massive protests’ to take place in the coming weeks.
In a statement, they said: “The obsessive goal of expanding the airport makes it clear that Illa’s government sides with climate denial. Bringing in thousands of new flights is incompatible with the Climate Emergency Declaration.”
The mayor of local municipality El Prat de Llobregat, Alba Bou, slammed the project as environmentally harmful, while the mayor of nearby Castelldefels, Manuel Reyes of the conservative Partido Popular (PP), criticised the lack of ‘any real measures’ to offset concerns about the impact of increased air traffic on local residents.
READ MORE: Barcelona to ramp up flight arrivals this summer – despite wave of anti-tourist protests last year
The environmental platform ZEROPORT, consisting of local residents, scientists and environmentalists, have called for a large rally on June 28 against the planned extension, which they argue will increase pollution and encourage a ‘precarious’ tourism model.
On Saturday, over one thousand local residents braved sky-high temperatures to take to the streets under the banner ‘Ni un Pam de Terra’ (Not One Inch of Land), arguing that the proposed extension project ‘only served the interests of the business elites, lining the pockets of a few’.
Anti-expansion graffiti appeared on the El Prat office of the socialist PSOE, the current ruling party of Catalunya’s local government.
In contrast, the plan has been widely praised by business leaders. The president of Fira Barcelona, the city’s trade fair institution, labelled the €3bn investment as ‘good news for the country’ that will enhance Barcelona’s ‘appeal’ for international events.
“It will allow us to keep growing the major events we organise and strengthen our position as a global host city,” he said.
If the plan is approved by the European Commission, work would begin in 2030 with a planned finish date of 2033.
In an attempt to mitigate the environmental impact, Illa has vowed to rewild 270 hectares of land on the opposite side of the airport.
“The project is the best in terms of technical aspects and the most balanced to transform the Josep Tarradellas Barcelona El Prat airport into an international hub,” the Catalan president said.
In 2024, El-Prat was used by over 55 million passengers, an increase of over 10% compared with 2023, and the highest number on record.
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