Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport

Barcelona‑El Prat greets you like that overly enthusiastic host who insists you’ll have fun whether you want to or not. Spread across Terminal 1 and 2, it’s large, shiny, and full of people desperately trying to look calm while running for gates. With over 50 million passengers yearly, it’s basically a human sardine simulator with a Mediterranean backdrop. The terminals are modern, functional, and aggressively efficient. Signs promise clarity but somehow you still end up wandering past duty‑free chocolate aisles like you’re on a scavenger hunt for your sanity. Cafes and tapas counters are sprinkled generously so you can fuel your panic with overpriced coffee and a cold croissant while plotting your next boarding sprint. Security lines are a test of patience and humility, but at least the airport gives you the satisfaction of occasionally watching someone forget to remove their laptop and suffer the universal shame of travel. Trains and buses to the city are convenient enough that you can reach Barcelona proper before questioning all your life choices that led to this point. Not romantic. Not quiet. Not for lovers of subtlety. But if you enjoy chaos with a side of efficiency, overpriced snacks, and the thrill of dodging trolley collisions, Barcelona‑El Prat delivers a full sensory experience that you’ll complain about, photograph, and secretly admire all at once.

Impressive airport: comfortable, well organized, clean, and very easy to navigate. Since it’s relatively small, everything is close and the signage is excellent, so you can find your way quickly without wasting time. Arrivals and departures feel smooth and efficient. The only thing missing is a good coffee shop—because the ones available are not great.

Spacious and modern, Barcelona Airport offers a pleasant travel experience. It has two terminals — T1, the main one, and T2, which connects directly to the metro. A free shuttle bus runs between the terminals and takes about 15 minutes. Most international arrivals are at Terminal 1. The facilities are clean, and the mostly bilingual staff are generally helpful. Taxis are affiliated with FreeNow, a service similar to Uber. Security lines can get long, so it’s best to allow extra time. Overall, the airport feels modern, well organized, and easy to navigate. A smooth and enjoyable experience.

Barcelona is the 2nd largest city in Spain and has good airport for own size. The main 1st Terminal is big and bright. There are good flight connections to Europe, North & South America, North Afrika, Middle East and even far Asia. The travelling time by metro to city center takes about 30 minutes.

I’ve traveled through Barcelona Airport several times before, but this time was noticeably different — and not in a good way. The immigration process took surprisingly long, more than an hour just to clear. It seems the police and security checks have become stricter lately, which I understand for safety reasons, but the number of open counters simply wasn’t enough to handle the crowd efficiently. Hopefully, they’ll consider adding more lanes during peak hours to avoid such long queues. Aside from that, the airport itself is fairly standard. It’s functional and modern enough, but not particularly impressive compared to many major Asian airports. Cleanliness and facilities are decent, though not outstanding. Signage could also be clearer for newcomers trying to find their way to the taxi or transport area. Overall, it’s an average experience — safe but slow, organized but not exactly traveler-friendly. For now, I’d give Barcelona–El Prat a 6 out of 10, with one extra point if they manage to speed things up next time.

Arriving in Barcelona was fine. Departure was an hours-long pilgrimage across many kilometres across the hot, sunny airport. First, the train from the city arrives at terminal 2, you have to take a long bus ride around the airport to get to terminal 1 (departures). Security was ok but she made me empty everything from my bags, and re-scan them FOUR TIMES. I appreciate the level of safety and security but it stopped traffic behind me and caused everyone to be upset. Once through, we waited in a “Passport Control” line before gates D and E which winded its way LITERALLY AROUND THE AIRPORT. It looked like the airport workers were shocked to see so many people. One elderly gentleman broke out into uncontrolled laughter when he rounded the third corner saw how long the line still was. I had to smile also, it’s ridiculous. At one point the airport workers gave up and just started letting people through. Then we got to the real passport control (I don’t know why there were two) and showed our passports. While waiting for the airplane, there were not enough seats, people were waiting on the floor, and when boarding traffic was blocked. This is not a unique problem to Barcelona but a general problem with new airports. This was just the start of the journey. I offered to check my bag, but there was no safe place to leave it so I ended up carrying it onto the plane anyway. When we entered the gate we discovered that the plane was not there, we had to board a series of busses that went around the armpit of the airport in a long traverse BACK to terminal 2, where the plane was waiting with others on the tarmac with stairs. After an hours-long process from security to the plane, we were finally in our seats, boarded. The poor elderly couple who entered the plane first had so much difficulty on the stairs 😕. There were many elderly people, in wheelchairs and walkers. Even though the app says we departed on-time, we are still waiting, parked without moving. It seems as if moving people and airplanes in this airport was an afterthought, it’s almost a joke. Love Barcelona, though.

one of the best airports i’ve ever stayed in overnight. you can access airside at any time, even in the middle of the night, which makes the whole experience way more pleasant. tons of water-refill stations, plenty of charging spots, and a layout that’s spacious, clean, and actually comfortable. security was a breeze. the only annoying part was figuring out the bus ticket, having to walk all the way to the subway station and then back felt unnecessary. also the terminal 1 ↔ terminal 2 buses were a bit confusing to navigate. apart from that, a solid airport and honestly a great choice for an overnight layover.

Modern functional airport reasonably updated. Gates are clearly marked. VIP lounge quite good and offered a large selection of food and beverages. Gates and ceiling height quite spacious and comfortable.