The Spanish government expects that it could be another "complicated" summer at Barcelona Josep Tarradellas-El Prat Airport, but says that authorities are prepared to respond "better" to the possible contingencies. They have started implementing the recommendations of the Eurocontrol report commissioned late last year by the public works ministry following issues in 2018. Last summer saw travellers affected by delays caused by a variety of factors, including strikes, but also systematic issues.
According to senior ministry official Pedro Saura, the report also recommends improving communications between operators Aena and other parties, like the airlines, to deal with the possible increase in operations and potential delays. Among the improvements proposed for the short-term, Saura listed optimisations to taxiing, taxi-off and approach manoeuvres, more efficient systems to cope better with sudden changes in weather conditions and the setting up of better communications between the airport and the companies which fly in and out of it.
Forecast for summer
For this summer, the airport is expected to see a 5% increase in operations on last year, with the number of controllers also growing 5%, according to Saura. He was speaking alongside Catalan territory and sustainability minister Damià Calvet in the press conference following a meeting of the airport coordination committee.
The Spanish official said the meeting was "broad and productive", working to avoid a repeat of last year's delays. "We don't have a triumphalist attitude or proposal," he said. He also wanted to give a "message of calm", saying that authorities are working to tackle the issues.
For his part, Calvet, noted the expectations for growth this year, for which reason "it's necessary to be ready because there could be contingencies". "We have to have enough preparation, coordination and communication capacity for everything to run correctly", said Calvet, who commented on the importance of the airport "for the country's economy".