Barcelona’s Airport Is About to Lose Two of Its Three Runways

Anyone flying through Barcelona in the second half of November should check their booking. From November 16 to November 26, Barcelona-El Prat will close two of its three runways, 02/20 and 06L/24R, and handle every arrival and departure on runway 06R/24L alone. The airport stays open throughout, but airport operator Aena says 1,441 slots have been removed from the schedule during the closure, roughly 15% of normal capacity. The aeronautical notice runs from 23:00 UTC on November 15 to 22:59 UTC on November 26.

The closure is for construction of a new rapid-exit taxiway linking runway 02/20 with taxiway T4. The €3.1 million project runs for about 12.5 months in total, with night works that began on September 21 and continue into the first half of December, plus occasional closures like this one. Aena stresses that the new exit will not raise the airport’s declared capacity. The aim is better safety and efficiency on the ground, lower fuel burn and less noise.

Removed slots are not the same thing as cancelled flights. Aena says airlines were told well in advance and have already adjusted their schedules, so most of the change is baked into timetables rather than appearing as last-minute cancellations. That said, schedule changes may mean different departure times, consolidated frequencies, or a rebooking notice in your inbox. There is precedent: when El Prat’s central runway closed for most of November 2018, hourly capacity fell from 76 to 46 movements.

Barcelona handled 57.48 million passengers in 2025, so even a 15% capacity trim touches a lot of travelers. Under EU261, airlines that change schedules with more than 14 days’ notice generally owe no fixed compensation, but passengers whose flights are cancelled are still entitled to a refund or rerouting. The practical advice is simple: confirm your flight times directly with your airline, don’t assume a booking has been cancelled unless you are told so, and allow extra time for possible ground delays.

Sources: Aena (press release), Rus Tourism News