airports in Spain

One Spanish airport has beaten the world’s biggest hubs to take first place

Published

2 hours ago

October 12, 2026

admin

The result puts two major Spanish gateways among the leading airports. Photo credit: Giulio Benzin/Shutterstock

If you have ever rushed through an airport hoping to clear security, find your gate and grab a coffee before boarding, you will know how much the airport itself can shape a trip. Now, two of Spain’s busiest airports have been recognised in a new international ranking, with Barcelona-El Prat taking the top spot among the world’s largest airports and Madrid-Barajas also securing a place in the top ten.

The results come from the 2026 World Consumer Airport Index, published by the Consumer Choice Center. Rather than looking only at passenger satisfaction or flight punctuality, the index considers several practical factors that can make travelling easier or more frustrating.

Barcelona airport takes first place

Barcelona-El Prat Josep Tarradellas Airport has been ranked the best large airport in the world, ahead of major international hubs in Europe, the United States, Asia and the Middle East. Rome Fiumicino Airport takes second place, followed by Los Angeles International Airport in third. Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport ranks fourth, while Paris Charles de Gaulle comes fifth. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah is sixth, followed by London Heathrow in seventh place.

Madrid-Barajas comes eighth, with Tokyo Haneda in ninth and Dubai International Airport completing the top ten. For passengers travelling through Barcelona, one of the standout findings concerns security. The report highlights an average waiting time of just three minutes, putting the airport among those that perform well on this measure. For travellers who have experienced long queues before a flight, although the ranking does not guarantee that every passenger will get through security in three minutes. Waiting times can still vary depending on the day, time and volume of passengers.

What makes an airport the best?

The index assesses airports using factors that affect the journey before passengers even board their flights. These include connections to public transport, how easily passengers can move between terminals and gates, the range of airlines available, average flight delays and whether an airport hotel is available. Airports also receive additional points if security waiting times are below three minutes and if they operate without a night-time curfew.

The ranking divides airports into two groups according to passenger numbers. Those handling more than 47.2 million passengers a year are assessed separately from smaller airports, allowing the report to compare facilities operating at different scales. Barcelona’s first-place finish applies to the large-airport category, rather than every airport worldwide regardless of size.

Spain’s second airport success

Madrid-Barajas is the other Spanish airport to feature in the top ten, taking eighth place in the large-airport ranking. The result puts two major Spanish gateways among the leading airports in their category, with Barcelona ahead of established hubs including Heathrow, Charles de Gaulle and Dubai.

Spain’s airports handled a record 384.8 million passengers in 2025, an increase of 3.4 per cent compared with 2024. That growing volume makes the passenger experience at major airports particularly relevant for people living in Spain, as well as the millions of visitors who pass through each year.

Which smaller airport came first?

Barcelona was not the only European airport to claim the leading position. Düsseldorf Airport in Germany topped the separate ranking for airports handling fewer than 47.2 million passengers annually. Zurich came second, followed by Copenhagen in third. Helsinki and Milan Malpensa also featured among the top five smaller airports.

The findings underline that the best-performing airport depends partly on the category being assessed, rather than passenger numbers alone. It is also worth noting that this is not the same as the Skytrax World Airport Awards, which use a different assessment based on passenger surveys. Those awards can produce a different winner, so Barcelona’s position here should be understood specifically within the Consumer Choice Center’s index.

For anyone flying from Spain, the ranking offers a welcome recognition for Barcelona and Madrid. But the real test for passengers will still be the experience on the day: getting to the terminal, clearing security, reaching the gate and making the flight on time.

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Two Spanish Airports Hit By Separate Aircraft Emergencies Within Hours

Published

2 weeks ago

September 25, 2026

Molly Grace

two-spanish-airports-hit-by-separate-aircraft-emergencies-within-hours

The first incident happened at Barcelona-El Prat. Photo credit: muratart/Shutterstock

If you’ve ever been on a plane when something goes wrong, you’ll know how quickly the mood can change. One minute people are settling into their seats or watching the departure board, and the next everyone is looking around trying to work out what is happening.

That was the reality for passengers at two Spanish airports on Friday, after two separate aircraft emergencies unfolded within hours of each other. One plane had to turn back shortly after taking off from Barcelona, while another ended up making an emergency landing in Valencia.

Smoke and flames force plane to turn back

The first incident happened at Barcelona-El Prat shortly after a Delta Airlines flight bound for Atlanta took off. Smoke and flames were detected from one of the aircraft’s engines during the departure, prompting the pilots to turn around and head back towards the airport. The situation triggered the airport’s emergency response, with firefighters and other emergency teams mobilised to make sure the aircraft could land safely.

Civil Protection also activated the AEROCAT aviation emergency plan at alert level as a precaution while the plane returned to El Prat. The aircraft landed without any reported injuries or material damage, and passengers were able to leave the plane normally. It was later removed from the runway, with reports putting the time at around 1:30pm. Investigators are looking into what caused the engine problem, with a possible bird strike and an internal engine fault among the possibilities being examined.

Second emergency hits Valencia

The situation was not connected to what happened in Barcelona, but only a few hours later another aircraft needed to make an emergency landing at Valencia Airport. The aircraft was an Airbus A320 operated by Swiss, travelling from Zurich to Valencia.

Rather than going straight in to land, the plane spent time circling before eventually coming down at Valencia Airport at around 3:30pm. The aircraft then remained on the runway for several minutes while the situation was dealt with. That was enough to cause disruption elsewhere at the airport, with five other flights diverted to alternative airports.

Five flights diverted

The affected flights had been due to arrive from Malta, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Basel and Marrakech. Arrivals and departures at Valencia were also suspended for several minutes while the Swiss aircraft remained on the runway. The disruption was temporary, and airport operations subsequently returned to normal.

There were no reports of injuries resulting from the emergency landing, meaning both incidents ended without the kind of consequences passengers and airport staff would have feared when emergency procedures were activated. For people travelling through Valencia that afternoon, however, the incident meant that a problem involving one aircraft quickly became a problem for several other flights. Passengers whose planes were diverted had to wait for their journeys to be reorganised before continuing to Valencia.

When an aircraft needs priority

An emergency landing can affect much more than the aircraft involved. Air traffic controllers have to make room for the incoming plane, while ground teams prepare for its arrival and other aircraft may have to wait, change their route or use another airport. How much disruption follows depends on how long the aircraft remains on the runway and what other traffic is scheduled at the time.

That is why the same type of emergency can have very different consequences for passengers. One aircraft can return to its departure airport and be dealt with without major disruption, while another can leave an airport temporarily unable to handle its normal flow of arriving and departing flights

Two incidents, hours apart

For the people caught up in the two flights, Friday’s problems began as something they could not have anticipated when they boarded or arrived at the airport. What started as a regular journey changed suddenly, leaving crews to deal with situations that passengers had no control over.

There is also something particularly unsettling about the timing. The two aircraft were operated by different airlines and were travelling on completely different routes, yet both ended up needing emergency assistance at Spanish airports within the same afternoon.