It was in June of this year that Barcelona El Prat airport's brand new Terminal One opened for passengers and, so far, it has managed to avoid most of the teething problems which beset similar events in Madrid and London Heathrow. Early indications were that, although check-in was taking a little longer than usual, passengers were, on the whole, impressed by the new buildings.
Designed by Spanish architect Ricardo Bofíll, the new terminal, has an abundance of impressive statistics - 168 check-in desks, 15 baggage carousels (each one equivalent to 4 in the old terminal) and already 81 shops and restaurants, which will rise to a total of 116 when everything is fully operational.
But what does it mean for people flying to Barcelona, apart from the fact they will have more shops?
Well, until the early autumn, the only airlines flying in and out of the terminal will be those of the Star Alliance group but then One World Alliance partners, Vueling and Sky Team will also join them. The majority of the low cost airlines will continue to fly into the old terminal for the time being. Previously, El Prat had three designated terminals in the building, A,B and C and these will simply be re-named Terminal 2A, 2B and 2C. Obviously travellers will need to check their ticket to confirm which terminal they will be flying into. If your ticket simply says Terminal 1 or Terminal 2 then you should have no problems but, for a short time, there might be people with A,B or C on their ticket. If that is the case, then you will need to check with your airline or the AENA website because the ticket does not contain the up-to-the-minute information you require.
Terminal 1 does have two large car parks - with in excess of 12,000 spaces - with plenty of Blue Badge spaces on the second floor of each of the nine-storey blocks. There are shuttle buses linking the two terminal buildings - a 14 minute journey which is free to passengers - and, if you should be passing through Barcelona in transit and need to change Terminal buildings for your connecting flight, there are airside shuttles.
For those people who want to journey into Barcelona by train, the RENFE station remains adjacent to Terminal 2 but there is a shuttle bus service from the new building.
A word of warning here, though. At the time of writing, you would be strongly advised not to take a taxi from Terminal 1 to the station or Terminal 2 unless it is a genuine emergency. The minimum fare, even for this journey of less than 10 minutes, is currently €20.
If you ever had to walk the length of what is now Terminal 2 in order to get from Terminal A to C, you will be relieved to know that in the new Terminal 1, although the distances can be equally as long, at least there are moving walkways. It is just as well as some of the gates are quite a distance from the main areas.
Anyone who suffered in the congestion of the old El Prat terminal building cannot help but be overjoyed at the opening of the new Terminal 1. With plenty of space - it covers 134.43 acres of land, an abundance of retail and food outlets as well as places to wait, and with some splendid views over the runways, the sea and nearby wooded areas, it should make Barcelona airport a much more pleasant experience.
See Barcelona Travelogue for more information on Barcelona Airport and flights to Barcelona.
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