In Transit: Barcelona‑El Prat Airport
One of the many perks of being an airline pilot is not having to live where you are based. Hitching a lift in a crew seat is one of the most time-honored benefits of the industry. Long ago I chose to leave my crew base in chilly Northern Europe for the much warmer (and tax-friendlier) climes of Northern Spain. It’s a lifestyle choice with a lot of upside, but one that entails spending a lot more time than anyone should in one particular place: Barcelona’s el Prat airport.
El Prat is actually two airports. The northern terminal (now Terminal 2), originally built in the 1940s, was expanded and refurbished in the 1980s to support the 1992 Olympic Games, and has basically been left to fester ever since, not unlike a great deal of Barcelona’s infrastructure. This dilapidated terminal is now home to low-cost airlines such as Norwegian and Easyjet, though not by the ubiquitous Vueling, the Iberia-owned budget king of Spain based in Barcelona.
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