The Barcelona Air Routes Development Committee (BARDC) is participating in Routes World in Istanbul

• The event, scheduled for 15-17 October in Istanbul, is a significant networking opportunity for airlines and airports.
• BARDC will participate in the yearly event with the primary goal of attracting new intercontinental destinations and regaining those that have not yet been recovered or have resumed with limited frequencies due to the impact of Covid-19.
• During this year’s summer season, there were a total of 49 operational intercontinental destinations, 3 of which were launched recently. In 2019, there were 47 intercontinental routes available for passengers.

Barcelona, 14th October 2023 – The Barcelona Air Routes Development Committee (BARDC) aims to connect with industry professionals at the 28th edition of Routes World. Their participation intends to aid the recovery of intercontinental air traffic at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport. The event from 15th to 17th October in Istanbul is a significant meeting of airlines, airports, and organizations interested in the airport sector. The purpose of the gathering is to discuss future world air routes.

The Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat airport closed in 2022 with optimistic figures that indicate a speedy recovery. Furthermore, this recovery of air traffic is continue in 2023, particularly in terms of air connectivity with China. At present, the Asian market remains one of Barcelona’s most critical sectors, with connections already restored to Beijing and Shenzhen.

With the European network fully restored in terms of destinations, BARDC now faces the challenge of recovering the intercontinental market and launching new destinations. In this regard, BARDC’s member institutions are collaborating to aid airlines’ return and explore bespoke opportunities such as air cargo and new ad hoc routes.

For this reason, the BARDC delegation will continue to have its own stand, as in previous editions, which will share the presence of its four members: Government of Catalonia represented by Aeroports de Catalunya, Aena, the Barcelona City Council, and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, ​​as well as the Catalan Tourism Board and Barcelona Tourism Board.

An agenda of meetings to restore and open connections in the Asian market and increase frequencies and destinations in North America and Latin America

The BARDC’s work program for Routes World 2023 foresees an agenda of meetings with airlines and airports, to continue to drive airline recovery, whether by increasing frequencies on existing routes with high demand or attracting new routes, as set out in the latest BARDC Strategic Plan 2021-2024.

Currently, one of BARDC’s main objectives is to recover high-impact connectivity, which corresponds to destinations that are key global hubs for economic, cultural, tourism, negotiation, and high social impact reasons. A recovery that does not only require a direct connection but also to regain the companies and weekly frequencies prior to the pandemic.

Source:www.barcelonalinks.org / www.gpa.aero