Barcelona is enhancing its connectivity with Asia by offering a new route between the city and China operated by the airline China Eastern, which will start in late September. Josep Tarradellas Barcelona – El Prat airport will have seven direct weekly flights to Shanghai, four operated by China Eastern and three by Air China. Plus, in July and August, Air China is offering a daily flight to Shanghai instead of the three flights per week it offers the other months.

China Eastern’s flights to Shanghai are particularly strategic, as this is the first time the company has operated from Barcelona. The increased frequency in routes connecting with Shanghai will improve connections with strategic Asian markets, one of the goals of the Strategic Plan of Barcelona Air Route Development Committee (CDRA).

This plan pursues three main goals: to secure routes to strategic destinations in high demand that are currently not served; to increase the frequencies and minimise the seasonality of the existing routes; and to promote Barcelona as an air freight hub. The CDRA is made up by Barcelona City Council, AENA, the Catalan government and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce.

More connections with North America, the Middle East and North Africa

Delta Air Lines will be expanding its range of flights to the United States in May 2026 with three weekly flights to Seattle. Until now, it has offered flights that connected Barcelona with Boston, Atlanta and New York. According to the airline, the decision took into account the fact that Barcelona is one of the top ten destinations on the Delta Air Lines website this summer.

The second new connection with North America is the one offered this summer by the Canadian airline WestJet. Since June, it has been offering four weekly flights (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday) to Halifax (Canada). The airline is expanding its presence in Barcelona, from where it is offering three weekly flights to Calgary in the summer.

In early July, Vueling opened a direct route between Barcelona and Essaouira on Morocco’s Atlantic coast. This is the first connection between the two cities, and it offers two flights per week during the summer (Thursday and Sunday). Middle East Airlines is offering a new intercontinental route connecting Barcelona and Beirut (Lebanon). It is offering three journeys per week (Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday) that will join two cities with powerful tech ecosystems.

Higher frequencies

In addition to the new routes, the CDRA considers improving the capacity of the existing strategic routes one of its top priorities. For example, starting on 26 October, Emirates airline will increase the frequency of connections between Barcelona and Dubai to three flights per day. There are currently two daily flights —one connects Dubai with Mexico City via Barcelona— which will be upped to three in the autumn.