Airport Airport

BCN Barcelona Airport Security Times

IATA Code:

BCN

Timezone:

UTC/GMT +2:00 hours

Airport local time:

Sunday, 1:01pm

Busy

Wait times are steady
Last Updated:
12:58 PM (UTC/GMT +2:00 hours)2026-04-05
Add Your Time
  • Data

    Qsensor makes use of data from Barcelona Airport.

  • Disclaimer

    Waiting times may not accurately reflect your experience. It is advisable to arrive at the airport well in advance and follow the recommendations of the airlines and airports.

  • Airport Last Updated

    12:58 PM (UTC/GMT +2:00 hours)2026-04-05

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  • Real-time wait times
  • Terminal comparisons
  • Total average

Wait Times by Day of Week

Average wait times based on the last 3 weeks of data.

2m
Mon
2m
Tue
2m
Wed
2m
Thu
2m
Fri
2m
Sat
3m
Sun

The average wait time at 1 pm at this airport is 3 minutes

Based on data from the past 3 weeks.
Current: 10 min (Longer wait than usual: avg wait time is 3 min)

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Analyse security wait time patterns over time and plan your perfect arrival. Pay once, access forever.

  • Trend analysis
  • Peak time identification
  • Weekday breakdown

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Latest Airport Arrival Time
Domestic 1h 10m before departure
International 1h 30m before departure
How we calculated this

Bag drop closes 45-60 min before departure. With an estimated 25 min bag drop queue, you need to arrive at the desk 70-85 min early. After that, allow 3 min for security (avg on Sundays) and 12 min to walk to your gate, which closes 15-20 min before departure.

Unlock Best & Worst Time

Discover the optimal times to fly through this airport based on historical patterns. Pay once, access forever.

  • Lowest wait time periods
  • Peak hours to avoid
  • Time savings insights

Best & Worst Times to Fly

Based on historical security wait times and flight delays across all days of the week.

Best Time
Night
9pm - 4am
1 min avg wait
18 min avg flight delay
Worst Time
Afternoon
12pm - 5pm
3 min avg wait
26 min avg flight delay
Flying in the Night instead of Afternoon could save you up to 2 minutes in security lines and 8 minutes in flight delays.

How Busy
Is the Airport?

Based on live and historical flight patterns. Tap a bar to see details.

As busy as usual (29 flights vs 27 avg)
12 am
1 am
2 am
3 am
4 am
5 am
6 am
7 am
8 am
9 am
10 am
11 am
12 pm
1 pm
2 pm
3 pm
4 pm
5 pm
6 pm
7 pm
8 pm
9 pm
10 pm
11 pm
Not busy
A bit busy
Busy
Very busy

Flight Delays

Current: 13 min (Lower than usual: avg wait time is 22 min)
Last Updated:
-- --

Flight Status

On Time (0-15 min)
Delayed (16-45 min)
Severely Delayed (>45 min)

Select a day to view flight status

Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN) Guide

Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN), locally known simply as “El Prat,” is the primary gateway to Catalonia. Located 15 kilometers southwest of Barcelona, it is the second-busiest airport in Spain and a major European hub. For the traveller, the airport is defined by its two distinct terminals, which are 4 kilometers apart and function almost as separate airports. Terminal 1 (T1) is the sleek, modern hub for major international carriers and Vueling. Terminal 2 (T2) is the historic terminal, now serving as the base for low-cost carriers like Ryanair and easyJet. Understanding which terminal you need is the single most important step in navigating BCN.

Barcelona Airport FAQ

Barcelona Airport is currently Busy based on real-time flight departure data.

The current Security wait time at Barcelona Airport is approximately 10 minutes.

Security wait times at Barcelona Airport vary throughout the day. Check the historical wait time chart on this page to find the quietest times.

The official name is Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN). It is commonly referred to as “El Prat.” It is located approximately 15 km southwest of Barcelona city center.

There are two main terminals, Terminal 1 (T1) and Terminal 2 (T2), located 4 km apart.

  • Terminal 1 (T1): The newer, larger terminal. Used by major international airlines (Air France, British Airways, Delta, Lufthansa, United) and hub carriers like Vueling and Iberia.
  • Terminal 2 (T2): The older terminal, divided into T2A, T2B, and T2C. Primarily used by low-cost carriers like Ryanair, Wizz Air, and easyJet (easyJet specifically operates from T2C).

A free green shuttle bus runs between the terminals 24 hours a day.

  • Frequency: Every 5–10 minutes (less frequent at night).
  • Travel Time: The ride runs every 5-10 minutes and takes about 10–15 minutes.
  • Tip: You must exit the building to take this bus; it runs “landside.” Always allow at least 30–45 minutes total to switch terminals.

The Aerobús (Lines A1 for T1, A2 for T2) is the most popular choice. It takes about 35 minutes to reach Plaça de Catalunya. Buses run 24/7, every 5–10 minutes, and feature Wi-Fi and USB chargers. Tickets cost ~€7.45 one-way.

No. This is a common mistake. The standard 10-trip T-casual ticket is not valid for the L9 Sud Metro stations at the airport (Aeroport T1 and Aeroport T2). You must buy a special “Airport Ticket” (~€5.70) to enter or exit these stations.

The train station is located only at Terminal 2. If you arrive at T1, you must take the free shuttle bus to T2 to catch the train. It connects to Barcelona Sants and Passeig de Gràcia (not Plaça de Catalunya directly). It is the cheapest option if you use a T-casual card.

Rideshare apps pick up in designated VTC (Vehículos de Turismo con Conductor) zones, not at the standard taxi rank.

  • Terminal 1: Follow signs for parking/VTC, typically found on the lower arrivals level or parking G.
  • Terminal 2: Look for the VTC area signs outside the arrivals hall.

Because the shuttle bus connects the terminals outside the secure zone, transferring from T1 to T2 (or vice versa) requires you to clear immigration, enter Spain, and re-clear security. If you are a non-EU citizen who requires a visa to enter the Schengen area, you cannot switch terminals without one, even if your bags are checked through.

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Security Wait Times

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Updates every 5–15 minutes from official feeds and crowdsourced reports
Per-terminal and per-queue breakdowns
Historical charts showing quietest times to fly

Flight Delay Tracking

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Qsensor FAQ

Live data: For the majority of the airports we track we use live data from the airport. For the remaining airports we provide a modelled projection, combined with crowdsourced data.

Search: By airport name, IATA code, city, county, country or region. To save you time, we keep your last visited airports on the front page. If you can’t find an airport, contact us using the contact form and we will look to add it. 

Current average wait time: The airport’s latest average security, passport control or customs queue wait time. If the airport has multiple queues, we display the average of them. If you want a more granular view that includes wait times for individual queues, take a look at the terminal level wait times. We regularly update each airport’s data,  but make sure you click the “i” icon to check when the last update was made.

Terminal level wait times: The latest security or customs queue wait time for individual terminals. Click on the terminal to access more information at the terminal level. Please note that this data is not available for all airports. We are working to expand this functionality to as many airports as possible.

Historical wait times: The typical wait time on different days and times over the past 2 weeks. Click the filter at the top right of the graph to cycle through the days of the week.

Add a security or customs queue wait time: How was your airport security experience? Contribute to the community by inputting your wait time. This feature is only available for airports where Qsensor does not automatically track data. To add a wait time, simply click the “Add Your Time” button on the airports page and follow the instructions.

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Please note that this data is monitored and may be modified or deleted if found to be invalid.

Click the “i” icon to view and take note of more contextual information on each airport. “Airport Last Updated” denotes the last time the data was refreshed.

Our sources for wait time data vary and may include air travel data aggregators, federal agencies such as the TSA, CATSA CBP, or information from the airport and its affiliated service providers. For some airports, Qsensor utilises its proprietary queue modelling technology to project wait times. Additionally, we crowdsource data from passengers who have input their wait time using the “Add Your Time” button.

Qsensor is not affiliated with any airport, airline, or associated service provider.

We regularly check queue times and flight delays for accuracy, however all times are estimates and waiting times and delays may not accurately reflect your experience. It is advisable to arrive at the airport well in advance and follow the recommendations of the airlines and airports.

There are a wide array of ways that queue data is measured. Including but not limited to looking at how long a passenger takes to get from scanning their boarding pass to exiting the security or customs area. Auditing passengers on how long it took them to pass through security or customs as well as Qsensors’ proprietary system for user added wait times. 

For airport wait times, we currently support over 140 airports worldwide. Whether it be London Heathrow, Istanbul, or Miami – we have got you covered. More are added all the time. Is Qsensor missing an airport that you want to be supported? We are more than happy to accommodate your request, get in touch via the contact form. 

For flight delays and cancellations, we currently support 12 airports, with the goal of expanding coverage going forwards.

Qsensor automatically tracks wait times for a variety of airports including London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, Amsterdam Schiphol, Kempegowda Bangalore, Madrid Barajas, Hong Kong, Istanbul, and many more!

For flight delays and cancellations, we track OHare, Gatwick, Heathrow, Barcelona and more.

Qsensor is available in English, German, Italian, Greek, Spanish, French, Polish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese and Arabic.

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Make sure you include the name of the airport and its IATA code in your request!

The flight delay tracker gives you a comprehensive view of flight status delays, both for the current day and historically on a per flight basis. Tap on a weekday to see all flights that have historically taken off on that day and their typical delay over the past two weeks. You can also search for your flight using your flight number and view the airport’s average delay.

Get insights into flight on-time performance and make better travel decisions. Please note, this feature is not available for all airports, but we’re adding more all the time!

To keep wait times relevant, the message “There is currently no data for this airport.” is shown when no traveller has recently inputted a wait time.

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For airports Qsensor automatically tracks, this message may also be shown if we haven’t recently gotten data from the airport. This typically rectifies itself within 12 hours.

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