Barcelona flights

Part of the reason for Barcelona’s massive popularity as a short stay tourist destination was thanks to the arrival of the budget airlines in the 1990s.

One of Easyjet’s first routes was Luton to Barcelona, a city experiencing a renaissance thanks to investment following the death of Franco and then for the 1992 Olympics, which restored the city’s self confidence and pride.

A combination of low cost flights to a city that was rejuvenating itself, along with warmer weather and much lower cost of living than the UK made Barcelona irresistible to scores of travellers.

Where Easyjet lead, other no-frills airlines followed and today competition for cheap flights to Barcelona is fierce. There are flights from various airports across the UK to Barcelona, as well as airlines such as Ryanair, which flies to Girona-Costa Brava and Reus airports.

As well as Easyjet and Ryanair, Globespan flies to Barcelona in the summer from Edinburgh; Jet2 flies from Leeds Bradford to Barcelona; BMI Baby flies from Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands and Manchester.

This new age in low cost airfares has seen the major airlines, such as British Airways, hit hard and struggling to compete with their much more flexible competitors and burdened by huge overheads.

However, it can be worthwhile checking what offers are available because the low-frills airlines often have hidden costs, sometimes including check in at the departure airport. This is particularly true the closer you get to departure, as the low-frills prices increase.

One of the best tips for getting a good price on Barcelona flights from the low-cost airlines is to book as early as you can and be flexible with dates.

You can compare prices on Barcelona flights from the budget airlines at Skyscanner.

Updated: 2 Nov 2009 by David