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With 3,650,780 seats available on scheduled flights between Barcelona El Prat and Madrid Barajas in 2019, this route between Spain’s two most populous cities is Europe’s busiest by a margin of almost 500,000. Second in the list is Turkey’s Izmir-Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen, with 3,171,479 seats, with the third busiest (3,041,975) linking Izmir and Istanbul Atatürk.
The above figure represents 10,000 seats available on scheduled flights every day. The route, known as the ‘Puente Aéreo’ (Air Bridge), is served by Spanish flag carrier Iberia, as well as the country’s second and third largest airlines, low-cost carrier Vueling and Air Europa. Flights are scheduled to take around an hour and a half. However, the airlines have more to compete with than just each other.
Since its opening in February 2008, the 386-mile Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line has added an extra dynamic to this competitive corridor. Journeys along this line, whose trains are capable of 333 km/h (207mph), take just two and a half hours.
This represents a strong alternative, particularly for city center to city center journeys.