Barcelona Airport terminals T1 and T2 (T2A, T2B, T2C): floors, gates and services

Which terminal are you in?

How the two terminals are laid out

T1 and T2 stand about 4 km apart by road. No walkway joins them and there is no airside link, so once through security you stay in the terminal you are in. T1 is a single building on four floors, numbered 0 to 3; T2 is one terminal of three linked sections, T2A, T2B and T2C, on Floors 0 and 1.

In both terminals, security and, on flights leaving the Schengen area, passport control separate the public halls from the boarding areas. Services do not repeat from one terminal to the other, or even between T2's sections: a desk in T2B is not necessarily in T2A or T2C.

Each terminal has a medical service, and 47 defibrillators (cardiac rescue points) are spread between the two; Aena Maps, the indoor guidance in the Aena app, finds the nearest one, as it does the toilets and the drinking fountains, which are usually close by. Aena's shop directory lists a pharmacy in T1 and another in T2: ask at an information desk where it is and when it opens. For walking directions inside a terminal, Aena's website has a route calculator.

Gates: which letters are in which terminal

The gate letter tells you the terminal and whether passport control lies on the way. A gate starting with A, B or C is in T1, whatever the names of T2's sections T2A, T2B and T2C suggest. Gates can change after check-in, so follow the screens.

Terminal 1 (T1) floor by floor

Vueling, Iberia, LEVEL and most long-haul airlines operate from T1, which opened in 2009. Floor 0 is the lower level, with the Metro; Floor 3 is departures, with its own forecourt and shuttle stop. Global Exchange keeps a public office in T1 open 24 hours.

Floor 3: check-in, security and gates D and E

The check-in hall divides into the North dock and the South dock, with self check-in machines and, for some airlines, self bag-drop. You clear security at the central checkpoint on this floor, and the Fast Track, open from 04:00 to 23:00, has its own access on Floor 3 as well. Non-Schengen passengers then go through passport control to boarding areas D and E without changing floor.

Floor 2: lounges and connections security

The Pau Casals lounge, on the Schengen side, and the Joan Miró lounge, on the non-Schengen side, share Floor 2 with the connections security checkpoint. Passengers who fly in from outside Schengen and connect in T1 may be routed through it (lounge hours and prices).

Floor 1: arrivals, La Plaza and gates A, B and C

Floor 1 has a public side and a boarding side. Bags come out in the Sky Center hall, or at Carousel 00 for the Barcelona–Madrid air shuttle; after customs you reach the arrivals hall and La Plaza, with the meeting point, the car-hire desks, the bank and the tourist office. On the boarding side are the Schengen areas A, B and C and the North and South courtyards, and the air shuttle has an area of its own with the Colomer lounge.

Floor 0: Metro, left luggage and the shuttle

The lower level holds the Aeroport T1 station of Metro L9 Sud, where a tourist office opens from 08:30 to 14:30, the intermodal lobby, the Excess Baggage left-luggage office, open 24 hours (contacts), and the shuttle stop on the arrivals side.

Customs and firearms in T1

Customs has posts in the T1 arrivals area and in the transit area between non-Schengen and Schengen flights; ask at an information desk for its hours. Travellers with firearms complete the formalities at the Weapons Intervention Office in module P30, open 07:30–20:30 Monday to Friday and 07:00–15:00 at weekends and on public holidays, or online at the Guardia Civil's electronic office; outside those hours the Guardia Civil's Citizen Attention Office next door deals with it.

Getting to and from T1

• Metro L9 Sud: Aeroport T1, on Floor 0. Change to L1 at Torrassa or L5 at Collblanc for the centre; you need the €5.70 Airport Ticket, as the T-casual does not open the barriers.
• Aerobús A1: from outside arrivals, 24 hours.
• Buses: the 46 to Plaça Espanya by day, the N17 and N18 at night.
• Train: T1 has no Rodalies station; ride the shuttle to T2.
• Taxi: the rank is outside arrivals.
• Uber, Cabify, Bolt: a signed VTC area, not the taxi rank. Cabify picks up from the outdoor waiting area outside departures on Floor 3; follow the meeting point in your app.
• Car hire: Avis, Enterprise, Europcar, Goldcar, Hertz-Thrifty, Sixt and Record Go in the Floor 1 arrivals hall, OK Mobility in La Plaza; call the number in your booking confirmation.
• General car park: a building with direct access to T1, open 24 hours, with more than 9,000 spaces, 2.2 m headroom, per-minute charging, EV chargers and its office on Floor 1.
• Express car park: on the road to departures; 10 minutes free, then the whole stay is charged, 2 hours at most, 3.5 m headroom.
• Long-stay (almost 1,000 spaces, 4.3 m headroom) and Low-cost (2.2 m): only with a booking and a flight from T1, linked by a free shuttle bus (times).
• VIP valet parking, a paid motorcycle car park and a Bicibox bike module; Aena shows each car park's price when you book.

Terminal 2 (T2): T2A, T2B and T2C

T2 is the older terminal, one building in three sections, with Ryanair and Transavia mainly in T2B and easyJet mainly in T2C, and Global Exchange keeps a 24-hour office at T2B departures. On Floor 0 each section has its own arrivals area, and T2B and T2C also have check-in. Floor 1 is the airside floor, with the T2B and T2C security checkpoints, the gates and the Canudas lounge.

T2A, Floor 0: non-Schengen arrivals

T2A is not used for departures. Its reclaim hall A takes non-Schengen flights, apart from easyJet and Pegasus, and those passengers clear passport control before they reach it. The arrivals area has customs, a Global Exchange office open from 08:30 to 00:30 and trolleys with a child seat.

T2B, Floor 0: check-in and the T2 arrivals hall

T2B has check-in for Ryanair and Transavia, reclaim hall B for Schengen flights except easyJet and Norwegian, and the arrivals hall where T2's meeting point and every T2 car-hire desk are.

T2C, Floor 0: easyJet

T2C has easyJet's check-in and reclaim hall C, which also takes Norwegian and Pegasus flights; non-Schengen passengers clear passport control before reclaim. Customs is in the arrivals area, Global Exchange has an office on the forecourt from 07:00 to 15:00, and the shuttle stops on the exterior road.

Elsewhere on T2 Floor 0

T2's ground floor also has the Excess Baggage left-luggage office, open 06:00–22:00 (contacts), a pet lawn, another Correos post box and a petrol station open 06:00–22:00, with petrol, diesel, LPG, a tunnel car wash and a shop.

Floor 1: security, gates and the Canudas lounge

Past the T2B and T2C security checkpoints, Floor 1 holds the gates (letters by zone), the connections security checkpoint for passengers who flew in from outside Schengen, the Canudas lounge and these services:

Getting to and from T2

• Train: Rodalies R2 Nord from the Aeroport station, reached by a covered walkway, to Sants, Passeig de Gràcia and El Clot-Aragó.
• Metro L9 Sud: Aeroport T2 station, where the same Airport Ticket rule applies as at T1.
• Aerobús A2: from outside arrivals, 24 hours.
• Buses: the 46 by day, the N16 and N18 at night.
• Taxi: the rank is outside arrivals.
• Uber, Cabify, Bolt: a signed VTC area. Cabify passengers leave T2A by the front doors and cross to the VTC area beside the car park.
• Car hire: every desk is in the T2B arrivals hall on Floor 0: Avis, Enterprise, Europcar, Firefly (at T2 only), Goldcar, Hertz-Thrifty, OK Mobility, Sixt and Record Go.
• General car park: the PA and PC buildings and an open-air car park opposite T2A, T2B and T2C, a few metres from the terminal; more than 8,000 spaces, 4.3 m headroom, office on Floor 0 of building C.
• Express car park: on the road to the T2 departures and arrivals area, with the same 10 free minutes and 2-hour limit as at T1.
• VIP valet parking, with an information office at T2; free, unguarded motorcycle areas at T2A-B, T2B-1, T2B-2, T2B-C and T2C; bike parking at T2B and T2C.

Baggage reclaim halls and baggage desks

The screens in each hall give your carousel, and special or oversized items come out at dedicated carousels. Report a delayed, damaged or missing bag at the handling agent's desk in the hall before you walk out; Aena does not handle baggage claims.

Phone numbers: Groundforce +34 932 930 648, Aviapartner +34 655 322 037, South Europe Ground Services +34 900 111 342, Ryanair +34 932 596 252 at T2A and +34 932 596 251 at T2B. Volotea, like easyJet, works with roving agents. Carrying cases for you, special baggage and what to do after a PIR: baggage.

Lounges: three in T1, one in T2

All four are Aena VIP lounges past security. You may stay up to 3 hours before your scheduled departure, and a pass bought online is valid for 3 months.

Pau Casals, Joan Miró and Canudas have showers. Pau Casals adds a children's area and a nursing room, Joan Miró a nursing room, a prayer room and a silent room, and Canudas a silent room; all four serve gluten-free, kosher and halal food and offer Wi-Fi, work areas and access for passengers with reduced mobility.

Canudas, the only lounge in T2, sits by gate U on the Schengen side; if your flight leaves from W, Y or M, ask at the lounge before you buy. In T1, passport control between the piers commits you to one side, so choose the lounge for your gate. Business-class tickets and airline status often include a lounge, but the airline decides which; Priority Pass, LoungeKey, DragonPass and bank cards depend on the card, so check your card's app. Booking in detail: lounges.

Fast Track in T1, Fast Lane in T2

Both buy you a shorter queue at security, and nothing more: no priority at passport control or at boarding. Each access is for one person, used once, valid for 3 months, and works at a door reader where you scan the QR code first and the boarding pass second.

The 100 ml limit on liquid containers applies at every lane. Business-class passengers and some airline loyalty card holders have the service included, so confirm with your airline before paying. Buy through Aena's website or app only; Aena Club members may get a discount, depending on their plan. Passengers on Barrier Free assistance need neither product (Fast Track and Fast Lane in detail).

Left luggage and lost property

Left luggage is run by Excess Baggage in both terminals: on T1 Floor 0, open 24 hours (+34 938 307 773, [email protected]), and on T2 Floor 0, open from 06:00 to 22:00 ([email protected]). The desk gives current prices.

Aena's lost property office on T1 Floor 1 handles what is found in both terminals and the car parks, including things left in the trays at security: e-mail [email protected], phone +34 932 596 440, Monday to Saturday 08:00–18:00, closed on Sundays and public holidays. Ask the office how long it keeps items, whether it can ship them and whether someone else can collect for you. Anything left on the aircraft is the airline's to trace, and losses on the Metro, train, Aerobús or in a taxi have their own routes (lost and found).

Barrier Free call points in T1 and T2

To start Barrier Free assistance on the day, press the button at one of these 17 call points and wait, or report to your airline's check-in desk. Two points are out of service at present: use the nearest working one or the intercom.

Be at the point at least 2 hours before departure. Accessible toilets are shown in Aena Maps, and how to book the service is on the special assistance page.

Getting between T1 and T2

Changing terminal means leaving the building. Aena's free shuttle bus runs 24 hours a day, public holidays included, at these intervals:

It stops at T1 Floor 0 (arrivals) and T1 Floor 3 (departures), at T2B for departures and arrivals, and on T2C's exterior road. The ride takes about 10 minutes from T1 to T2B or T2C and about 14 minutes from T2 to T1; door to door, 15 to 20 minutes is realistic, more at busy times.

Inside T2

From T2A to T2B is about 2 minutes on foot; from T2B to T2C, about 5 minutes on foot or 1 minute on the shuttle.

Other links between the terminals

• Metro L9 Sud calls at Aeroport T1 and Aeroport T2, with a paid ticket.
• Bus 46 and night bus N18 serve both terminals.
• Arriving by Rodalies at T2 for a T1 flight, switch there to the shuttle or the Metro.
• The long-stay and low-cost car park bus, for T1 flights, runs every 20 minutes: October to March 05:00–00:00, April and May 04:30–00:30, June to September 04:30–01:00, and at night on request on +34 932 596 372.

On a flight connection between T1 and T2 you pass security again at the second terminal, and the change may also bring passport control and re-checking your bags: confirm with your airline and allow at least an extra hour.