Spanish airports face surge in delays and a 70% drop in crimes at Barcelona El Prat in H1 2026

In the first half of 2026, more than a third of flights departing from Spanish airports experienced a delay or cancellation, up from 20.1% a year earlier. AirHelp reports that out of 67 million passengers, over 24 million were affected, while on‑time performance fell to 63.3%, a drop of 15.8 percentage points from the same period in 2025. Only 525 000 travellers met the EU compensation criteria, slightly fewer than the previous year. Granada‑Jaén airport recorded the highest punctuality at 74.4%, while Fuerteventura, Santiago de Compostela and Ceuta posted the lowest rates, around 50% or less.

At Barcelona’s El Prat Airport, criminal incidents fell dramatically, with reports of offenses dropping 70% – from 2 451 in the first half of 2025 to 760 in the same period of 2026. The most common offence, theft, fell from 2 102 to 562. Arrests also declined, falling 77% to 174. Police attribute the improvement to a security plan introduced late‑2024 that added more officers and CCTV cameras, enabling the issuance of 69 restraining orders, half of which remain active.