Spain’s airport operator Aena to develop two new hotels in Barcelona and Madrid
Spain’s government-owned airport operator Aena announced on October 1, 2025, that it has initiated the tender process for the development of two hotels, which will be located within the premises of Barcelona-El Prat (BCN) and Madrid-Barajas (MAD) airports.
Once completed, these will be the first ever hotels to operate within the grounds of these two large international airports. Despite handling more than 120 million passengers combined in 2024 (66 million in Madrid and 55 in Barcelona), neither airport currently has a hotel within its premises. So, passengers wishing to spend the night in or near the airport must opt for properties outside the airport proper.
The Barcelona hotel will be located in front of Terminal 2 (T2), which is the oldest of the two airport terminals and is currently used mostly by low-cost carriers, while the Madrid hotel will be located within the airport’s Terminal 2, where Air Europa, Spain’s second largest independent airline, is the main tenant.
Aena expects to attract interest from international hotel operators for the bidding process. The successful investors will be granted a 75-year contract to manage the hotels.
The hotels will need to have at least 300 rooms each and offer a four-star level of service. The tender requirements also lay out the need to offer a number of services such as restaurants, conference facilities, retail establishments, and a fitness center.
The winning offer will also have to take into consideration a number of sustainability requirements laid out in Aena’s sustainability “white book”, which align with the United Nations sustainable development goals.
The built-up surface area will be 20,000 m2 for the Barcelona hotel and 18,400 m2 for Madrid. The development of the two hotels is part of Aena’s strategy to turn the two largest airports in its network into proper “airport cities” supporting a whole mix of activities, both air side and land side.
In this regard, Aena recently launched the tender for the development of several plots of land adjacent to Barcelona airport for logistics operators to set up operations.
In Madrid, similar developments within or around the airport’s grounds have involved the rental of a 22,000 m2 MRO hangar to Ryanair, the construction of a large new Lidl supermarket, the development of two new air cargo terminals and the construction of Aena’s new corporate headquarters next to the airport’s Terminal 4 (T4).
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Spain’s government-owned airport operator Aena announced on October 1, 2025, that it has initiated the tender process for…
The post Spain’s airport operator Aena to develop two new hotels in Barcelona and Madrid appeared first on AeroTime.
