✈️ Airport - Aeropuerto

Aa ⏱ ≈ 15 minutes

Beginner Spanish · Airport travel

At the Airport in Spanish

Airport Spanish becomes much easier when you learn the language in the order you are likely to use it: check your luggage, find your gate, check your flight, board, and collect your bags after landing.

Your next small win: check a suitcase, show your passport, ask where your gate is, understand basic flight status, and find your luggage after arrival.

Start with the essentials

Core Airport Vocabulary

These words appear throughout a typical airport journey.

aeropuerto
Airport
vuelo
Flight
pasaporte
Passport
tarjeta de embarque
Boarding pass
equipaje
Luggage
equipaje de mano
Carry-on luggage
puerta de embarque
Boarding gate
control de seguridad
Security checkpoint

Name four airport essentials

Say “airport, flight, passport, and boarding pass” in Spanish.

More airport vocabulary
identificación
Identification / ID
boleto / billete
Ticket
aduana
Customs
pasajero / pasajera
Passenger

Start your airport journey

Checking In and Luggage

Use facturar when talking about checking luggage for a flight.

Quiero facturar esta maleta.
I want to check this suitcase.
Quisiera facturar esta maleta.
I would like to check this suitcase.
¿Dónde puedo facturar mi equipaje?
Where can I check my luggage?
Solo llevo equipaje de mano.
I'm only taking carry-on luggage.

Polite request: Quisiera + infinitive is a useful polite pattern. At an airline counter, Quisiera facturar esta maleta is a natural complete request.

Checking in for a flight

A
Buenos días. Quisiera facturar esta maleta.
Good morning. I would like to check this suitcase.
B
Claro. ¿Me puede mostrar su pasaporte, por favor?
Of course. Can you show me your passport, please?
A
Sí, aquí tiene.
Yes, here you are.

Check a suitcase

Politely say that you would like to check this suitcase.

Find your flight

Departures, Gates, and Flight Status

After check-in and security, the next useful language is about departures, gates, boarding, and possible changes to your flight.

salida
Departure
salidas
Departures
embarque
Boarding
embarcar
To board
retrasado / retrasada
Delayed
cancelado / cancelada
Canceled
Busca el vuelo en la pantalla de salidas.
Look for the flight on the departures screen.
¿Me puede decir dónde está la puerta de embarque número quince?
Can you tell me where boarding gate number fifteen is?
¿Está retrasado el vuelo?
Is the flight delayed?
Nuestro vuelo lleva una hora de retraso.
Our flight is one hour late.

Useful airport signs: salidas refers to departing flights, while llegadas refers to arriving flights.

Finding the boarding gate

A
Disculpe, ¿sabe de qué puerta sale el vuelo a Madrid?
Excuse me, do you know which gate the flight to Madrid leaves from?
B
Sí, sale de la puerta veintidós. El embarque empieza en treinta minutos.
Yes, it leaves from gate twenty-two. Boarding starts in thirty minutes.

Find your gate

Ask politely which gate the flight to Madrid leaves from.

Finish the journey

Arrival and Baggage Claim

After landing, the main beginner vocabulary is about arrivals and collecting luggage.

llegada
Arrival
llegadas
Arrivals
recogida de equipaje
Baggage claim
recoger las maletas
To collect the suitcases
Nos vemos en la zona de llegadas.
We'll meet in the arrivals area.
Después de aterrizar, tenemos que recoger las maletas.
After landing, we have to collect the suitcases.
¿Dónde está la recogida de equipaje?
Where is baggage claim?

After the flight

Ask where baggage claim is, then say that you need to collect the suitcases.

More airport phrases
Tengo el pasaporte y la tarjeta de embarque en mi mochila.
I have my passport and boarding pass in my backpack.
Solo llevo equipaje de mano porque el viaje dura tres días.
I'm only taking carry-on luggage because the trip lasts three days.
Tenemos que esperar.
We have to wait.

Your turn · 8 quick questions

Practice: At the Airport

Choose the answer that best fits each situation. Focus on check-in, luggage, gates, flight status, boarding, and baggage claim.

Audio uses your device's Spanish text-to-speech voice. Listen to each airport phrase, then practice moving from check-in through boarding and baggage claim.