Complete Spanish Airport Vocabulary List: 113 Essential Words

Airports don’t reward guesswork. If you don’t understand what’s on the screens, what’s being announced, or what the staff is asking you, things slow down fast. Even strong Spanish learners often realize too late that they’ve never learned the words for boarding, connections, baggage, or security. Airport Spanish isn’t advanced—but it is specific.

That’s exactly why airport Spanish deserves its own focused attention. Not because you need to speak perfectly, but because recognizing the right words at the right moment removes a huge amount of stress. This list brings together 113 essential Spanish airport words—the kind you’ll actually see on signs, hear over loudspeakers, and need when something goes slightly off plan. No fluff, no obscure terms—just practical vocabulary that helps you move through a Spanish-speaking airport calmly and confidently, even on a tired travel day.

1. Airport Areas & Infrastructure

Español	English
el aeropuerto	airport
la terminal	terminal
la puerta	gate
la puerta de embarque	the boarding gate
la sala de espera	the waiting area
el mostrador	the counter
el mostrador de facturación	the check-in counter
la cinta de equipaje	the baggage carousel
la pista	the runway
la torre de control	the control tower
la zona de llegadas	the arrivals area
la zona de salidas	the departures area
el control de seguridad	the security checkpoint
las aduanas	the customs
el control de pasaportes	the passport control
la zona internacional	the international area
la zona nacional	the international area
el estacionamiento	the parking lot
el baño/los servicios	the restroom
la tienda libre de impuestos	the duty-free shop

2. Tickets, Documents & Travel Information

Español	English
el billete	the ticket
el boleto/el pasaje	the ticket (LATAM)
la tarjeta de embarque	the boarding pass
el pasaporte	the passport
el documento de identidad	the ID
el visado/el visa	the visa
la reserva	the reservation
el número de vuelo	the flight number
el itinerario	the itinerary
la confirmación	the confirmation
la fecha de salida	the departure date
la fecha de llegada	the arrival date
la clase económica	the economy class
la clase ejecutiva	the business class
primera clase	first class
el asiento	the seat
la fila	the row
el pasillo	the aisle
la ventanilla	the window seat

3. Check-in & Baggage

Español	English
hacer check-in	to check in
el equipaje	the luggage
el equipaje de mano	the carry-on
el equipage de bodega, el equipaje documentado o el equipaje facturado	the checked luggage
la maleta	the suitcase
la mochila	the backpack
la bolsa	the bag
el carrito de equipaje	the luggage cart
el peso	the weight
la etiqueta de equipaje	the luggage tag
el exceso de equipaje	the excess baggage
la recogida de equipaje	the baggage claim
el equipaje perdido	the lost luggage
declarar	to declare
la bodega	the cargo hold

4. Security & Immigration

Español	English
el escáner	the scanner
el detector de metales	the metal detector
el líquido	the liquid
el objeto prohibido	the prohibited item
mostrar	to show
quitarse	to remove
la bandeja	the tray
pasar por	to go through
la inmigración	the immigration
el oficial	the officer
el sello	the stamp
la entrada	the entry
la salida	the exit

5. Boarding & Flight Status

Español	English
embarcar	to board
el embarque	the boarding
el preembarque	the pre-boarding
el anuncio	the announcement
el altavoz	the loudspeaker
retrasado	delayed
a tiempo	on time
cancelado	cancelled
el retraso	the delay
el despegue	takeoff
el aterrizaje	landing
el vuelo	the flight
el avión	the airplane
la aerolínea	the airline
la tripulación	the crew
el piloto	the pilot
el copiloto	the co-pilot
el asiente de vuelo	the flight attendant

6. On the Plane

Español	English
el cinturón de seguridad	the seatbelt
abrocharse el cinturón	to fasten your seatbelt
el respaldo	the seat back
reclinar	to recline
el compartimento superior	the overhead bin
las instrucciones de seguridad	the safety instructions
la máscara de oxígeno	the oxygen mask
el chaleco salvavidas	the life vest
turbulencia	turbulence
el servicio a bordo	in-flight service

7. Customs & Arrival

Español	English
llegar	to arrive
la llegada	arrival
recoger	to pick-up
declarar	to declare
nada que declarar	nothing to declare
algo que declarar	something to declare
el formulario	the form
la inspección	inspection
permitido	allowed
prohibido	prohibited

8. Problems & Help

Español	English
ayuda	help
información	information
perdido	lost
cambiar	to change
reprogramar	to reschedule
reclamar	to complain
el reembolso	the refund
el mostrador de atención	the customer service desk

There you have it.

This list covers almost everything you need to navigate this part of travel with confidence.

Learn the words, then lock them in by imagining the situations where you’d actually use them—that’s what makes them stick. Doing this will lower your stress and make you far more effective in real airports.

I honestly wish I’d had a list like this when I first started learning Spanish. While putting it together, I even found a few words I still didn’t know—straight onto my “to-learn” list they went!

Enjoy your trip!

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