€5 gets you from PMI to Plaça d'Espanya in about 20–30 minutes
EMT Bus Line A1 runs between Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI, Terminal T) and central Palma for a flat €5 single, paid directly to the driver in cash or contactless. In light traffic it takes around 20 minutes, but in July/August reports put it closer to 30–35 minutes thanks to seafront stops and heavy traffic.
Buses run roughly every 15–20 minutes in summer daylight hours, with clearly signed A1 stops at both the airport and in the city. In winter low season, Facebook group regulars report noticeably longer gaps, especially around midday, so build in an extra 20–30 minutes if you’re flying November–March.
The airport stop isn’t by arrivals: you leave Arrivals in T, go up one level toward Departures, then follow signs to the EMT stop where both A1 and A2 pick up. A Reddit user summed it up as “walk out, cross to the stop, buy from the driver,” but TripAdvisor posts note that signage at the stop is mostly in Catalan/Spanish and can confuse first-timers.
In Palma, A1 serves the seafront then heads to Plaça d'Espanya, where you can swap to other EMT buses or the Metro. One TripAdvisor poster highlighted that this is handy if you’re staying near the old town, while another warned it’s less useful for the ferry terminal, where you’ll need a local bus connection.
How to ride EMT A1 step by step
- 1. Exit Arrivals at Terminal T and go up one level toward the Departures roadway using the escalator or lift, which takes about 2 minutes.
- 2. Follow EMT signs for buses A1/A2 and walk to the marked stop; it’s roughly a 3–5 minute walk from the terminal doors.
- 3. Queue near the A1 sign and let any arriving A2 pass if you’re headed to central Palma; A1 is the airport–city line.
- 4. Board through the front door, tell the driver “A1, Palma,” and pay the €5 fare by cash or card; keep the ticket until you get off.
- 5. Stow luggage in the dedicated rack area if there’s room; with big suitcases in July you may be standing in the aisle, as several TripAdvisor reviews mention.
- 6. Ride to your stop; for onward connections, get off at Plaça d'Espanya, or bail out earlier near the city walls if your hotel is in the old town, as one frequent visitor prefers.
- 7. For the return to PMI, regulars walk back to Plaça d'Espanya instead of using intermediate stops because the A1 often arrives there with more empty seats and luggage space.
Watch out for crush loads and missed buses
In July and August, A1 buses get “rammed” according to multiple TripAdvisor and Facebook comments, with strollers and suitcases blocking aisles. People report sometimes being left at the airport stop to wait one or two more cycles, and others say inbound buses from Palma skip stops near the end of the route when already full.
If your flight lands after about 21:00, a UK blogger found the run into town still took just 20 minutes, but morning and late-afternoon arrivals sit in heavier traffic. Mallorca expats suggest skipping the bus entirely for flights before 07:00–08:00 and splitting a taxi instead, since early-morning frequency drops.
Quick rule: landing in T between roughly 08:00 and 21:00, aiming for central Palma or the old town, and carrying only hand luggage? Walk upstairs, grab the A1, and keep a backup plan in mind if the first bus rolls in already full.