How long does the Aena interview process take?

Most candidates spend between 4 and 8 weeks from recruiter screen to offer. The onsite loop itself runs in a single day or is split across two half-days, with debrief and offer typically within 5 business days after.

How should I prepare specifically for Aena?

Focus on three things: (1) the company DNA shown above - what they actually grade for, (2) the rounds in your loop, especially the round most candidates underestimate, and (3) drilling on the question types in this guide using a structured framework like CIRCLES or STAR.

Does this apply to engineering or design roles at Aena?

The DNA stays the same - what changes is the round mix. SWE candidates face coding screens instead of Product Sense; designers face portfolio reviews and design exercises. The "what they value" and behavioral signals carry across all functions.

Other roles at Aena:Product Manager Software Engineer Supply Chain Marketing

Enterprise · Software Engineer Interview Guide

Interview language: English

How to Pass the Aena Software Engineer Interview in 2026

The Aena DNA (TL;DR)

Aena's commitment to 'Service Excellence' (a core value) drives the evaluation of candidates who can enhance the passenger journey and operational efficiency at airports like Aeropuerto de Barcelona-El Prat. The interview process probes for concrete examples of improving airport operational readiness (AOR) protocols and managing complex infrastructure projects.

The Aena Interview Loop

Your onsite loop will typically consist of 5 rounds.

1
Round 1
Recruiter Screen
Motivation, role fit, logistics.
2
Round 2
Coding Screen
LeetCode-medium algorithmic problems under time pressure.
3
Round 3
System Design
Distributed systems, trade-offs at scale, architecture under constraints.
4
Round 4
Onsite Coding
LeetCode-hard, debugging, code clarity, edge cases.
5
Round 5
Behavioral / Leadership
Past evidence of ownership, influence, resolving conflict.

The Danger Zone: Top Reasons Candidates Fail

Based on our database of Aena interview outcomes, avoid these common traps:

Using Depth First Search (DFS) which may not find the shortest path.
Ignoring the need for robust error detection and recovery (e.g., misrouted bags).
Inefficient sorting or iteration over time points.
Not clearly articulating the 'initiative' aspect of their actions.

Test Yourself: Real Aena Questions

Three real prompts pulled from our database.

Type · system-design

Design a real-time flight status notification system for passengers. Consider scalability for millions of users and various notification channels (push, SMS, email).

Type · coding

Write a function to validate if a given sequence of airport codes represents a valid multi-leg flight path, considering layover times. Assume you have a database of direct flight routes and typical layover durations required between flights at specific airports.

Type · motivation

What interests you about working at Aena, specifically within our transport and airport operations technology?

+ many more questions, signals, and worked examples

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Aena Interview Question Bank

A sample from our database, grouped by round. Sign up to see the full set.

9 of 14 questions shown

Recruiter Screen

1
Type · motivation
What interests you about working at Aena, specifically within our transport and airport operations technology?

Coding Screen

2
Type · algorithmic
Given a list of flight departures and arrivals with timestamps, write a function to find the maximum number of flights that are simultaneously in the air at any given point in time. Assume all flights are in the air from departure to arrival.
3
Type · algorithmic
You are given a stream of real-time passenger counts for different gates at an airport. Design a data structure and algorithm to efficiently query the maximum passenger count across all gates at any given time, and to update the count for a specific gate.
+ 1 more questions in this round (sign up to unlock)

System Design

4
Type · system-design
Design a real-time flight status notification system for passengers. Consider scalability for millions of users and various notification channels (push, SMS, email).
5
Type · system-design
Design a system to manage and display real-time gate assignments for flights at a large airport. How would you handle potential conflicts or last-minute changes?
+ 1 more questions in this round (sign up to unlock)

Onsite Coding

6
Type · coding
Implement a function that takes a list of flight numbers and their scheduled departure times, and returns a schedule that minimizes delays. You can assume a fixed runway capacity and a simple model for calculating delay propagation (e.g., a delay of X minutes for a flight causes a Y minute delay for the next flight on the same runway).
7
Type · coding
Write a function to validate if a given sequence of airport codes represents a valid multi-leg flight path, considering layover times. Assume you have a database of direct flight routes and typical layover durations required between flights at specific airports.
+ 1 more questions in this round (sign up to unlock)

Behavioral / Leadership

8
Type · behavioral
Tell me about a time you had to work with a complex, legacy system at Aena or a previous role. What were the challenges, and how did you approach understanding and improving it?
9
Type · behavioral
Describe a situation where you had a technical disagreement with a colleague or manager regarding a design choice or implementation detail. How did you handle it, and what was the outcome?
+ 2 more questions in this round (sign up to unlock)