Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport

Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport[1] Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas
IATA: MAD – ICAO: LEMD
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Aena
Serves	Madrid, Spain
Location	Madrid Paracuellos de Jarama San Sebastián de los Reyes Alcobendas
Hub for	Air Europa Iberia
Focus city for	Iberia Express Norwegian Air Shuttle Pullmantur Air Ryanair Vueling
Elevation AMSL	610 m / 2,000 ft
Coordinates	40°28′20″N 003°33′39″W / 40.47222°N 3.56083°W / 40.47222; -3.56083Coordinates: 40°28′20″N 003°33′39″W / 40.47222°N 3.56083°W / 40.47222; -3.56083
Website	aena-aeropuertos.es
Map
MAD Location within Madrid
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 14R/32L 4,100 13,451 Asphalt 18L/36R 3,500 11,482 Asphalt 14L/32R 3,500 11,482 Asphalt 18R/36L 4,349 14,268 Asphalt / Concrete
Statistics (2014)
Passengers 41,833,374 (5.3%) Aircraft Movements 342,601 (2.9%) Cargo 366,645 (5.8%) Economic impact $10.9 billion[2]
Sources: Passenger Traffic, AENA[3] Spanish AIP, AENA[4]

Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas [(a)eɾoˈpwerto aˈðolfo ˈswaɾeθ maˈðɾi(ð) βaˈɾaxas]) (IATA: MAD, ICAO: LEMD)^[5] is the main international airport serving Madrid in Spain. In 2013, over 39 million passengers used Madrid–Barajas,^[3] making it the country's largest and busiest airport, and Europe's sixth busiest. It opened in 1928, and has grown to be one of the most important aviation centres of Europe. Located within the city limits of Madrid, it is just 9 km (5.6 mi) from the city's financial district and 13 km (8.1 mi) northeast of the Puerta del Sol, Madrid's historic centre. The airport name derives from the adjacent district of Barajas, which has its own metro station on the same rail line serving the airport.

The Madrid–Barcelona air shuttle service, known as the "Puente Aéreo" (in Spanish), literally called "Air Bridge", is the second busiest air route in Europe after İstanbul Atatürk and İzmir,^[6] with the highest number of flight operations (55 daily) in 2012.^[7] The schedule has been reduced since February 2008, when the Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line was opened, covering the distance in 2 ¹⁄₂ hours, and quickly became popular. Barajas serves as the gateway to the Iberian peninsula from the rest of Europe and the world, and is a particularly key link between Europe and Latin America. The airport is the primary hub and maintenance base for Iberia. Consequently, Iberia is responsible for more than 60 percent of Barajas' traffic.

Following the death of former Spanish Prime Minister, Adolfo Suárez, the Spanish Ministerio de Fomento has announced^[8] that the airport is to be renamed Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez, Madrid–Barajas. This renaming seeks recognition for Suárez's role as the first Prime Minister of Spain after the restoration of democracy and his key participation in the Spanish Transition to Democracy after Franco's Dictatorship.

History

The airport was constructed in 1927, opening to national and international air traffic on 22 April 1931, although regular commercial operations began two years later. A small terminal was constructed with a capacity for 30,000 passengers a year, in addition to several hangars and the building of the Avión Club. The first regular flight was established by Lineas Aéreas Postales Españolas (LAPE) with its line to Barcelona. Later, in the 1930s international flights started to serve some European and African destinations.

Originally, the flight field was a large circle bordered in white with the name of Madrid in its interior, unpaved, consisting of land covered with natural grass. It was not until the 1940s that the flight field was paved and new runways were designed. The first runway which started operation in 1944 was 1,400 metres long and 45 metres wide. By the end of the decade the airport had three runways, none of which exists today. In the late 1940s, scheduled flights to Latin America and the Philippines started.

In the 1950s, the airport supported over half a million passengers, increasing to 5 runways and scheduled flights to New York City began. The National Terminal, currently T2, began construction in 1954, and was inaugurated later that year. In the Plan of Airports of 1957, Barajas Airport is classified as a first-class international airport. By the 1960s, large jets were landing at Barajas, and the growth of traffic mainly as a result of tourism exceeded forecasts. At the beginning of the decade, the airport reached the 1.2 million passengers, double that envisaged in the Plan of Airports of 1957.

In the 1970s, with the boom in tourism and the arrival of the Boeing 747, the airport reached 4 million passengers, and began the construction of the international terminal (current T1). In 1974, Iberia, L.A.E. introduced the shuttle service between Madrid and Barcelona, a service with multiple daily frequencies and available without prior reservation.

The 1982 FIFA World Cup brought significant expansion and modernisation of the airport's two existing terminals.

In the 1990s, the airport expanded further. In 1994, the first cargo terminal was constructed, and the control tower was renovated. In 1997, it opened the North Dock, which is used as an exclusive terminal for Iberia's Schengen flights. In 1998, it inaugurated a new control tower, 71 m tall, and then in 1999 the new South Dock opened, which implies an expansion of the international terminal. During this time, the distribution of the terminals changed: The south dock and most of the International Terminal were now called T1, the rest of the International Terminal and Domestic Terminal were now called T2 and the north dock was called T3.

In November 1998, the new runway 18R-36L started operations (replacing the previous 18–36), 4,400 m long, one of the largest in Europe under expansion plans called Major Barajas. In 2000, it began the construction of new terminals T4 and its satellite, T4S, designed by architects Antonio Lamela and Richard Rogers, and directed by architect Luis Vidal. Two parallel runways to the existing ones were also built.

The new terminals and runways were completed in 2004, but administrative delays and equipment, as well as the controversy over the redeployment of terminals, delayed service until 5 February 2006.

In 2007, the airport processed more than 52 million passengers.

Barajas today

Terminal 4, designed by Antonio Lamela and Richard Rogers; and directed by Luis Vidal, (winning team of the 2006 Stirling Prize), and TPS Engineers, (winning team of the 2006 IStructE Award for Commercial Structures)^[9] was built by Ferrovial^[10] and inaugurated on 5 February 2006. Terminal 4 is one of the world's largest airport terminals in terms of area, with 760,000 square meters (8,180,572 square feet) in separate landside and airside structures. It consists of a main building, T4 (470,000 m²), and a satellite building, T4S (290,000 m²), which are approximately 2.5 km apart. The new Terminal 4 is meant to give passengers a stress-free start to their journey. This is managed through careful use of illumination, with glass panes instead of walls, and numerous domes in the roof which allow natural light to pass through. With this new addition, Barajas is designed to handle 70 million passengers annually.

During the construction of Terminal 4, two more runways (15L/33R and 18L/36R) were constructed to aid in the flow of air traffic arriving and departing from Barajas. These runways were officially inaugurated on 5 February 2006 (together with the terminals), but had already been used on several occasions beforehand to test flight and air traffic manoeuvres. Thus, Barajas came to have four runways: two on a north–south axis and parallel to each other (separated by 1.8 km) and two on a northwest–southeast axis (and separated by 2.5 km). This allowed simultaneous takeoffs and landings into the airport, allowing 120 operations an hour (one takeoff or landing every 30 seconds).

Terminals 1, 2 and 3 are adjacent terminals that are home to SkyTeam and Star Alliance airlines. Terminal 4 is home to Iberia, its franchise Air Nostrum and all Oneworld partner airlines. Gate numbers are continuous in terminals 1, 2 and 3 (A1 to E89), but are separately numbered in terminal 4 (H,J,K and M,R,S,U in satellite building).

Barajas was voted "Best Airport" in the 2008 Condé Nast Traveller Reader Awards.^[11]

In December 2010, the Spanish government announced plans to tender Madrid–Barajas airport to companies in the private sector for a period of up to 40 years.^[12]

On 27 January 2012, Spanair suspended all flights affecting Madrid–Barajas as well as other domestic and international connections.^[13] On 20 September 2012, both runways 15/33 were renamed as 14R/32L (the longest) and 14L/32R (the shortest).

Airport People Mover

In early 2006, the first driverless transit system in Spain, and the longest airport people mover system in Europe, began transporting passengers between The new terminal (T4) and a new satellite terminal (T4S) at Madrid's Barajas International Airport. Deploying the CITYFLO 550 automatic train control technology, the system is the only mode of transportation for passengers between the two terminals, which are spaced more than two kilometres apart.

Bombardier was the full turnkey supplier for the completely underground system, including the construction of the civil works, and is operating and maintaining the system

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal
Aegean Airlines	Athens	2
Aer Lingus	Dublin	1
Aeroflot	Moscow–Sheremetyevo	1
Aerolíneas Argentinas	Buenos Aires-Ezeiza	1
Aeroméxico	Mexico City	1
Air Algérie	Algiers	4
Air Berlin	Berlin–Tegel, Düsseldorf	4
Air Canada	Seasonal: Toronto–Pearson	1
Air China	Beijing–Capital, São Paulo–Guarulhos	1
Air Europa	Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Cancún, Caracas, Dakar, Havana, La Romana, Lima, London–Gatwick, Miami, Montevideo, New York–JFK, Punta Cana, Salvador da Bahia, San Juan, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Santo Domingo, São Paulo–Guarulhos, Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion[14]	1
Air Europa	Alicante, A Coruña, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bilbao, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, La Palma, Lanzarote, Milan–Malpensa, Munich, Palma de Mallorca, Paris–Orly, Rome–Fiumicino, Tenerife–North, Tenerife–South, Vigo Seasonal: Menorca	2, 3
Air Europa operated by Privilege Style	Dakar, Lisbon, Porto, Ouarzazate[15]	2
Air Europa operated by Swiftair	Asturias, Badajoz, Bilbao, Málaga, Valencia, Vigo	2
Air France	Paris–Charles de Gaulle	2
Air Malta	Malta	4
Air Moldova	Chişinău[16]	1
Air Transat	Seasonal: Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson	1
Alitalia	Rome–Fiumicino	2
American Airlines	Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, New York–JFK	4
Avianca	Bogotá, Cali, Medellín–JMC	4
Blue Air	Bucharest	1
Boliviana de Aviación	Santa Cruz de la Sierra	1
British Airways	London–Heathrow	4
British Airways operated by BA CityFlyer	London–City	4
Brussels Airlines	Brussels	2
Bulgaria Air	Sofia	4
Ceiba Intercontinental Airlines operated by White Airways	Malabo	4
Conviasa	Caracas	1
Cubana de Aviación	Havana, Santiago de Cuba	1
Czech Airlines	Prague	4
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta, New York–JFK	1
easyJet	Berlin–Schönefeld, Bristol, Edinburgh, Lisbon, Liverpool, London–Gatwick, London–Luton, Lyon, Milan–Malpensa, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Toulouse	1
easyJet Switzerland	Basel/Mulhouse, Geneva	1
EgyptAir	Cairo	1
El Al	Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion	4
Emirates	Dubai–International	4
Ethiopian Airlines	Addis Ababa[17]	1
Etihad Airways	Abu Dhabi[18]	4
Finnair	Helsinki	4
Germanwings operated by Eurowings	Düsseldorf, Hamburg	1
Iberia	A Coruña, Accra, Algiers, Asturias, Athens, Barcelona, Bilbao, Bogotá, Brussels, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Cali (begins 3 July 2015), Caracas, Casablanca, Chicago–O'Hare, Dakar, Florence, Geneva, Gran Canaria, Guatemala City, Guayaquil, Hamburg, Havana (resumes 1 June 2015),[19] Istanbul–Atatürk, Lagos, Lima, Lisbon, London–Heathrow, Luanda, Malabo, Marrakesh, Medellín–JMC (begins 3 July 2015), Mexico City, Miami, Milan-Linate, Milan–Malpensa, Montevideo,[20] Moscow–Domodedovo, Munich, New York–JFK, Oran, Panama City, Paris–Orly, Prague, Quito, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, Rome–Fiumicino, San José de Costa Rica, San Salvador, Santa Cruz de la Palma, Santander, Santo Domingo Las Americas,[21] Santiago de Chile, Santiago de Compostela, São Paulo, Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion, Tenerife–North, Tenerife South, Venice–Marco Polo, Vienna, Zürich Seasonal: Boston, Budapest (begins 2 June 2015),[22] Catania (begins 6 June 2015), Dubrovnik, Los Angeles, Zagreb	4
Iberia Express	Amsterdam,[23] Berlin–Tegel, Copenhagen, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Fuerteventura, Hanover,[24] Lanzarote, La Palma, London–Gatwick,[25] Lyon, Málaga, Manchester (begins 8 September 2015),[26] Nantes, Naples (begins 1 June 2015), Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Paris–Charles de Gaulle (begins 7 September 2015),[26] Seville, Stockholm–Arlanda, Stuttgart,[24] Verona (begins 2 June 2015), Vigo Seasonal: Athens, Budapest (begins 2 June 2015), Mykonos, Granada, Ibiza, Menorca, Naples, Riga, Santiago de Compostela, St Petersburg	4
Iberia Regional operated by Air Nostrum	A Coruña, Alicante, Almería, Bologna, Bordeaux, Düsseldorf, Granada, Ibiza, Jerez de la Frontera, Logroño, Lourdes, Lyon, Marseille, Marrakesh, Melilla, Menorca, Milan–Malpensa, Munich, Murcia, Nantes, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Paris–Orly, Pamplona, Porto, Rabat, San Sebastián, Santander, Santiago de Compostela, Strasbourg, Tangier, Toulouse, Turin, Valencia, Vigo Seasonal: Asturias, Catania, Corfu, Faro (begins 1 June 2015), Frankfurt, Geneva, Heraklion, La Palma, Lanzarote, Lisbon, Malta, Olbia, Palermo, Perpignan (begins 29 April 2015), Santorini, Split, Venice, Vienna	4
Icelandair	Seasonal: Reykjavík–Keflavík	2
KLM	Amsterdam	2
Korean Air	Seoul–Incheon	1
LAN Airlines	Frankfurt, Santiago de Chile	4
LAN Ecuador	Guayaquil	4
LAN Perú	Lima	4
LOT Polish Airlines	Warsaw–Chopin	2
Lufthansa	Frankfurt, Munich	2
Luxair	Luxembourg	4
Meridiana	Naples	4
Niki	Vienna	4
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Birmingham, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Helsinki, London–Gatwick, Nice, Oslo–Gardermoen, Stockholm–Arlanda, Warsaw–Chopin Seasonal: Catania, Dubrovnik, Malta	1
Pegasus Airlines	Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[27]	1
Pullmantur Air	Cancún, Punta Cana	1
Qatar Airways	Doha	4
Royal Air Maroc	Casablanca, Marrakesh	4
Royal Air Maroc Express	Casablanca, Tangier	4
Royal Jordanian	Amman-Queen Alia	4
Ryanair	Alghero, Beauvais, Bergamo, Berlin–Schönefeld,[28] Bologna, Bratislava,[28] Bremen, Bucharest,[28] Budapest, Catania, Charleroi, Cologne/Bonn, Copenhagen (begins 2 September 2015),[29] Dublin, Eindhoven, Fes, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Kraków, Lanzarote, London–Stansted, Malta, Manchester, Marrakesh, Marseille, Palma de Mallorca, Pisa, Porto, Rabat, Rome–Ciampino, Santiago de Compostela, Tangier, Tenerife–North, Tenerife–South, Vilnius,[28] Warsaw-Modlin Seasonal: Cagliari, Menorca, Moss, Palermo	1
SATA International	Seasonal: Ponta Delgada[30] Seasonal charter: Terceira	2
Saudia	Jeddah, Riyadh	1
S7 Airlines	Moscow–Domodedovo	4
Swiss International Air Lines	Geneva, Zürich	2
TAM Airlines	São Paulo–Guarulhos	4
TAP Portugal	Lisbon Seasonal: Funchal	2
TAP Portugal operated by Portugália	Lisbon, Porto	2
TAROM	Bucharest	4
Thai Airways	Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi (ends 7 September 2015)[31]	1
Transavia	Rotterdam	1
Transavia France	Nantes, Paris–Orly	1
Tunisair	Tunis	1
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul–Atatürk	1
Ukraine International Airlines	Kiev-Boryspil Seasonal: Lviv (begins 21 June 2015)	4
United Airlines	Newark Seasonal: Washington–Dulles	1
US Airways operated by American Airlines	Philadelphia Seasonal: Charlotte	4
Vueling	Barcelona, Florence, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Rome–Fiumicino Seasonal: Bucharest, Ibiza, Malta, Menorca	4
Wamos Air	Charter: Aruba, Athens, Bologna, Bogotá, Helsinki, Malmö, Mataram–Lombok, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Santo Domingo, Tallinn, Trondheim Seasonal Charter: Miami, Denpasar/Bali	1
Wizz Air	Bucharest, Budapest, Cluj-Napoca, Sofia, Târgu Mureș, Timişoara	1

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Atlantic Airlines	Liège
DHL Aviation	Beijing–Capital, Casablanca, Copenhagen, East Midlands, Frankfurt, Leipzig/Halle, London–Heathrow, Miami, Milan–Malpensa, Paris–Charles de Gaulle
DHL Aviation operated by EAT Leipzig	Leipzig/Halle
FedEx Feeder operated by Air Contractors	Dublin, Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Gestair Cargo	Frankfurt, Gran Canaria, Tenerife North
IAG Cargo	Bogota, Buenos Aires, Lima, London–Heathrow, Mexico City, New York–JFK, Santiago de Chile, São Paulo–Guarulhos
Qatar Airways	Doha
Swiftair	Algiers, Athens, Barcelona, Casablanca, Gran Canaria, Lisbon, Mallorca, Milan–Malpensa, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Stockholm–Arlanda, Tenerife North[32]
Swiftair operated by Swiftair Bahrain	Bahrain
TNT Airways	Brussels, Liège
Turkish Airlines Cargo	Algiers, Belgrade, Casablanca, Istanbul–Atatürk
UPS Airlines	Casablanca, Chicago–O'Hare, Cologne/Bonn, London–Stansted

Traffic and statistics

Passenger numbers

	Passengers	Aircraft Movements	Cargo (tonnes)
2001	34,050,215	375,558	295,944
2002	33,915,302	368,029	295,711
2003	35,855,861	383,804	307,026
2004	38,718,614	401,503	341,177
2005	42,146,784	415,704	333,138
2006	45,799,983	434,959	325,702
2007	52,110,787	483,292	325,201
2008	50,846,494	469,746	329,187
2009	48,437,147	435,187	302,863
2010	49,863,504	433,683	373,380
2011	49,671,270	429,390	394,154
2012	45,195,014	373,185	359,362
2013	39,735,618	333,056	346,602
2014	41,833,374	342,601	366,645
Source: Aena Statistics[3]

Route statistics

Busiest domestic routes at Adolfo Suárez, Madrid–Barajas International Airport (2014)

Rank	City	Passengers	Carriers
1	Barcelona	2,210,720	Air Europa, Iberia, Vueling
2	Palma de Mallorca	1,279,631	Air Berlin, Air Europa, Air Nostrum, Iberia Express, Ryanair
3	Gran Canaria	1,200,791	Air Europa, Iberia, Ryanair
4	Tenerife (North)	1,095,514	Air Europa, Iberia
5	Bilbao	618,561	Iberia, Ryanair
6	Ibiza	577,176	Air Europa, Air Nostrum, Iberia Express, Ryanair, Vueling
7	A Coruña	535,404	Air Nostrum, Iberia
8	Santiago de Compostela	490,534	Air Nostrum, Iberia, Iberia Express, Ryanair
9	Vigo	457,357	Air Europa, Iberia Express
10	Lanzarote	393,302	Air Europa, Air Nostrum, Iberia Express, Ryanair
11	Asturias	392,823	Air Nostrum, Iberia, Ryanair
12	Málaga	331,895	Iberia Express
13	Valencia	264,059	Air Nostrum
14	Alicante	253,624	Iberia Express
15	Seville	245,421	Iberia Express
16	Fuerteventura	236,742	Air Europa, Iberia Express
17	Minorca	219,089	Air Europa, Air Nostrum, Iberia Express, Ryanair, Vueling
18	Tenerife (South)	211,977	Air Europa, Ryanair, Iberia
19	Jerez de la Frontera	186,800	Iberia Express
20	Santander	161,322	Air Nostrum, Ryanair
21	Almeria	157,767	Air Nostrum
22	Granada	154,646	Air Nostrum, Iberia Express
23	San Sebastián	151,409	Air Nostrum
24	Pamplona	119,769	Air Nostrum
25	Melilla	89,747	Air Nostrum

Busiest European routes at Madrid–Barajas International Airport (2014)

Rank	City	Passengers	Carriers
1	London (Heathrow), United Kingdom	1,274,372	British Airways, Iberia
2	Lisbon, Portugal	1,028,885	Air Europa, Air Nostrum, EasyJet, Iberia, Portugalia Airlines, TAP Portugal
3	Paris (Orly), France	1,023,575	Air Europa, Air Nostrum, Iberia
4	Rome (Fiumicino), Italy	976,687	Air Europa, Alitalia, EasyJet, Iberia
5	Paris (CDG), France	969,176	Air France, EasyJet, Vueling
6	Frankfurt, Germany	914,259	Air Nostrum, Iberia Express, LAN Airlines, Lufthansa
7	Amsterdam, The Netherlands	847,989	Air Europa, Iberia, Iberia Express, KLM
8	Munich, Germany	743,744	Air Nostrum, Iberia, Lufthansa, Lufthansa CityLine
9	Brussels, Belgium	738,366	Air Europa, Brussels Airlines, Iberia
10	London (Gatwick), United Kingdom	719,895	Air Europa, EasyJet
11	Milan (Malpensa), Italy	533,991	Air Europa, Air Nostrum, EasyJet, Iberia
12	Geneva, Switzerland	504,940	Air Europa, Air Nostrum, Iberia, Swiss International Air Lines
13	Zürich, Switzerland	482,361	Air Nostrum, Swiss International Air Lines
14	Porto, Portugal	395,083	Air Nostrum, Portugalia Airlines, Ryanair
15	Düsseldorf, Germany	378,116	Air Nostrum, Iberia Express, Lufthansa CityLine
16	Dublin, Ireland	375,907	Aer Lingus, Iberia Express, Ryanair
17	London (Stansted), United Kingdom	371,302	Ryanair
18	Istanbul (Atatürk), Turkey	333,714	Iberia, Turkish Airlines
19	Rome (Ciampino), Italy	300,995	Ryanair
20	Berlin (Tegel), Germany	293,305	Air Berlin, Iberia Express
21	Bucharest (Otopeni), Romania	259,413	Blue Air, TAROM, Wizz Air
22	Vienna, Austria	253,174	Iberia, NIKI
23	Copenhagen, Denmark	248,069	Iberia Express, Pullmantur Air, Scandinavian Airlines
24	Charleroi, Belgium	236,464	Ryanair
25	Venice (Marco Polo), Italy	234,310	Air Nostrum, Iberia

Busiest intercontinental routes at Madrid–Barajas International Airport (2014)

Rank	City	Passengers	Carriers
1	Buenos Aires (Ezeiza), Argentina	744,974	Aerolíneas Argentinas, Air Europa, Iberia
2	New York (JFK), United States	700,604	Air Europa, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Iberia
3	São Paulo (Guarulhos), Brazil	619,128	Air China, Air Europa, Iberia, TAM Airlines
4	Lima, Peru	557,266	Air Europa, Iberia, LAN Perú
5	Mexico City, Mexico	544,300	Aeroméxico, Iberia
6	Bogotá, Colombia	538,651	Avianca, Iberia, Pullmantur Air
7	Miami, United States	486,661	American Airlines, Iberia, Pullmantur Air
8	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	418,494	Emirates
9	Santiago, Chile	399,721	Iberia, LAN Airlines
10	Havana, Cuba	307,131	Air Europa, Cubana de Aviación
11	Caracas, Venezuela	290,571	Air Europa, Iberia
12	Cancún, Mexico	284,179	Air Europa, Pullmantur Air
13	Tel Aviv, Israel	257,790	El Al, Iberia
14	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	242,166	Air Europa, Iberia, Pullmantur Air
15	Doha, Qatar	214,480	Qatar Airways
16	Marrakesh, Morocco	209,789	Air Nostrum, Ryanair
17	San José,Costa Rica	208,171	Iberia
18	Casablanca, Morocco	185,995	Iberia, Royal Air Maroc
19	Punta Cana, Dominican Republic	182,224	Air Europa, Pullmantur Air
20	Chicago (O'Hare), United States	177,528	Iberia
21	Rio de Janeiro (Galeão), Brazil	167,850	Iberia
22	Panama City, Panama	149,332	Iberia
23	Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia	142,189	Air Europa, Boliviana de Aviación, Pullmantur Air
24	Philadelphia, United States	141,754	US Airways
25	Quito, Ecuador	139,619	Iberia

Ground transport

Rail

The Madrid Metro Line connects the airport with city centre station Nuevos Ministerios in the heart of Madrid's financial district. The Barajas Line 8 provides a fast route from the underground stations at Terminal 2 (access to T1 and T3) and Terminal 4 into central Madrid. The metro also provides links to stations on the Spanish railway network. The first ride in the morning leaves from Nuevos Ministerios around 6:05 am, arriving at Terminals 1-2-3 around 6:20, and at Terminal 4 around 6:25.

In October 2006, a bid was launched for the construction of a Cercanías link between Chamartín Station and Terminal 4. Now finished, this single Cercanías Line (C-1) links Madrid Barajas Terminal 4, with Chamartín Station and Atocha AVE high-speed train stations.^[33] In June 2011 a decision was made to equip this link with dual gauge which will allow AVE high-speed trains to reach the airport station.^[34]

The Nuevos Ministerios metro station allowed checking-in^[35] right by the AZCA business area in central Madrid, but this convenience has been suspended indefinitely after the building of Terminal 4.^[36]

EMT Bus

EMT (Madrid Municipal Transport Company) runs regular public bus services between the airport and Madrid (Avenida de América station): bus 200 runs as a complete line – dropping passengers off at departures of terminals 1, 2 and 4 before collecting passengers in the reverse order at arrivals. The EMT public night bus service N4 (nicknamed "Buho", Owl) also services from Madrid downtown (Plaza Cibeles) to Barajas (Plaza de los Hermanos Falcó y Alvarez de Toledo, 400m from the airport through a passageway above the highway). EMT also have an express bus linking Barajas airport to Renfe's Atocha Station, the main rail station in Madrid, during day and Plaza Cibeles during night. Unlike the two services mentioned above, this line runs 24 hours of the day during all the days of the year.^[37]

Airport parking

Long- and short-term car parking is provided at the airport with seven public parking areas. P1 is an outdoor car park located in front of the terminal building; P2 is an indoor car park with direct access to terminals T2 and T3. A Parking 'Express' facility, available for short periods only, is located at Terminal 2, and dedicated long-term parking is also available with 1,655 spaces; a free shuttle operates between the long-stay car park and all terminals. There are also VIP car parks.

Incidents and accidents

• On 30 September 1972, Douglas C-47B EC-AQE of Spantax crashed on take-off. The aircraft was being used for training duties and the student pilot over-rotated and stalled. One of the six people on board were killed.^[38]

• On 29 July 1979, as part of a triple attack, a bomb placed by ETA political-military killed three people.^[39]

• On 27 November 1983, Avianca Flight 011 crashed while attempting to land. Flight 011 struck a series of hills, causing the plane's right wing to break off. The 747 then cartwheeled, shattering into five pieces before coming to rest upside-down. Only 11 of the 169 passengers survived – there were no survivors among the 23 crew.^[40]

• On 7 December 1983, an Iberia 727 operating as Iberia Flight 350^[41] collided during takeoff with Aviaco Flight 134, a DC-9^[42] The Aviaco DC9 had accidentally entered the runway as the Iberia flight was taking off.^[43] One hundred thirty-five people were killed, including 93 from the Iberia and 42 from the Aviaco.

• On 15 July 2006, the winglet of a Thai Airways International Boeing 747-400 HS-TGY operating flight TG943 from Madrid Barajas Airport in Spain to Rome Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport cut off the tail of an Air France ERJ-145 while taxiing to the runway for take-off. No injuries were reported.^[44]

• On the morning of 30 December 2006, an explosion took place in the carpark building module D attached to Terminal 4. A bomb threat was phoned in at approximately 8:15 local time (7:15 GMT), with the caller stating that a car bomb carried with 800 kg of explosive would explode at 9:00 local time (8:00 GMT).^[45] After receipt of the warning, police were able to evacuate part of the airport.^[46] Later, an anonymous caller stated that ETA claims responsibility for the bombing.^[47] As a result of the explosion, two Ecuadorians who were sleeping in their cars died. The whole module D of the car park was levelled to the ground, around 40,000 tonnes of debris. It took six days to recover the body of the second victim from the rubble.

• On 20 August 2008, Spanair Flight 5022 which was travelling to Gran Canaria, veered off to the right and into the ground while climbing immediately after lifting off from runway 36L at 14:45 local time. The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) MD-82 with registration "EC-HFP", was carrying 172 people, including 162 passengers.^[48] In the accident, 154 people were killed, two were seriously injured and 12 were slightly injured. Prime Minister Zapatero ordered three days of national mourning.^[49]

• On 3 December 2010, during the Spanish air traffic controllers strike, Madrid–Barajas Airport remained inoperative when all Spanish air traffic controllers walked out in a coordinated wildcat strike. Following the walkout, the Spanish Government authorized the Spanish military to take over air traffic control operations.^[50] On the morning of 4 December, the government declared a "State of Alert", ordering on the controllers back to work. Shortly after the measure was implemented, controllers started returning to work and the strike was called off.^[51]

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

External links

Media related to Madrid-Barajas Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Adolfo Suárez, Madrid–Barajas official website
• Route map

Airports in Spain Major international Alicante Barcelona–El Prat Gran Canaria Madrid–Barajas Málaga Palma de Mallorca Tenerife South Minor international A Coruña Almería Asturias Bilbao Fuerteventura Girona Granada Ibiza Jerez La Palma Lanzarote Lleida Menorca Murcia–San Javier Reus Santander Santiago de Compostela Seville Tenerife North Valencia Valladolid Vigo Zaragoza Domestic Algeciras Heliport Badajoz Burgos Ceuta Heliport El Hierro La Gomera León Logroño Melilla Pamplona Salamanca San Sebastián Unscheduled Albacete Castellón Castellón–Costa Azahar Ciudad Real Córdoba Huesca La Seu d'Urgell Madrid–Cuatro Vientos Madrid–Torrejón Murcia–Corvera Palma de Mallorca–Son Bonet Sabadell Teruel Vitoria