Madrid-Barajas Airport (IATA: MAD^[4], ICAO: LEMD) is the main international airport serving Madrid, Spain. It is the country's largest and busiest airport, the world's 11th busiest airport (2008) ^[5] and Europe's fourth. It opened in 1928, and has grown to be one of the most important aviation centres of Europe. The airport derives its name from the adjacent town 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) or "Pont Aeri" (in Catalan), literally "Air Bridge", is the world's busiest route, with the highest number of flight operations (971 per week) in 2007.^[6] The schedule has been reduced since February 2008, when a Madrid-Barcelona high-speed rail line was opened, covering the distance in 2½ 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 Airlines. Consequently, Iberia Airlines is responsible for more than 60 percent of Barajas' traffic.^[7]

In 2008, more than 50.8 million passengers^[3] used Barajas.

History

The airport was first constructed in 1927, opening to national and international air traffic on April 22, 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 Líneas 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 1400 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 World Cup 1982 brought significant reforms to the airport, with the expansion and reform of the 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, 71m 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), 4,400m 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 two parallel runways to the existing ones.

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 February 5, 2006.

In 2007, the airport processed more than 50 million passengers. However, analysts decry its antiquated website (aena.es)which fails to provide a one-page dedicated real-time Arrivals and Departures schedule.

Notable accidents and incidents

• On November 27, 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.^[8]

• On December 7, 1983, Iberia Airlines 727 Flight 350 [1] collided during takeoff with Aviaco DC9 Flight 134. [2] The Aviaco DC9 had accidentally entered the runway as the Iberia flight was taking off. [3] 135 people were killed, including 93 from the Iberia and 42 from the Aviaco.

• On the morning of December 30, 2006, an explosion took place in the carpark building module D attached to Terminal 4 of Madrid Barajas International Airport in Spain. A bomb threat was phoned in at approximately 8:15 local time (7:15 GMT), with the caller stating that a bomb would explode at 9:00 local time (8:00 GMT).^[9] After receipt of the warning, police were able to evacuate part of the airport.^[10] Later, an anonymous caller stated that ETA claims responsibility for the bombing.^[11] As a result of the explosion, two Ecuadorians who were sleeping in their cars died. The whole module D of the carpark 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 August 20, 2008, Spanair Flight JKK 5022 which was traveling to Las Palmas de 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^[12]. At least 154 people have been killed. 2 were seriously injured and 12 were slightly injured. Prime Minister Zapatero ordered 3 days of national mourning.^[13]

Ground transportation

Rail

The Madrid Metro Line connects the airport with Madrid’s 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 Nuevos Ministerios metro station allowed checking-in^[14] right by the AZCA business area in central Madrid, but this convenience has been suspended indefinitely after the building of Terminal 4^[15]. In October 2006 a bid was launched for the construction of a Cercanías link between Chamartín Station and Terminal 4. When finished in 2009, a single Cercanías Line will link Madrid Barajas Terminal 4, with Chamartín Station and Atocha AVE high-speed train stations^[16].

EMT Bus

EMT (Madrid Municipal Transport Company) runs regular public bus services between the airport and Madrid (Avenida de América station): bus 200 stops outside the baggage reclaim area of terminals 1 and 2, while bus 204 stops outside Arrivals at Terminal 4. Several intercity bus services also call at the airport.

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.

Barajas today

Terminal 4 houses all Iberia flights and all Oneworld alliance member airlines including British Airways, American Airlines, LAN Airlines, among others. Terminals T1, T2 and T3 operate Air Europa and Spanair, as well as all member airlines of Skyteam and Star Alliance, including Air France, Air China, Thai Airways, Korean Air,Alitalia, Delta Air Lines, Continental Airlines, KLM, and Lufthansa, among others.

Terminal 4, designed by Antonio Lamela and Richard Rogers (winning team of the 2006 Stirling Prize), and TPS Engineers, (winning team of the 2006 IStructE Award for Commercial Structures)^[17] was built by Ferrovial^[18] and inaugurated on February 5, 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. Consisting of a main building, T4 (470,000 m²), and satellite building, T4S (290,000 m²), which are separated by approximately 2.5 km. Hong Kong International Airport still holds the title for the world's largest single terminal building (Terminal 1) at 570,000 square meter. The new Terminal 4 is meant to give passengers a stress-free start to their journey. This is managed through careful use of illumination, available by glass panes instead of walls and numerous domes in the roof which allow natural light to pass through. With the 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 February 5, 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 1.8km) and two on a northwest-southeast axis (and separated by 2.5km). 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, as well as Air Europa. Terminal 4 is home to Iberia Airlines, 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.

Barajas airport was voted "Best Airport" in the 2008 Condé Nast Traveller Reader Awards^[19]

Airlines and destinations

Terminal 1

Terminal 2

Terminal 3

Terminal 4

Cargo airlines

References

External links

• Madrid Barajas Official Website in English
• Architect Website on Barajas Terminal 4
• Accident history for MAD at Aviation Safety Network
• Airport information for LEMD at Great Circle Mapper. Data current as of October 2006.
• Current weather for LEMD at NOAA/NWS
• Airport information for LEMD at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.