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MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT Passenger Reviews |
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MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 19 November 2009 : by Erich Koller (Switzerland)
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |
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Arriving and leaving MAD same day for a business meeting. Arrival painless with easy
"Schengen" style immigration and into the taxi approx 15 minutes after arrival at dock.
Departure terminal 1 more of a problem with old and shabby infrastructure and handling agent
staff not too helpful to change flights. However overall an okay experience.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 16 October 2009 : by John Duffus (Thailand)
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |
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As one who has travelled regularly for more than 30 years, I like to think I can navigate my
way around airports. Madrid's Terminal 4 is the first to have defeated me! Arriving on BA, I
was impressed by its brightness and colour, not realising I would then have a trip of almost
epic proportions to get to the baggage claim area. I was almost exhausted! Checking in was
just as difficult. Told by BA staff that I had to use the automatic check-in machines, none
would accept my business class reservation! So it was back to the desk for a quick check-in
and then, I hoped, some shopping. The security check seemed to take forever. Thereafter I got
lost. The direction signs appeared to be misleading, even though I checked several times. Even
finding the Iberia lounge took considerable time, and when there I discovered it does not have
WiFi - only old-style connections (and you must bring your own cable!). Why, I wonder, is this
airport/Terminal such a crazy maze of a place? I gave up on the shopping.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 3 September 2009 : by Maria Chacon (Spain)
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |
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Madrid Airport Barajas Terminal 4, beautiful, spacious design. However, too big to get
around and to get to the take-off area, especially the satellite gates, you have to take a
train, going up-and-down stairs - an unnecessary design for such a terminal. Business lounges
are good, but not clearly indicated. Luggage claim is a pain process, long waiting time as
compare to other airports.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 18 August 2009 : by Bernardo Pereira (Portugal)
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |
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Madrid's Terminal 4 is quite comfortable for connections such as the one I have just
experienced between Lisbon and Pamplona (2 hours connecting time). The walking circuits are
slightly too extensive and line-ups for delayed flights (a typical problem with Iberia) can
collide with the passenger circuits between gates at this hub as I experienced when on a very
short connection one month ago at peak hours. Nonetheless the architecture is great, and the
terminal is spacey with excellently day and night lighting. Unlike Terminals 2 and 3 which are
a traveller's maze and uncomfortable, (I don't know Terminal 1), Terminal 4 is comprehensive
and easy to get around, as long as you're not in a rush to get to your flight and may have to
push your way through crowds.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 13 August 2009 : by David Leston (UK)
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |
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The airport (Terminal 4) is very impressive, clean and spacious, but it is staffed with
utterly indifferent people who give erroneous information and show no interest in passenger
questions. There are too few departures boards, which are hard to find, but you'd better find
one yourself - because none of the staff is likely to help you out.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 14 July 2009 : by Alan Mosley (UK)
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |
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My comments apply to T4. Been through this building (and T4S) 4 times in last few weeks. Yes,
the structure looks stunning, but what a shame that practicalities don't measure up. As other
reviewers have commented, the 'smoking areas' simply don't work - the whole departures floor
stinks. The refusal to use the PA system to make flight announcements (even for gate changes),
combined with conflicting information on the Departures boards, and a complete lack of Iberia
staff, makes for confused and frustrated passengers. And the only place serving half-decent
food is extortionately expensive.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 27 May 2009 : by B Smith (UK)
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |
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Terminal 1, 730am flight. I use this every couple of months and the same comments largely
apply. Security and passport control are fine at this time of the day and are done in about 10
minutes. Some of the boarding areas (B26-29 for example) have had the seating moved back to
create more queuing space for lo-cost flights. In T1, as ever, nothing whatsoever is open at
7am, your only source of refreshment is vending machines. Quite a lot of the ongoing
refurbishment now appears largely complete although I didn't see any of the promised 40 new
shops and restaurants. Return was fine too, with luggage arriving within 10 minutes - the
absolute opposite of the terrible experiences of T4. Even the taxi queue at T1 is now being
marshalled to a reasonable standard to prevent queue-jumping.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 26 May 2009 : by Miles Canne
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |  |
Terminal 1 is nice and clean landside, but airside, people just smoke and leave litter
wherever they want to; which is seriously out of step with other "major world hubs". Rapid
processing through security and passport control, but very aggressive personnel. Don't bother
to try and speak Spanish: they'll just laugh in your face. Same extends to retail and catering
outlets which are mediocre and massively overpriced. And be warned, they don't all accept non-
Spanish issued dedit/credit cards.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 21 May 2009 : by Vincent Fissore
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
This is my third review of Barajas airport, and each time, it is getting worse and worse!!!
Used the airport on the Labour Day weekend. To start with, getting a ticket was the closes
thing to hell, because there were only 4 ticketing officers for roughly 750 people! Security
shouted at us and shoved us to pass the control (and when the odd passenger complained,
ultimate humiliation seemed to be the only retaliation method for the controllers). Shops were
full and vendors shouted at passengers to speed up and grab anything they wanted. Finally,
gate for the IB8755 flight for Nice changed 4 times with no announcements! Frankly, they have
to put customers first sometime!
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 18 May 2009 : by S Srinivasan
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |  |
The airport is pleasant enough, with plenty of seating areas and an airy, open feel. There
also seem to be plenty of shops to pass the time in. Passport control was a breeze, and only
took a few minutes to clear as they had lots of counters open. The metro stop right at the
terminal entrance is also a plus, enabling you to save 30+ Euros compared to a cab ride.
Security lines were a bit long, though, and good luck finding someone who speaks English if
your Spanish isn't very good. The airport's big downfall, though, is its immense size - the
walking times between terminals/gate areas can be immense, especially if you have to go from
the T4S satellite terminal back to T4, or vice versa (and good luck if you have to go to
T1/T2/T3). I sure wouldn't want to have a connection here, unless I had 3-4 hours between
flights. Baggage wait times are also atrocious - it took better than an hour to collect them,
and bags were making it onto the belt 2-3 at a time at intervals of a couple of minutes.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 16
April 2009 : by N Barnsley
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |  |
Previous comments I've posted about long delays at T4's baggage reclaim, unfortunately, still
hold true; in fact, if my most recent experience is anything to go by, they've actually got
worse. Many of the catering outlets keep odd hours, and some don't accept credit/debit cards.
But the bottlenecks that were common at passport control seem to have smoothed out, and the
signing has been improved. Procedures at security and customs continue to be highly
professional and efficient, and the staff courteous. Although the terminal and its satellite
are huge, lots of escalators, mechanical walkways and the connecting underground train reduce
distances and walking time. Furthermore, all the terminals at Barajas are amongst the cleanest
and best maintained that I've encountered anywhere in the world.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 8
April 2009 : by P Herman
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |  |
It´s probably a 5 star airport for it's ability to whisk you into town in 20 minutes with the
very convenient metro, and if shops are your thing head to terminals 3 and 4 post-security,
but overall I´ll rate it 2 stars for it´s "designated smoking areas". They are almost
completely open, not ventilated properly, and you can smell smoke almost everywhere in the
terminals. Announcements on the PA system ask smokers to use them to - get this - create a
more pleasing environment!! Please join the 21st century and end smoking at Barajas airport or
at least make smokers go to a sealed off area.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 13 January 2009 : by Lars Schmidt
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |  |
After passing to MAD Terminal 4 it is not too bad. Toilets, shops and snackbars are more or
less every 250 mtrs and also a McDonalds Restaurant in the middle of the Departure Hall is
available. But if you have to reach a connecting flight and you arrive at H27 and depart at
K94 you must be able to walk very fast. Long ways and very slow travelators.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 13 January 2009 : by N Barnsley
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |  |
Departed from and arrived at T4 over the recent holiday period. 40 minute wait for baggage
reclaim on return, which seems standard at this terminal. Staff, in general, are efficient
and the airport is clean and well maintained, but signage on arrival is still confusing.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 19 December 2008 : by Vincent Fissore
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |  |
Used Terminal 4 to go from MAD to NCE on Iberia Air Nostrum. Check-In fast and efficient, staff
friendly, and, if you are lucky, speaks English. Security was another story. Staff were rude,
complained, moaned at more or less everyone who passed through. The Guardia Civil seemed to be
useless here, doing nothing more than to shout racial slurs towards African passengers and to laugh
at anything which could happen to people going through security. Lots of choice for food, drinks and
magazines/newspapers/books. Flight was on time.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 1 December 2008 : by J Kresge
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |  |
We found Terminal 4 very easy to navigate and the connection to the center of Madrid by Metro is
very easy. Check in on our return trip was easy and we passed through security on a Sunday Morning
to be very easy, even with a 3 year old in tow. Prices on food and beverages are on par with other
European airports, not very cheap but comparable to a stop at an Autogrill on the Italian
Autostrada. Terminal was clean and very well lit and the bathrooms were clean.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 30 November 2008 : by Eduardo Räuchle
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |  |
Reading the other reviews, especially about T1-T2-T3, I would like to add my opinion: renovation
works at T1-T2 are mostly finished and consisted only of changing ceiling panels and lighting.
Restaurants and bars charge civil prices for basic food (while at other airports, catering outlets
practice extortion of the "hostage" public), duty free shops are well stocked and you can walk about
during a longer layover to see more shops and eateries. Security checks have always been efficient
and professional, and if there were any queues, progress was fast. Signage is clear and information
monitors are plenty. Smoking is restricted to enclosed smoking areas. Transport to and from the
airport is convenient with public (metro and bus) and private transport. Parking fees can be less
than a Euro for parking less than an hour for picking up passengers. T1-T2-T3 are nothing out of
this world, but get the job done beautifully: being no hassle to use, they're one of my favourites!
A tip to foreigners: don't be shy to ask people for directions, Spaniards are approachable. The
phrase "¿Habla inglés?" (Do you speak English?) gets you very far.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 21 October 2008 : by Kevin Tunnicliffe
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |  |
Terminal 4 appears to be some way from the main part of the airport and access to the departure
areas is a long, underground train ride from the main concourse. That said, the terminal is bright,
clean and efficient in all ways except for the baggage handling when we arrived. The terminal was
not busy and yet it took almost an hour for the bags to arrive from the plane. Immigration and
emigration were swift and efficient. Get the baggage handling right and this would be a very good
airport to use.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 11 October 2008 : by Sri Narayan
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |  |
If you have to connect to and from T4 to either T1, 2, or 3, then, please add an additional 30 to 45
minutes time. Signage in Spain in general is confusing for people used to US signage. For example
the "down" arrow means "straight-ahead". This may be completely logical for some people, but not for
others. There is a bus that runs from T4 to the other terminals and back. I arrived in an inter-city
bus to T4 from Valladolid. Please note that all intercity buses come to T4 at Barajas. I flew out of
T1. Security check and passport control took less than 5 minutes at 10AM. Duty free is expensive, as
expected in Europe. There are a couple of places to eat. Nothing exciting in T1. however, you can
have a nice view of the planes from the cafe area near the B-gates. Pay-phones are plenty. There are
"official-looking" people selling phone cards right near the phones! Also note that a tourism office
is in the airport in all terminals; money-changer is present before and after check-in. Toilets are
clean. One final note - the Metro subway system is at T-4. It can get real crowded - if you have
luggage, I suggest a taxi. Taxis in Madrid are notorious for overcharging people who dont speak
Spanish well.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 29 July 2008 : by David Lunn
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Customer Rating : 5/5 |  |
Having read various reviews of connecting at Madrid I spent two days worrying about the amount of
time we had to connect (90 minutes) at Madrid. I even tried to change our flights. From exiting the
plane at Madrid in Terminal 4 it took exactly 20 minutes to get via the passenger train to our gate
in Terminal 4S. The signs were clear and excellent - the staff we checked with on our walk were
friendly.
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 3 July 2008 : by N Barnsley
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |  |
Terminal One. Through check-in, passport control and security in no time and everyone very polite
and efficient. Same on the return - only marred by a long, long wait for bags to come through; which
is unusual at T1. The terminal is in the process of being refurbished and it's looking good. There
are now more catering outlets airside, offering a much improved - and reasonably priced - selection
of hot and cold food and drinks. Good to see that there are still plenty of seating areas and just
enough retail outlets for those who want to shop. UK airports please take note!
MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 28 June 2008 : by L Eames
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |  |
I like T4, but it is huge, almost a kilometre from one end to the other. If your plane docks at one
end, it's a 15 min walk to the baggage collection area. In the centre there is a selection of shops
and cafes. Try to avoid flying into T4 and out of any of the other terminals, as it is a ten minute
bus journey between (buses every 15 mins). Even with only hand luggage, it took 45 mins to get to
the gate of T1 from T4. If you are flying out of T1,2 or 3, it would be quicker to use Spanair
rather than Iberia, as they dock at T2. For a busy airport, it doesn't have the frenetic crush of Heathrow.
Madrid Barajas Airport review by A Macarron
17 June 2008 Customer Rating : 
I think T4 is an impressive terminal, one that Madrid should be proud of. However, baggage delivery
is still a major problem that AENA, the airport authority, has not managed to solve. Yesterday I
arrived to MAD T4 from TXL. The Iberia A320 was parked at a gate that was literally 3 minutes away
from the baggage claim area. But we had to wait for 50 minutes for our suitcase to be delivered!!!
This is just not acceptable and it happens all the time. Conclusion: for my next trip I will look
for airlines that use T1, T2 or T3. Sorry for Iberia!
Madrid Barajas Airport review by Julian Berg
28 May 2008 Customer Rating : 
The new terminal 4 is a beautiful disaster. Just from getting off the plane to leaving the airport
now takes 40 mins extra. I now always use terminals 1-3.
Madrid Barajas Airport review by Michael Fadjar
5 May 2008 Customer Rating : 
This is a Heaven compared to Frankfurt! True, terminal 1-3 have seen better days but they, along
with the immaculate T4, do the basic job what any airport must do: efficient immigration, efficient
custom and efficient security check. I have used this airport perhaps a dozen times for the past 1
year and surprisingly I find it a lot cleaner, quieter and better managed than other major European
airports. Luggage in T4 could take a bit long to collect.
Madrid Barajas Airport review by Malcolm Smith
26 March 2008 Customer Rating : 
If you are connecting at T4s and expect to get something to eat then good luck. There is a burger
place and a tapas bar and that's it. Beautiful building, nice shops but it's all style and no
content.
Madrid Barajas Airport review by B Smith
23 March 2008 Customer Rating : 
The quality of the Barajas Experience is almost entirely down to which terminal you end up using.
Most of T1 is old and a bit tired but generally fairly quick to get in and out of, although buses
are quite often used from departure gates. Beware that catering is minimal, expensive and very poor
quality. There's a lot of refurbishment going on, but it's mostly to the shopping areas, it seems.
It's a long walk to/from the metro stop, and the taxi rank tends to be a chaotic free for all.
T2/3 for domestic and some European flights is very easy to use, usually with very efficient
security checks and short waits for baggage reclaim. Again, catering is a right mess, with nothing
you'd want to try unless you were desperate. Metro is right outside, taxi rank reasonably organised.
T4 is enormous and generally efficient in terms of security and passport control (one trick for EU
passport holders is to go for any available desk at the control in T4S and not wait for the EU only
ones). Information is at a premium (there were apparently no clocks at all when the place opened),
with sparse TV monitors - especially in T4S where, perhaps cleverly, they are in the cafes!
Most frustrating is arrival with, as a rule, a 45-minute wait for luggage at reclaim (and keep your
eye out at the top of the escalator for the only set of monitors showing which carousel to go to!
Taxi pick-up here is the complete opposite of T1, with marshalls generally keeping things in pretty
strict order. It's notable that in general Barajas has almost no high street franchise restaurants
(a couple, including a Starbucks, have now crept into T4). Anyone flying out from T1 before 7am
should not expect anything to be open at all - and T4 is not much better.
Madrid Barajas Airport review by R Lopez
22 March 2008 Customer Rating : 
Nothing ever has gone wrong with my luggage. Barajas has 2 cheap and clean metro stations (one in T2
and one in T4) that links in like 15 minutes with the city centre. It is true that T4 is huge, and
T4S is also very big, and time needed to reach a boarding gate may be also big but, that's why only
long-haul flights are boarded using T4S. I might agree with some posters about the pricey food, and
the insufficient amount of restaurants. About immigration booths being understaffed, New York or
London is much worse.
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