MADRID BARAJAS AIRPORT review : 3 July 2008 : by N Barnsley

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

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.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by William Temmler

8 January 2008   Customer Rating : 

If you have to connect from terminal 4 to 4S and have less than 90 minutes flight connection time, good luck and get your running shoes on! Iberia flight from Chicago arrived at the end gate on terminal 4, using escalators and stairs got to security gate where there was a massive back-up - only one screening station open, people cutting lines, lots of verbal insults (in numerous languages); once thru security had to take train to terminal 4S. Again using elevators and stairs and finding gate for connecting flight - a nightmare. Iberia terminals may be modern but it's left a bad impression for me. Return flight with connection really not any better. Suggestion - avoid Madrid if you have to connect from USA, South America, or Africa, to another European country!

Madrid Barajas Airport review by J Threasher

5 January 2008   Customer Rating : 

Terminals 4 and 4S a big improvement on old terminals. I like the architecture and the signage is excellent. However, for some reason they appear reluctant to call boarding of flights on the tannoy through the airport, relying on the departure boards apparently. I looked at the departures board from the Iberia VIP lounge (they don't announce it there either, even though all other Business Lounges inform you of boarding) and it said now boarding. Knowing that Iberia are disorganised and always late, I took my time to set off. By the time I got outside the lounge, the board said Last Call. So I had to run like the wind to get to the gate and was one of the last to board. Only other complaint is that transferring in Madrid from London to Guatemala City, we arrived in Terminal 4 and instead of walking through terminal to transfer train to 4S, we had to get off the back of plane and onto a bus (took 20 minutes to get to terminal 4S) and into an immobile security queue. Having taken the terminal and train route on the way home, I could have done it much quicker than the bus and without the chaos that this decision caused on the plane. I wonder how many of my fellow travellers missed their connection. I fortunately did not miss it this time.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by N Barnsley

12 December 2007   Customer Rating : 

Madrid T4. Checked in online and with only hand baggage we went straight through to security which was swift, courteous and efficient. It was 5.30am and as our flight to Brussels wasn't boarding till 6.15 we decided to have some breakfast, but, unfortunately, it seems that none of T4's catering outlets open till 6.10am, despite the terminal being quite busy at this time. We did manage to slurp down a quick coffee just before boarding, but I think Barajas is letting itself and it's customers down very badly here.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by A Elbaloula

9 December 2007   Customer Rating : 

There is no room for comparison between T1 and T4. T1 really needs some refurbishment, the walls were dirty, there was a quite strong smell of detergent and the airport ceiling plus infrastructure were quite exhausted. T4 is gigantic yet colourful but a little confusing. Make sure you follow the signs carefully or else you can get lost. The little underground transfer train that takes you from part of the terminal to the other is quite worth the ride and very rapid too.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by Paul Turner

30 November 2007   Customer Rating : 

Passage through Terminal 1 on arrival was quick and easy. On departure, security took about 5 minutes but be warned that at 05.30am, there are no facilities open airside at all. The only cafe open was before passing through security and literally hundreds of people were wandering around trying to get a cup of coffee but to no avail. I find it incredible that a flagship airport serving a major capital city can operate without a single facility being open airside at a time when flights are operating.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by Rodrigo Revilla

9 November 2007   Customer Rating : 

I flew to Madrid to connect a flight to Johannesburg, all flights with Iberia from Mexico City. When I arrived to the famous T4, I was confused. T4 is architecturally very nice, but is totally confusing. The shops were boring, were very repeated. Overall, T4 is very boring, specially if you are waiting for a long time transit. But, staff were very nice and efficient.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by M Brangan

29 October 2007   Customer Rating : 

I used Madrid Barajas to transfer from a North Tenerife Iberia flight to an Iberia flight bound for Dublin. Arriving in T4 Satellite I found my way to the train, which took five minutes to get to the main T4 building, where I negotiated an endless array of moving staircases and walkways to arrive at Gate H33, at the extreme end of the building. I had just 1 hr 15 mins for the connection, but when I saw the boarding gate showing a delay I was actually relieved to have time to use the WC and get a glass of orange. To my horror the flight boarded on time, and the gate was closed when I got there. The boarding gate staff gave out stink to me for delaying the flight, and said I probably wouldn't get on. Iberia attendants allowed me to board and were pleasant and understanding. I think T4 is far too vast a place, although the signage is quite good. I would never want to make such a transit again if at all possible. On the plus side the airport is very clean.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by Jason Burnie

11 October 2007   Customer Rating : 

The new Terminal 4 is clean and nicely decorated. Full of shops and cafes. The interior is somehow similar to Bkk Suvarnabhumi, eg. unpainted pillars, transparent/glass roof, lighting style. Ironically it's similar to Bkk in terms of insufficient lighting at the gate area! The signage was clear and easy to navigate through. However, it's still lack of airlines lounge, though this terminal only serves Iberia and Oneworld but the number of lounges is still insufficient.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by Giacomo Gramazio

11 September 2007   Customer Rating : 

I must say that the new T4 is perfect in almost every aspect: it's clean, there are nice shops and good services (though prices are rather high), fast baggage delivery and there is an underground stop which connects it to the center of the town! A really good impression for anyone arriving to Madrid. On the other side, on departing is a bit more disappointing. First of all, almost nobody speaks English, there are neither designed gates for departure, nor audio announcements. There are only one or three letters referring to the departure area on your boarding pass, and the exact gate is communicated on LCD monitors, where the destinations and the numbers of the flights are written in small letters. It took me half an hour to understand this. Nevertheless, a beautiful airport.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by N Barnsley

25 August 2007   Customer Rating : 

Terminal 4. In so many ways Madrid's T4 is streets ahead of it's main European rivals, but whenever I pass through there always seems to be something to let it down. On this occasion, the complete shambles at passport control: only six out of twenty- odd booths were manned by very leisurely officials; this was peak time with several long haul flights departing and hundreds of passengers packed into a relatively small space in the satellite terminal - for almost an hour in my case. Many passengers with tight deadlines were, understandably, fraught. The response, rather than open more positions, was to bring in security guards to deal with the "troublemakers"!

Madrid Barajas Airport review by Simon Smith

7 August 2007   Customer Rating : 

I use Madrid airport about once a month (usually T1). It’s a bit run down and not a good place to be stuck for very long. The main advantage of using T1 over T4 is that it is nearer to the city and is much smaller so you usually don’t have to walk far. The selection of shops is very strange – there are several duty free shops selling identical (and quite expensive) stuff and a number of luxury boutiques that always seem to be empty; but if you want to buy anything practical that a traveller might actually need, forget it - even to buy a newspaper usually means a very long queue at the one tiny airside outlet. Options for food/drink are also poor: there are several outlets with different branding, but they all seem to sell the same things at the same price (though it is cheaper than at some other European airports); also, they don't seem very clean. Security clearance on departure is usually quick, at least compared to London airports, but immigration control on arrival can be slow – they have a bizarre new system which seems to require EU nationals to wait longer than anyone else.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by Riccardo Cerutti

2 August 2007   Customer Rating : 

Barajas is one of the best airports I've ever been. Check in was very fast, a big choice of shops, restaurants and bars, very nice architecture (Terminal 4) and is just 10 minutes from Madrid. Staff is very nice and efficient.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by E Muñoz

23 July 2007   Customer Rating : 

I live in Madrid and find the airport a disgrace to the city! No matter which terminal you arrive in the staff are rude and the bags take ages to arrive on the carousel. I assumed with the new terminal 4, the one everybody raved about, things would improve. It seems to take forever to get to the area where you collect your luggage, especially if you arrive on a flight from the UK as they seem to park these aircraft way out in the airfield! If you're only staying in Madrid for a short while, I recommend packing lightly and taking just the one small suitcase or holdall on as hand luggage. I've flown in and out Barajas 5 times since January (into terminal 2 twice and terminal 4 three times) and 3 of these times my bags have been lost! Now I don't know if I should blame Aena, or the airline itself. But I do know that trying to get through to anybody at the airport about missing bags is virtually impossible. They still have not recovered, or not bothered to tell me if they have, my lost suitcase from my most recent trip, in June. I'm sure there are some good aspects of Madrid airport, unfortunately I have yet to experience them!

Madrid Barajas Airport review by Ian MacDonald

15 July 2007   Customer Rating : 

Every time I use this airport something goes wrong! I hate the place but I have to use it regularly as I live in Spain. Never try to connect from a One World (Iberia, Qantas etc.,) airline to Star Alliance (Lufthansa, Thai etc) flight. It will take at least 3-4 hours to do so. Firstly, Iberia staff refuse to check any luggage through to your final destination if it´s not on one ticket. They say it´s not possible. This means coming in to the new Terminal 4 and a train ride for ages just to pick up your bags which will take between 60-90 minutes to arrive (as they also have to be transported by train from the T4 terminal which has no collection point at all! This done, try your luck at getting on a shuttle bus. When the bus is at least 150% full it might start - but most likely you will have a lovely 15 minute wait. Arriving at Terminal one for example, you might find you have a further 15 minute walk to get to your overcrowded check-in desk. From here it´s only another 20 minute walk to the gate so you´ve almost made it! I swore never to connect this way again and now use only Spanair, a Star Alliance Partner of Thai Airways with whom I fly to Asia with on Business about 5-6 times a year. Better?? I have tried 5 times this year already and every time my bags have got lost thanks to AENA and Spanair. I have waited for anything from 3-10 days and on the last trip the case still has not arrived! To top it all- no messages are answered from the airport Lost & Found department. Thai sent 12 messages in one week to try and locate my wife´s case - no reply!

Madrid Barajas Airport review by David Williams

14 May 2007   Customer Rating : 

Flew in and out on BA recently and found T4 and T4S hugely disappointing. The wavy wooden ceilings look good inside, but from the outside the buildings look like warehouses. Deplaning at T4S has clearly been thought out by someone who has never actually used a plane. Instead of heading as quickly as possible to immigration/luggage you are directed up a long ramp, across acres of floor space, down another ramp, then down a series of escalators for the train connection to T4. It feels like you’ve walked half way to Madrid and you are still a train ride away from your bags. At the carousel three screens were showing the same half a dozen flights. When – after a long wait – two of them clanked into action, there was no way of knowing which bags were coming off which, necessitating frequent dashing back and forth. Add to this poor signage, dull, expensive shopping outlets, and a desolate, ‘glass canyon’ feel and you’ve got an over hyped mediocrity. I admire much of Richard Rogers’ other work, but this a public building which has been designed to show off its architect’s skills, not do its job properly.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by Jack Sheldon

10 May 2007   Customer Rating : 

Unlike many other readers, I rather like MAD. True I use it principally for transfers on IB flights so tend to use just T4S, but transfering in T4S to T4S is very simple and quick. The space means that you don't have the crowded feeling of most other European hubs (CDG, LHR notably) and the IB lounge is very pleasant.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by N Barnsley

8 May 2007   Customer Rating : 

Terminal 2. Much easier to use since T4 opened and passenger throughput subsequently dropped. Security and passport control are fast, courteous and efficient, bags come through quite quickly, but check-in is chaotic: single file queues - with lots of pushing - rather than communal snakes feeding into available desks. Limited and overpriced catering outlets, out of order ATMs and unstaffed currency exchange desks could all be improved upon, but the staff are friendly and the terminal, along with the other three at Barajas, is exceptionally clean and well maintained.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by Dan Binder

8 May 2007   Customer Rating : 

I travelled between London and Madrid on Iberia and BA, so I used Terminal 4S. I very much liked the modern, open design. Amenities were good, I found prices to be reasonable, and everything was navigable and well-marked. There was a bit of walking involved, but no more than I've had to do at DFW, Heathrow, and other major airports. I was there before the metro went to T4, so I had to take the bus to the old terminal complex to pick up the train. On my walk through the buildings, I was not impressed with the appearance there. It seems pretty clear that the city spent all the money on building the new terminal and basically left the old ones as they were. I can understand why Spanair resented being blocked access to the new terminal.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by Esteban Ruiz

5 May 2007   Customer Rating : 

Today has been finally opened Terminal 4 Metro sation. Transfers from T4 to old T1-T2-T3 to access the underground system are no longer needed . Price is 2 €.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by Daniel Katz

24 March 2007   Customer Rating : 

Used Terminal 2 for CPH at Madrid Barajas, and my experience is negative. The terminal is dark, lacking shopping opportunities, and the food available is horribly expensive. I know CPH is not cheap, but for €4 you will get a whole lot more in CPH, than a small dry bocadillo with humble pieces of chorizo or tortilla, a can of cola from a automat will set you back at €2,5, which is more expensive than on a no-frills plane!

Madrid Barajas Airport review by J Bowen

24 March 2007   Customer Rating : 

I have used this airport several times during the last years, and it has improved a lot, although there are big differences between terminals. Terminal 1 is the oldest and one of the biggest. It is easy to use, clean and handy. Before the T4 opened, it was quite overcrowded, but this problem no longer exists. It has many facilities and the walls are covered by marble. Terminal 2, the worst one. Small, boring and old- fashioned. The biggest pro is that it's very close to the subway. Terminal 3. I've never used it, but I think that the living room of my house is bigger. Only one or two small airlines operate there. Terminals 4 and 4S. Very modern, huge and impressive. Designed by the British architect Richard Rogers, it's a model of what a XXI century airport should look like. The only con is the long time that sometimes takes to collect your luggage.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by Len Kneppers

7 March 2007   Customer Rating : 

Barajas in Madrid is really one of the worst places to wait for your flight. I stayed last weekend in terminal 2 to get my flight to Amsterdam. NO restaurants, ALL shops closed at 8 pm, one lousy, dirty, humid, hot place to get an expensive drink. I recommend everyone to avoid Barajas.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by Esperanza Muñoz

7 March 2007   Customer Rating : 

Use the airport frequently, mainly to fly to the UK and other parts of Europe, so I use the new terminal (4/4S). The staff at check in are often rude and obviously not interested in helping, usually busy having their own conversations. However, the staff in the shops and at the information desks are always friendly and happy to help. I do find the design of the new terminal a little impersonal, it seems so big and they could add a few extra restaurants or shops due to the enormous amount of space! The thing that gets me most about Barajas is the flight information screens. The gate number doesn't generally appear until not long before you're due to board, which can get confusing, especially if the gate is nowhere near to where you are. Expect to wait a long time for luggage when you arrive, God only knows what the baggage handlers do in the time it takes to get from the aircraft, through immigration and then onto the baggage claim areas. Madrid Barajas is not a bad airport, but it's not worth the hype it receives in my opinion.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by Peter Styles

7 March 2007   Customer Rating : 

Did someone get the scale wrong on the drawings as there are acres (Hectares perhaps) of totally wasted space, especially around the escalators? Incoming from Manchester the luggage took 30 minutes even though there appeared to be only one other flight. Heaven help you when it gets busy. The walk, as others have mentioned would be almost impossible if you were in poor health; although I guess you could miss the gym out for a week if you had done it. There is no information to tell you that you have to get the bus to terminal 2 to get the Metro (2 changes into the centre) and so we chickened out and got a taxi. Outgoing, until you know your gate which wasn't until about 20 minutes before scheduled takeoff, there isn't anywhere to sit apart from Starbucks in Area S and they were shutting and so booted everyone off their seats. A triumph of form over function!! I guess if you are an architect it feeds your already monstrous ego to build something that futuristic and that gigantic but as a passenger it felt impersonal and unwelcoming.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by Nicholas Gorton

7 March 2007   Customer Rating : 

Transferring from Uk flights to intl flights via the old terminal is horrendous. Airport clean but not enough seating at gates. Luggage transfer is a disgrace - no luggage arrived in EZE after leaving Madrid with 1.5 hour connection time, it affected 100 fellow passengers, the same on the return journey however only 12 passenger at LGW without luggage from the same flight.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by Jack Sheldon

1 March 2007   Customer Rating : 

I have travelled through Terminal 4 and 4S several times, most recently last week, which included connexions between T4 and T4S. I rather like the airport, find the signage perfectly clear. Its certainly leagues easier to use than LHR or CDG for example and the trains between T4 and T4S function frequently and reliably. It's magnitudes easier than trying to make connexions between T1 and T4 and LHR and infinitely faster. Everything seemed clean and I didn't see anything that was broken. The two minor downsides - as other correspondents have noted fairly long walking distances, though there are moving walkways (which seem to work!!) in most areas. The areas around the gates are a bit cramped, meaning passengers queuing to board don't have anywhere obvious to line up.

Madrid Barajas Airport review by Mike Preston

26 February 2007   Customer Rating : n/a