Madrid Barajas Airport

Customer Reviews

No Skytrax Rating
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Queuing Times 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Staff 12345
Customer rating from 210 reviews
4/10
No Skytrax Rating
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1/10

"issues both times we had to transit"

(United States)

Madrid airport is beautiful, but staff are incompetent. The terminal shuttle train was down and they had no plan for what to do. We stood in line for over 30 minutes before they sent shuttles to take us to the other terminal. We missed our connecting flight, which was not delayed even though the majority of its passengers were not on the plane. The line to book a new flight was 3 hours long because everyone missed their flight and the staff were very slow. We had issues going through this airport both times we had to transit. Will not be traveling through this airport again.
Experience At AirportTransit
Date VisitMay 2016
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
3/10

"fail to get the basics right"

(United Kingdom)

Really poor signage. Departure boards indicate that your flight leaves from the "Satellite Terminal" but then there are no signs to tell you which of the three gate areas that is. You have to pass through passport control even when you're just in international transit. Women's bathrooms are poorly designed. A shame because in some ways it's a nice, light, airy terminal - but they fail to get the basics right.
Experience At AirportTransit
Date VisitApril 2016
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
2/10

"you would expect more"

(United States)

This airport is overall annoying. I've been to many airports and it promotes all of these excellent things it doesn't have. There is no free wifi but there are ads everywhere talking about the free wifi that does not exist. Food is expensive but that's a given since it is an airport. The airport staff come off as rude especially to non Spanish speakers sometimes and that's coming from someone who has been to this airport 8 times so far this year. Overall you would expect more.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitApril 2016
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
5/10

"expected much better"

(United States)

Very unimpressed. Arrived on AA and had to walk the length of the terminal to get to the shuttle which took us to baggage claim where we assumed we would meet our bags immediately. Not so. Another 40 minutes passed until the bags arrived. Overall, I expected much better from this airport.
Experience At AirportArrival Only
Date VisitApril 2016
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
no
7/10

"good signage on arrival / departure"

(Switzerland)

Terminal 4 / 4s - very good signage in the airport building as well as on arrival and departure. Service and attention around Iberia counters OK but nothing special. Very good VIP access for security control and vast shopping / eating experience. The concept of signs is clear and thougthful and used in a clever way.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitNovember 2015
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
yes
1/10

"restaurant prices are outrageous"

(Spain)

I use Madrid because it is the only Spanish airport with decent connection in/out of Spain, but it is an awful place. The long narrow terminal means walking kilometres. It lacks any signage so one has to ask an attendant. In general, the signage is rare, chaotic and not logical. The availbility of restaurants is inconsistent, which again can mean a long way to walk. Transits usually mean a lot of walking. Prices at restaurants and machines are outrageous, especially for the mostly poor quality food and drinks one gets. WiFi is spotty and one has to pay for it after half an hour. Not that there is much choice, but I try get direct flights abroad as much as possible to avoid having to connect at this poorly designed airport.
Experience At AirportTransit
Date VisitDecember 2015
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
2/10

"poor signs and blocked paths"

(United States)

Reviewing the joined T1, T2, T3 - Experience was quite awful connecting at this airport. Starting with very long taxiing, then long bus rides (no gates), then even longer walk to the next gate (no shuttles, trams, no automated walkways, no escalators, poor signs and blocked paths), just to take another long bus ride. The floor is old and broken, in winter the heating is suffocating and the retail choices are mediocre. I could not connect to the wifi. And in my exit terminal T3 there were no shops at all. Only 1 automated vending machine. If you are in a hurry with a carry-on, prepare for an exhausting connection. I know I will never book another flight that connects at any of these terminals. In all fairness I have been to the new T4 and it was quite a different (good) experience.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitFebruary 2016
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
6/10

"needs more signs"

(United Kingdom)

This trip we were with code share partners so did not have to traverse the whole of the airport but surprisingly had to go through arrivals and then back up to departures which made the transfer more difficult. The airport needs more signs and staff members on some of the information desks were not very helpful at all. Basics such as cleanliness of toilets, and access to seats was very good in both terminal 4 and 4s.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitJanuary 2016
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Airport Staff 12345
yes
6/10

"signage was inadequate"

(United Kingdom)

This airport has won prizes for its design by Richard Rogers - a triumph of style over substance. In transit from Havana to London it quickly became clear that the lifts were too small and the signage was inadequate and sometimes misleading. It was sometimes hard to find someone who could tell you where you had to go. It looks great but many other airports are much easier to use.
Experience At AirportTransit
Date VisitFebruary 2016
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
3/10

"no info desks"

(United States)

Beautiful Madrid Airport is difficult to maneuver because of bad and confusing signage. I'm not entirely dumb, but lettering of gate nos. and concourses are illogical. My flight departed from gate M, but the sign only read A-L. I kept walking back and forth, even trying to find someone to help without having to walk all the way down to the last gate. No info desks or customer service agents around. They assume that you'll find M if you keep walking down the A-L aisle, and past L. The only person who was kind was a janitor who wanted to practice his English as I was frantically trying to get to the gate. When I finally reached it, there was a US college student who said he was just as confused. Have been to Madrid airport 4 times, and each time I've gotten screwed up.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitMay 2015
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no