Madrid Barajas Airport

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 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'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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.