David-A

I don't know what type of Priorty Pass you have, if it doesn't charge you for visits then sure why not stick your head around the door, but if paying... I'd stick to what you can get for free.

The Iberia website is not always completely free of errors, and especially the translated pages - sometimes things are a bit misleading, othertimes they are wrong!

Anyway, the Iberia lounge in T4S is called "Velázquez" - but heading in this travel direction you will not have access.

Dali is in T4(main)

No chance before you head to T4, as arrivals and departures in T4S are totally segregated from each other.

Let me try to describe MAD T4 (and T4S) - just so you get the idea of layout and process:

T4 (main) handles only narrow-body short-haul aircraft.

The main gate area and departure lounge is deemed to be schengen cleared (imigration), also essentially customs cleared, and fully security screened to European standards.

Accordingly, arriving passengers into T4 (main) from schengen destinations, and customs area destinations, can walk up the airbridge and straight into the departure lounge - along side passengers waiting to depart. They can then head to another gate, or head to an exit to landside. They are already secruity screened at a prior airport.

The one exception to this, is that at one end of the main terminal, a few gates have been separated from the others - these are used to handle some shorthaul flights to places that are NOT part of the schengen immigration area. But are still security screened to the same standards and also inside the common customs area.
In practice this is essentially flights to the UK and Ireland. As they are not part of the imigration schengen area, but are part of the Customs area, and screen to the same standards. So these people upon arrival can still walk back up the bridge into this little gate area.

And to move between these fenced off gates and the other gates in T4(main) there is a border post - imigrationally and emigrationally processing people into and out of the schengen area. Usually a very quick process.

This is where your DUB flight should depart from.

The Dali lounge is in the main bit, so only head into small non-schengen gate area when boarding time is approaching.

T4S (the satellite) can only be accessed from inside T4 (main). It has the space for widebodies and is where longhaul flights will depart from, also some shorthaul.

T4S is more complicated than T4.

There is actually a groundfloor level, which has a small number of gates that are schengen and customs cleared like the main terminal. This small area people can access directly from the transfer train. (and it is where the third Iberia lounge used to be, but it's now closed).

Above this is the main T4S departure lounge area. To enter this area people coming from T4(main) head through a border control post to get imigrationally exit processed from the schengen area (again very quick usually).
In this area is the IB Velázquez lounge, which is 24 hours.

With the exception of the small number of flights using the ground floor gates that are just like T4(main), arriving passengers into T4(main) are completely segregated from departing.
There are not imigrationally cleared (as not arrived from inside schengen), they are generally not customs cleared, and in many cases have not yet been security screen to European standards.

If they have an onward flight departing from T4(S) (excluding the small of gates on the ground floor), they can stay in T4(S) they get security screened to European standards, and routed to the main departure are in T4S - where they could use the Velázquez lounge etc.
While they have been security screened, they have not been immigration-ally processed, or customs screened.

If they have an onward flight from T4(main) or their journey ends in madrid, they are sent down to the transit trains back to T4(main).

They need to be both immigrationally processed into schengen and also customs cleared (but customs in Europe is generally a trivial affair, intelligence lead. If they want to talk to people, they stop them.

If heading into the T4(main) departure lounge they also need to be security screened to European standards.


You might not have followed a word of that, but if you are used to people describing airports, then perhaps (hopefully) some of that made sense.

Hence, upon arrival into T4S, you are imigrationally, customs and security terms not clean.
So you can't get to the T4S lounge - due T4S arrivals not being deemed to be security clean. (Don't take it personally, as with all airports, lots of countries are lumped together).

As your flight to DUB should depart from T4(main) you will be imigrationally entry processed, and be security screened and find yourself in the main T4 departure lounge with the lounge options of the Iberia Dali lounge and - subject to payment/priortypass the AENA lounge in T4(main).
(if you will be charged, stick to the IB lounge)

When you get called to the gate, you will head to one end of T4(Main) where you will go through schengen emigration process - very quick, because Ireland is not part of schengen.



If you are going in the reverse direction the same route. You would arrive into the fenced off gates at one end of T4(main), you would then go through imigration into Schengen, and be in the main area where you could again go to Dali lounge, etc (in my experience they usually let people in even if their flight departs T4S). Then you could head to the train over to T4S. Get schengen exit processed, and make use of the Iberia Velázquez lounge (or the AENA lounge in T4S - upstairs bit).

So in the reverse direciton, you could try both. But the Velázquez in T4S is generally better than Dali in T4 main.
That said, Dali is functionally fine.


[For anyone reading this, the one extra bit to through into the mix, is that Iberia services to the UK use T4(main) - the fenced off gates at one end, but the British Airways operated services use T4S - the upstairs level giving access to Velázquez. Given they codeshare on each others flights, check who the operators is. Plus, one of the IB flights to LHR each day is a widebody for cargo purposes, and it goes from T4S also.]