Feb 15, 2016, 2:13 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
Connecting at MAD / Madrid Barajas International Airport
FEEL FREE TO EDIT OR ADD TO THIS WIKIPOST
FEEL FREE TO EDIT OR ADD TO THIS WIKIPOST
Madrid airport layout
Terminals include
Terminal 1: International. Star Alliance primarily (also the only non-Schengen area outside of T4)
Terminal 2: Domestic mostly. SkyTeam primarily
Terminal 3: Schengen and some Domestic mostly. Air France/KLM/Lufthansa usually leave from here, but really it's just a slight extension on T2
Terminals 1-2-3 are adjacent and host Star and SkyTeam alliances and are all connected airside.
Terminal 4: one world including Iberia
Domestic and Schengen mostly from Terminal 4
International from Terminal 4-S (satellite) (Except IB or I2 operated flights to UK and Ireland as well as BA CityFlyer flights to LCY that operate out of T4 Main, though note that usually one IB flight to LHR daily is operated by an A330 or A340, these flights go from T4-S).
Both connected by an underground train, though going from T4-S to T4 requires going landside and re-clearing security in order to access T4.
Terminals are connected by a landside shuttle bus service.
Connecting from non-Schengen to Schengen (or departing the airport) one must process immigration in T-4S. Queues can be lengthy at times; if you are an EU citizen, you wil lfind the kiosk to your right in the queues. If you are not, keep to the right of the general queues anyway, as the EU queues can empty and they begin waving non-EU passengers into the EU lines.
The train connecting the T4-S satellite to T4 must be accessed via lifts or stairs; the lifts are faster. A non-Schengen to Schengen connection can take an hour or longer - A 1.5 hours is recommended as minimum connect times, and possibly more for Schengen to non-Schengen if during busy hours due to security procedures, particularly for US flights. Status passengers on Iberia flights to the US have access to a separate priority queue to clear the extra US screening.
Connections to other terminals are by a landside shuttle bus located, and can take rather longer than one might think as T4 is quite far away from T1/2/3. There is a metro link between the two, however you will have to pay full fare and even for a single rider a taxi is pretty competitive on price when the airport supplement is included.
Resources:
Link to Madrid Barajas Airport (World Airport Guides)
Link to AENA official MAD Madrid Barajas website by airport operator AENA
Wikipedia decent article on Madrid Barajas (with listings of airline gates and terminals - BUT caveat - it fails to differentiate between Terminal 4 and Terminal 4-S!)
Schengen Agreements nations information (with maps, etc.)
Connections through Madrid Airport
Dec 15, 2017, 9:01 am
#346
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Jupiter, FL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Silver
Posts: 29,773
There is a direct train from T4 to Atocha station (Cercanías, just beyond the Metro station at T4), which is the best way to get there (although it only runs every 30 min, so if you just miss one it can be faster to take the Metro to Nuevos Ministerios and then change to the Cercanías, but this is also more expensive). I would recommend taking the free shuttle to meet with him at T4 (a taxi within T4 and T1 is € 20, at that point you might as well take the taxi to the city for the flat fee of € 30).
Dec 15, 2017, 12:12 pm
#347
Join Date: May 2013
Location: MAD
Programs: IB+, BAEC
Posts: 3,103
There is a direct train from T4 to Atocha station (Cercanías, just beyond the Metro station at T4), which is the best way to get there (although it only runs every 30 min, so if you just miss one it can be faster to take the Metro to Nuevos Ministerios and then change to the Cercanías, but this is also more expensive). I would recommend taking the free shuttle to meet with him at T4 (a taxi within T4 and T1 is € 20, at that point you might as well take the taxi to the city for the flat fee of € 30).
FWIW, the train runs 4x per hour now (though annoyingly not every 15 minutes)
Dec 15, 2017, 7:19 pm
#348
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Jupiter, FL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Silver
Posts: 29,773
Dec 15, 2017, 11:01 pm
#349
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: NW OH
Programs: DL PM/KM, AC *G, AS MVP-100K
Posts: 829
Try this: Madrid Cercanías
Dec 15, 2017, 11:02 pm
#350
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Jupiter, FL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Silver
Posts: 29,773
Try this: Madrid Cercanías
Dec 16, 2017, 2:12 am
#351
Join Date: May 2013
Location: MAD
Programs: IB+, BAEC
Posts: 3,103
The days when I arrive at 8 AM or so, I'll usually get the train, aside from that I'll usually grab a taxi (well, I use cabify but same idea). I live next to Atocha so it's direct.
That said, if I were using my own money and not the company's, I'd go on the train almost every time because I don't think it's worth almost 30€ to save 20 minutes or so.
Dec 19, 2017, 11:20 am
#352
Join Date: Aug 2016
Programs: BA, EK, SQ, MH
Posts: 14
They will call a bus or a car for you ONLY if you cannot enter Schengen. Otherwise they'll force you to use the landside transfer.
As you'll have to go through security regardless of how you do the transfer, I don't see any advantage of doing the airside transfer as you may have to wait up to 30-45 mins airside, which will make the time savings point quite moot
As you'll have to go through security regardless of how you do the transfer, I don't see any advantage of doing the airside transfer as you may have to wait up to 30-45 mins airside, which will make the time savings point quite moot
Jan 3, 2018, 8:53 am
#353
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,120
I am looking at flying BCN-MAD-ORD in October (business class). One of the options has just 1:05 connection time. It must be a legal connection as it shows on the airline website. Am I right in not feeling that this is not really enough time and I should go for a 2 hour connection?
Thanks.
Thanks.
Jan 3, 2018, 11:19 am
#355
Join Date: May 2013
Location: MAD
Programs: IB+, BAEC
Posts: 3,103
I am looking at flying BCN-MAD-ORD in October (business class). One of the options has just 1:05 connection time. It must be a legal connection as it shows on the airline website. Am I right in not feeling that this is not really enough time and I should go for a 2 hour connection?
Thanks.
Thanks.
Jan 9, 2018, 6:35 am
#359
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Canada, USA, Europe
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 31,452
