World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Barajas International Airport (MAD)
Tel: 902 353 570. Fax: (91) 301 0033.
Website: www.aena.es

Barajas airport, located 13km (8 miles) from Madrid’s city centre, has three terminals serving more than 36 million passengers per year. Terminal one handles all international flights (except Iberia flights to Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal). Terminal two serves domestic flights and the Iberia international flights listed above. Terminal three is used primarily for the Madrid-Barcelona shuttle.

Major airlines: In addition to Spain’s national airline, Iberia (tel: 902 400 500; website: www.iberia.es), over 50 airlines serve Barajas, including Air France, Alitalia, American Airlines, British Airways, Continental Airlines, easyJet, KLM, Lufthansa, SAS, Swiss and Thai Airways International.

Approximate flight times to Madrid: From London is 2 hours 15 minutes; from New York is 7 hours; from Los Angeles is 11 hours; from Toronto is 7 hours and from Sydney is 27 hours 30 minutes.

Airport facilities: These include banks, bureaux de change, ATMs, pharmacies, hotel and rail reservation, tourist information, left luggage, a post office, shops, restaurants, bars, and car hire from Avis, Atesa International, Budget, Europcar and Hertz.

Business facilities: The airport has two business lounges in terminal one, with fax and telephone facilities. Iberia has lounges in both terminal one and two. There are several meeting rooms which can be hired out for meetings, receptions, expositions and conferences in both terminals (tel: (913) 936 808/797; e-mail: salasbarajas@aena.es)

Arrival/departure tax: None.

Transport to the city: By Bus: Linea 200 links the airport and the city. Daily departures from Avenida de America from 0520-2330, and from Bajaras Airport from 0536-2330. First departure from Avenida de America is from bus stand no.8, subsequent departures from the main bus stop (c/Darsena 18). A single ticket costs ¬2.50 and this allows you two pieces of luggage, each additional piece of luggage costs ¬2.50. Information tel: 914 068 810. By underground: Linea 8, Nuevos Ministerios-Barajas; a single ticket costs ¬1.15. Trains run from 0605-0200. By road: from the A2 exit at km 12. From the M49, exists 3 and 9 connect with the M-11 and M-14 respectively, both of which go straight to the terminals. By taxi: a taxi journey costs from ¬18–22, including a ¬4.20 airport charge (journey time – 30 minutes).