Airport Madrid-Barajas

Location
The airport is located about 17 km or 10 miles north west of the "Kilómetro Cero", the central geographic centre of Spain at the Puerta del Sol. Access to the terminals T1 - T3 is possible via the Autovia M-13, whereas Terminal 4 is accessible from the Motorvia M-12 at Exit No.4 or the M-110.

Those traveling by train and bus can take the metro line 8 (Nuevos Ministerios - Aeropuerto T4) which also stops at the terminals T1 - T3. The metro trains operate every day from about 6:00 am to 2:00 am and the journey takes about 15 to 20 minutes.

Buses serving the terminals T1 - T3 on a regular basis are the city bus lines 101, 200, 822 and 824. T4 is served by the buses 201, 204, 827 and 828.

History
The plan to build a major airport for Spain's capital city was hatched in 1928 by the architect Luis Gutiérrez Soto and the engineer Marques de los Alamos. The airfield was opened only three years later in the spring of 1931. First commercial flights were not operated until 1933, when the former Post Líneas Aéreas Postales Españolas line flew from Madrid to Barcelona. There quickly followed more international routes to further European countries and to nearby destinations on the African continent. Initially, the airport was able to provide for an annual capacity of 30,000 annual passengers.

In 1944, the 1400 m long and 48 m wide grass runway was tarmacked. At that point in time Madrid had the most modern airport on the European continent.

In the early 1950s transcontinental scheduled flights to North America were in operation, for instance flying to New York. In subsequent years, annual passenger numbers rose very quickly and by the mid 1950s, the airport could already count more than 500,000 passengers. In 1953, the new terminal T2 was constructed to meet the growing requirements.