Airport review: Madrid-Barajas Airport

Madrid's international airport can overwhelm by sheer physical size.

THE AIRPORT

Adolfo Suarez Madrid–Barajas Airport, to give it its full name. Best known as Madrid–Barajas airport (MAD).

THE FLIGHT

EK142 to Dubai (DBX)

THE ARRIVAL

Europe's second-largest airport by sheer physical size, Madrid's international airport can overwhelm. It comprises four terminals, and Terminal 4 also has a satellite, T4S, which is where my Emirates flight departs from. Set 20 kilometres from the city centre, I take the bus from the central Atocha station, which costs €5 ($7.80), payable as you enter the bus. It takes 30 minutes to reach the cluster of Terminals 1, 2 and 3, and another 10 minutes to the newer T4 – the bus goes back out onto a freeway to reach the final terminal; don't have a heart attack, you're on the right route.

THE LOOK

The first terminals were built in the 1950s – and while they've been repeatedly renovated, the sands of time clearly have done their work. However, T4 and T4S are much younger, opening in 2006, with soaring ceilings of bamboo waves and which fill the terminal with natural light.

SECURITY

Swift and uneventful – some might call the stony-faced service abrupt, but hey, that's security for you, right?

CHECK IN

With my bus running 15 minutes late, I arrive at T4's check-in desk in 1.45 hours before my flight, and I'm the only person at the counter. My ploy of not arriving three hours before has paid off, when I hear from another passenger that it was "a disaster" when check-in first opened. As a result, my own check-in – albeit from spectacularly disinterested staff – is speedy and painless. However, the departure gate is in T4S, still 22 minutes from the check-in desk via the connecting underground train, and boarding starts in 10 minutes. Who knows why you'd start boarding 90 minutes before departure, but I head off at a run. When I reach it, the gate is completely chockers, and despite the warning of imminent boarding, there's absolutely no indication that we'll be getting on the plane any time soon.

FOOD AND DRINK

Happily for all on my flight, our gate is beside one of several outlets of MasQMenos, a tapas and jamon bar, which is doing a ridiculously brisk trade in beer and sparkling wine among the waiting passengers. The airport is well serviced by Spanish restaurants and cafes, meaning you can load up on that last hit of tasty little montaditos (open sandwiches) while you wait. The usual international fast-food chains are also in evidence, but with far superior Spanish fare on offer – even the watered-down, airport version – why would you?

RETAIL THERAPY

If you've already bought the flamenco apron (guilty) the last-minute gifts to snaffle here are Iberian ham expertly sliced fresh off the bone, chunks of Spanish cheese and beautifully bottled olives. Spanish fashion and leather goods brands including Desigual and Mango are dotted around the terminals.

PASSING TIME

Many domestic Spanish flights allow small pets to travel in the cabin, so I'm thoroughly entertained by random meows and yips emanating from passing carry-alls. There are 21 Air Rooms in the airport, which can be booked overnight, for up to six hours, or just an hour for a shower on arrival. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the airport, though you could do far worse than spending an hour or two on a stool pulled up at the tasting bar of Sibarium Delicatessen or the counter of Iberian food and wines specialist Enrique Tomas.

THE VERDICT

With a plethora of ways to reach the airport from downtown Madrid, just ensure you've budgeted enough time if you're departing from the far-flung T4 and T4S: wear comfy shoes for traversing the sprawling terminals. And if you need a last-minute tapas hit, the airport obliges. See aena.es

OUR SCORE OUT OF FIVE

★★★★

Belinda Jackson flew courtesy of Tourism Ireland.