Madrid's Multiple Airports: How Many And Where?

Madrid, Spain's capital city, has several airports serving the city and its surrounding areas. The main airport is Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD/LEMD), located around 13km from the city's historic centre. It is one of Europe's most important aviation centres, serving as a crucial gateway to the Iberian Peninsula from the world and a key link between Europe and Latin America. In addition to Barajas, there are four other airports in the greater Madrid area: Cuatro Vientos, Torrejon, Getafe Air Base, and Monforte. These airports are smaller and serve regional or local flights. Madrid's main airport, Barajas, features five terminals (T1, T2, T3, T4, and T4S) and four runways, handling over 60 million passengers annually.

Madrid-Barajas Airport

The airport was constructed in 1927 and opened to domestic and international air traffic in 1931, though regular commercial operations began two years later. In the 1930s, the airport began serving some European and African destinations, with flights to Latin America and the Philippines following in the late 1940s. Madrid-Barajas has continued to expand and modernise over the years, with significant developments in the 1950s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Today, it is one of Europe's most important aviation centres.

The airport covers an area of 3,050 hectares (7,500 acres or 30.5 square kilometres) and has five passenger terminals (T1, T2, T3, T4, and T4S), an executive terminal, an air cargo area, and two main hangar areas. It is the busiest airport in Spain and the fifth-busiest in Europe, handling over 61.8 million passengers in 2019. Madrid-Barajas is the primary hub and maintenance base for Iberia and Air Europa, with Iberia responsible for more than 40% of the airport's traffic.

The airport features four runways, allowing for simultaneous take-offs and landings and enabling 120 operations per hour. Terminal 4, one of the world's largest airport terminals by area, was designed by a team of renowned architects and engineers, including Antonio Lamela, Richard Rogers, and Luis Vidal, and is known for its stress-free design, incorporating natural light and glass panes instead of walls.

In addition to its aviation infrastructure, Madrid-Barajas Airport offers a range of transportation options to and from the city centre, including the Madrid Metro Line, bus services, and long-distance coaches. The airport also provides medical rooms and cardiac rescue points equipped with defibrillators to handle medical emergencies.

Cuatro Vientos Airport

Madrid has five major airports in total, four small and one large. The Cuatro Vientos Airport is one of the smaller airports in Madrid, located just 8km from the city centre. It is the oldest airport in Spain, established in 1911, and is one of three civil airports in Madrid, along with Madrid–Barajas and Madrid–Torrejón Airport. The name "Cuatro Vientos" translates to "Four Winds".

The airport is also home to flying, pilot, and cabin crew training schools, as well as state services such as the State Police Headquarters and State Traffic Office. Companies involved in airline work, maintenance, training of maintenance technicians, drone management, and aircraft manufacturing equipment are also located here.

The Museum of Aeronautics and Astronautics, dedicated mainly to the Spanish Air and Space Force, is located on the southern side of the airport. Close by, the Infante de Orléans Foundation is dedicated to the maintenance, preservation, and exhibition of old aircraft. The foundation's exhibitions are open on the first Sunday of each month, except January and August.

Torrejon Airport

Madrid has five major airports and four small ones. One of the small airports is Torrejon Airport (IATA: TOJ, ICAO: LETO). This airport is jointly used by the Spanish Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Public Works. The civil part of the airport is dedicated to executive and private aviation, while the military part, Torrejón Air Base, is the base of several combat, logistics, and electronic warfare units of the Spanish Air and Space Force. It is also home to the official planes of the President of the Government and the King of Spain. The airport is located 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Madrid, 5 miles (8 km) west of Alcalá de Henares, and 1 mile (1.6 km) northeast of Torrejón de Ardoz.

The airport was formerly home to U.S. Air Force squadrons, but following a referendum in 1986 that committed the Spanish government to reducing the U.S. military presence in Spain, the USAF portion of the base was returned to the Spanish government in 1996.

The Torrejon Airport has one runway and does not appear to be served by any commercial airlines. However, it does handle executive and private aviation.

Getafe Air Base

Madrid is served by multiple airports, including one large international airport, four regional airports, and one local airport. One of the regional airports is Getafe Air Base, a military airbase located in Getafe, 14 km south of Madrid.

The air base is located 620 meters above sea level and has a single runway with a length of 3.06 km. In addition to military use, the base is also home to a factory that belongs to CASA, now part of the European group EADS CASA. This factory is used for the assembly of Spanish Eurofighter Typhoons and the maintenance of various aircraft of the Air and Space Force.

The main military unit operating from Getafe Air Base is the "Ala 35" transport wing, which includes CASA CN-235 and EADS CASA C-295 aircraft. In 2008, most of the CN-235s were relocated to other Spanish Air Force bases, and a second squadron of C-295s was formed.

Monforte Airport

The Madrid-Barajas International Airport features four runways, while the Cuatro Vientos and Getafe airports have two runways each, and the Torrejon Airport has one runway. Runway information for the Monforte Airport is not available, but it presumably has at least one runway.

The Madrid-Barajas International Airport is the second-largest airport in Europe by physical size, covering an area of 3,050 ha (7,500 acres or 30.5 km2). It is located within the city limits of Madrid, 9 km (6 mi) from the city's financial district and 13 km (8 mi) northeast of the Puerta del Sol or Plaza Mayor de Madrid, the historic centre of the city. The airport was constructed in 1927 and opened to domestic and international air traffic in 1931. It has grown to become one of Europe's most important aviation centres, serving as a gateway to the Iberian peninsula and a key link between Europe and Latin America.

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