Madrid Airport has 4 terminals, but only three of them have check-in counters. Check-in for departures from Terminal 3 takes place in Terminal 2. There is a free airport bus service between the terminals, see details in the "Transfer" section below.

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The terminals are divided by airline (see the current list on the official website):

• Terminal 1: Aer Lingus, Aerolineas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Air Arabia, Air Canada, Air China, Air Europa (non-Schengen flights), Air India, Air Transat, Blue Air, China Eastern Airlines, Cubana, Delta, easyJet, Egyptair, Enter Air, Estelar, Ethiopian Airlines, Etihad Airways, Hainan Airlines, Icelandair, Korean Air, Laudamotion, Middle East Airlines, Pegasus Airlines, Plus Ultra, Saudia, Ryanair Tarom, Tunisair, Turkish Airlines, United, Wamos Air and Wizz Air,
• Terminal 2: Aegean Airlines, Air Europa (Schengen flights), Air France, Alitalia, Brussels Airlines, KLM, LOT, Lufthansa, Norwegian, Swiss, TAP, Transavia and Volotea,
• Terminal 3: not used for check-in, it is only the transit part of Terminal 2, where you will find the gates section,
• Terminal 4: Air Algerie, Air Baltic, American Airlines, Avianca, Boliviana, British Airways, Bulgaria Air, Cathay Pacific, Ceiba, CSA, El Al, Emirates, Evelop, Finnair, Iberia, LATAM, Luxair, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, Ukraine International, Vueling, World2fly

Terminals 1, 2 and 3 are combined in one building, while the largest Terminal 4 is about 2 kilometres away and connected by free shuttle buses. All terminals are simultaneously served by public transport from the city, see Transport section.

Terminal 4 has two separate buildings. The main T4, which houses the check-in counters and gates for flights within the Schengen area, is almost a kilometre long but very uncluttered. The satellite building T4S, serving non-Schengen departures, is connected to the main T4 by an underground automatic train, which is free of charge and runs about every 3 minutes, with the ride also taking about 2-3 minutes. A comfortable transfer from Terminal 4 to Terminal 4S usually takes no more than 40 minutes.

All terminals are open 24 hours a day, overnight stays are not a problem, although they are also nothing convenient.

Transfer between flights

The following transfer check sequence applies at all terminals:

• Schengen -> Schengen: you do not go through passport or security control.
• Schengen -> Non-Schengen: you go through passport control but not security control
• Non-Schengen -> Schengen: you go through both passport control and security, queues can be over 60 minutes long, especially after the morning arrival wave
• Non-Schengen -> Non-Schengen: going through security but not passport control

You can find clear information about transferring at Madrid Airport on this website: aena.es/en/adolfo-suarez-madrid-barajas

If you are connecting on one ticket (i.e. you didn't buy a separate ticket twice) or if you are continuing on the same airline, you will almost always only have to transfer within one terminal.

Transfer at terminal 1/2/3

Because these terminals are combined in one building, you don't have to worry about long bus or airport train transfers.

Transferring within a terminal is straightforward, but often a bit lengthy and uncomfortable due to the fragmented and cramped corridors. You will be able to physically move between the furthest gates in about 30 minutes.

Transfer at Terminal 4

Terminal 4, on the other hand, is very spacious and extremely uncluttered. Long distances are easily covered on the mobile travelators.

Gates H, J and K are in the main building, while the S gates are all in the satellite terminal 4S, which is located in the middle of the airport area.

• Departure gates H, J, K (main terminal) - departures to Schengen area countries
• Departure gates S (satellite terminal) - departures to non-Schengen countries

Terminal 4S is connected to the main terminal 4 by an underground train which runs approximately once every 3-4 minutes for 24 hours a day. The train is free and the journey time is less than 5 minutes.

Transfer between terminals

If you are transferring between terminals on your own, you can use the free shuttle bus which stops outside the airport buildings and is labelled "Terminal Shuttle". It runs 24 hours a day every 5 minutes or once every 20 minutes at night. The journey time is about 15 minutes.

The bus operates both outside the public area and within the transit zone on the airport surface. The passenger-only transit bus only pendulates between Terminal 1 (stop at baggage claim hall 1) and Terminal 4S.

Airport map

For a clear interactive map of all terminals, please visit the airport's official website: www.aena.es/en