# What’s your opinion of Madrid airport? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 12, 2024, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-opinion-of-madrid-airport/997484 "2024-02-12T18:04:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-opinion-of-madrid-airport/997484/1 "2024-02-12T18:04:08Z")
I’m in the very beginning of planning a trip to the U.K. and Spain this year. I was think of ending the trip in Madrid and flying home to Chicago O’Hare from Madrid airport. Can anyone assuage my feelings that MAD isn’t as bad as London Heathrow or especially CDG airport in Paris which I hate with the passion of 1 million burning suns? The flights I am looking at would depart MAD at 1135 AM and I will be there at least 3 hours before departure. I’m staying in the Chueca neighborhood in Madrid, is that fine for the last night or is there a compelling reason to move to an airport hotel? ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-opinion-of-madrid-airport/997484/2 "2024-02-12T18:07:19Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > as bad as London Heathrow or especially CDG airport in Paris which I hate with the passion of 1 million burning suns? Could you clarify what problem(s?) you have with those two? Is it the layout? Amenities that you find lacking or missing? Different things irk different people, so if we know what grinds your particular gears, we may be able to give better info. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-opinion-of-madrid-airport/997484/3 "2024-02-12T18:15:56Z")
I flew in/out of Madrid a few times. Nothing really out of the ordinary that I can recall. Uber there, wait on lines, sit and wait, get on plane and leave type of airport. ---
**Author:** ![Frilly\_Heck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/90ced4/32.png) [@Frilly\_Heck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frilly_Heck)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-opinion-of-madrid-airport/997484/4 "2024-02-12T18:34:39Z")
I’ve flown in and out of the Madrid airport, and it was fine. I’m not sure what things you hate about CDG and Heathrow, but they are much bigger and busier airports. I was in Madrid about 10 years ago, so take that for what it’s worth. We stayed near the Prado Museum, took the underground to and from the airport, and had no problems at all. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-opinion-of-madrid-airport/997484/5 "2024-02-14T04:01:52Z")
Madrid has several terminals. They’re accessible by Metro and there’s an airport shuttle bus. You should be fine if you find out beforehand from which terminal you’re leaving. As long as your hotel is near a Metro stop, just look at a Metro map. It’s easy to navigate. I was there last spring and stayed at a hotel a few stops away in Barajas. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-opinion-of-madrid-airport/997484/6 "2024-02-14T08:56:26Z")
I’m not sure what’s going to assuage your fears about Madrid. It isn’t as large as Heathrow or CDG - the 2 largest in Europe - but it isn’t far behind. All large airports have their stresses. Madrid doesn’t stand out in my mind as any better or worse than others. It’s certainly better than Amsterdam Schiphol which is my personal nemesis! The airport is easily reached by public transport in about 30 minutes so for a flight at that time it wouldn’t occur to me to stay at an airport hotel. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-opinion-of-madrid-airport/997484/7 "2024-02-14T08:58:48Z")
Madrid Airport is very pretty, as airports go. > [@SanVito](#): > > It’s certainly better than Amsterdam Schiphol which is my personal nemesis! I’ve only flown in and out of Schipol once but I remember it being a lot easier to navigate than Heathrow. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-opinion-of-madrid-airport/997484/8 "2024-02-14T09:02:43Z")
I feel like something’s happened to Schiphol in recent years, I’m not sure if it’s a massive increase in passenger numbers or issues with security and customs processing, but these days it always seems heaving with people, not enough space and shocking queues - worse than you might normally expect in airports, even Heathrow and CDG. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-opinion-of-madrid-airport/997484/9 "2024-02-14T12:21:51Z")
madrid airport seemed more like a mall to me … (which isn’t a bad thing if you have to kill 3 hours between flights) … so - quite a middle-of-the-road kind of airport … neither great nor bad… I’d have no 2nd thoughts on using it. ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2024, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-opinion-of-madrid-airport/997484/10 "2024-02-14T16:18:25Z")
I have flown in and out of Madrid a few times, and I think even transited there once or twice. I cannot remember a single detail of the airport, which suggests to me that it was perfectly fine, if not terribly awesome. I make sure to remember the airports I hate. 😁