Adolfo Suárez Madrid - Barajas Airport

MAD LEMD  Madrid, Spain

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MAD at a glance

  • What it is: Adolfo Suárez Madrid - Barajas Airport is one of the world's busiest airports serving Madrid, Spain.
  • Codes: MAD on your ticket, LEMD on the radar.
  • How busy: the reference profile lists about 66.2 million annual passengers across 4 runways.
  • Main airline: Iberia bases aircraft here.
  • Right now: 20 aircraft are within 55 km, shown live on the map above.
  • Local time zone: Europe/Madrid (UTC+2), so every time shown for MAD is local rather than UTC.

Aircraft observed near MAD

20 aircraft are within 55 km of MAD right now. This is live ADS-B traffic, not a published timetable: aircraft are classified by what they are physically doing - Climbing out, on approach, or holding at cruise overhead. For gate numbers and scheduled times, check with MAD directly or your airline.

Departing now

FlightOperatorRouteStatusAltitudeSpeed
IBE0539 Iberia route not published climbing out 3,150 ft 185 kts
EJU7690 — route not published climbing out 5,625 ft 243 kts
IBS1631 — route not published climbing out 14,925 ft 378 kts
RYR1472 Ryanair route not published climbing out 21,475 ft 387 kts

Arriving now

FlightOperatorRouteStatusAltitudeSpeed
N622GK — route not published on approach 1,925 ft 141 kts
IBE08ZZ Iberia route not published on approach 1,975 ft 150 kts
IBS1670 — route not published on approach 2,900 ft 184 kts
DLH67K Lufthansa route not published on approach 4,650 ft 206 kts
IBE07HA Iberia route not published on approach 8,425 ft 252 kts
PAV544H — route not published on approach 12,275 ft 320 kts
IBS17VB — route not published on approach 6,900 ft 285 kts
SWT104 — route not published on approach 10,300 ft 261 kts

Overhead and in the area

FlightOperatorRouteStatusAltitudeSpeed
IBE08AT Iberia route not published in the area 1,950 ft 117 kts
RYR29XJ Ryanair route not published in the area 38,000 ft 490 kts
TVF88VZ — route not published in the area 37,000 ft 415 kts
VLG8463 — route not published in the area 33,975 ft 475 kts
SWT223 — route not published in the area 8,850 ft 249 kts
NSZ5023 — route not published in the area 39,000 ft 426 kts
TAP1096 TAP Air Portugal route not published in the area 34,000 ft 458 kts
66.2M
Annual passengers (reference)
4
Runways
4
Terminals
1998 ft
Field elevation

About MAD

Spain's largest airport and the main hub of Iberia, dominating traffic between Europe and Latin America. The undulating bamboo roof of Terminal 4, designed by Richard Rogers, is an architectural landmark. Its four runways make it one of the highest-capacity airports in Europe.

Madrid-Barajas opened in 1931 on a plain northeast of the Spanish capital, with scheduled services developing through the 1930s before the Civil War intervened. It grew into Spain's principal airport and the home of Iberia, expanding through the postwar tourism boom with new terminals and runways. By the 1990s Barajas had become the essential bridge between Europe and Latin America, a role rooted in language, history and Iberia's network. The airport handles more flights to Latin America than any other in Europe.

The transformative leap came in February 2006 with the opening of Terminal 4 and its satellite T4S, designed by Richard Rogers and Antonio Lamela beneath an undulating bamboo-lined roof punctured by rainbow-colored supports. The project, which won the Stirling Prize that year, came with two new runways that doubled the airfield to four and made Barajas one of Europe's highest-capacity airports.

In 2014 the airport was renamed Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas in honor of Spain's first democratically elected prime minister after the Franco era. Today it is the hub of Iberia and Air Europa and the largest airport in Spain.

How MAD operates today

Madrid-Barajas operates four runways in two perpendicular pairs, switching between northern and southern configurations, which allows simultaneous parallel arrivals and departures and gives it among the highest capacities in Europe. Terminal 4 and its satellite host Iberia and its oneworld partners, while Terminals 1 through 3 handle SkyTeam, Star Alliance and low-cost carriers.

The airport is Europe's dominant gateway to Latin America, with a nightly transatlantic bank aimed at dawn arrivals across the Americas. Operator Aena runs one of the continent's largest airport sites, with extensive cargo facilities and metro and commuter rail links.

Top routes from MAD

DestinationMain airlinesWhy it matters
Barcelona (BCN) Iberia, Vueling, Air Europa The famous 'Puente Aereo' air bridge between Spain's two great cities.
Palma de Mallorca (PMI) Air Europa, Iberia, Ryanair The mainland's dense lifeline to the Balearic Islands.
London (LHR) Iberia, British Airways A core IAG trunk route linking the group's two hub cities.
Bogota (BOG) Avianca, Iberia, Air Europa A pillar of Madrid's role as Europe's gateway to Latin America.
Mexico City (MEX) Aeromexico, Iberia, Emirates A flagship transatlantic link that even hosts Emirates' fifth-freedom service.

Facts about MAD

  • Terminal 4 won the Stirling Prize, Britain's top architecture award, in 2006.
  • Madrid handles more flights to Latin America than any other airport in Europe.
  • It is one of Europe's largest airports by land area, with four runways in two perpendicular pairs.
  • The airport was renamed in 2014 for Adolfo Suarez, Spain's first democratically elected prime minister after Franco.

Plane spotting at MAD

The elevated ground around Paracuellos del Jarama overlooking the 32L/32R approaches is a renowned spotting area, with Iberia's Latin America widebody fleet as the star attraction. New to spotting? Start with our aircraft identification guide and the world's best spotting airports.

IATA / ICAO
MAD / LEMD
Location
Madrid, Spain 40.498, -3.568
Time zone
Europe/Madrid
Opened
1931
Hub for
Iberia, Air Europa
Website
www.aena.es

Airlines hubbed at MAD

IB · IBE Iberia Spain

Tracked flights using MAD

Selected scheduled services whose curated route starts, ends or stops at Adolfo Suárez Madrid - Barajas Airport.

FlightRouteTypical aircraft
AM1 MEX → MAD Boeing 787-9Track AM1 →
AV10 BOG → MAD Boeing 787-8Track AV10 →
IB6845 MAD → EZE Airbus A350-900Track IB6845 →
IB6275 MAD → JFK Airbus A350-900Track IB6275 →
IB6403 MAD → MEX Airbus A350-900Track IB6403 →
IB6025 MAD → GRU Airbus A330-300Track IB6025 →
IB341 MAD → BOS Airbus A321XLRTrack IB341 →
LA705 SCL → MAD Boeing 787-9Track LA705 →

Nearby and related airports

Geographically close airports and useful alternatives in Spain.

AGP Málaga - Costa del Sol Airport Málaga, Spain OPO Francisco Sa Carneiro Airport Porto, Portugal BCN Josep Tarradellas Barcelona - El Prat Airport Barcelona, Spain LIS Humberto Delgado Airport Lisbon, Portugal

More airports and guides connected to MAD

Most of the tails you see here belong to Iberia. It ranks among the world's busiest fields, which we compare in the busiest airports ranked. Nearby, Málaga (AGP) serves the same country. The codes MAD and LEMD are explained in airport codes decoded.

Data sources and review

Reviewed 2026-07-29 by Flight-Tracker.net Editorial Team

Passenger, runway, terminal and hub figures are maintained as a reviewed reference snapshot, not a live operational record. Check the airport directly before travelling.

Read our airport data sourcing and review process, or inspect the machine-readable reference dataset.

Frequently asked questions about MAD

What is the airport code for Adolfo Suárez Madrid - Barajas Airport?

Adolfo Suárez Madrid - Barajas Airport uses the IATA code MAD on tickets and baggage tags, and the ICAO code LEMD in flight plans and on radar. The leading “L” in LEMD is the region marker: ICAO codes are grouped geographically, which is why airports near each other usually share their first letter or two while their IATA codes look unrelated.

How many runways does MAD have?

Adolfo Suárez Madrid - Barajas Airport operates 4 runways across 4 passenger terminals. The field sits at 1,998 ft above sea level.

How busy is MAD?

This reference profile lists roughly 66.2 million annual passengers for Adolfo Suárez Madrid - Barajas Airport. You can see aircraft observed departing, arriving and overhead on this page, taken from live ADS-B broadcasts.

Which airlines are based at MAD?

Iberia treat MAD as a hub or major base. Many other carriers serve the airport without basing aircraft there.

How many terminals does MAD have?

This reference lists Adolfo Suárez Madrid - Barajas Airport with 4 passenger terminals. Check the airport or operating airline for the terminal assigned to a specific flight.

What time zone is MAD in?

Adolfo Suárez Madrid - Barajas Airport runs on Europe/Madrid, currently UTC+2. Flight trackers work in UTC internally, so the seven-day history on our flight pages is stamped UTC while the boards on this page are in MAD local time - worth remembering when the two disagree by a whole calendar day.

Can I track flights at MAD live?

Yes. The map on this page shows every aircraft broadcasting its position within about 55 km of Adolfo Suárez Madrid - Barajas Airport, and there are 20 in range as this page loaded. The boards split them into departures, arrivals and traffic passing overhead, all timed in Europe/Madrid.