Flights to Madrid
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Scheduled flights
The sprawling Barajas airport in Madrid has just got even bigger, with the opening up of a fourth terminal and two new runways. Spanish airports operator AENA want to see Madrid develop as Europe's "Gateway to the Americas" (or at least Latin America), but the availability of direct scheduled flights to Madrid from the UK with traditional "network" airlines remains limited to just London, Birmingham and Manchester. British Airways' regional airline BA Connect also offers one-stop links from Glasgow or Edinburgh to Madrid via Birmingham, in addition to the usual connections through Heathrow. British Airways' part ownership of Spanish airline Iberia, who are also part of the One World airline alliance delivers a high-frequency of flights from London Heathrow to Madrid, but ensures that there is less competition elsewhere.
Budget flights
Madrid's ambitions to play catch up with Amsterdam Schiphol, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt might take precedence over encouraging budget operators to offer more cheap flights to Madrid, but Easyjet are already well established in the Spanish capital. As well is offering regular links from their London bases, Easyjet also offer an increasing range of flights to Madrid from various regional airports. The high cost of using Madrid’s facilities, combined with the extended taxiing times needed for such a large airport, ensure that other budget airlines should continue to focus most of their operations on the Spanish costas, where there is always much more stable demand.
New Don Quixote airport
Later this year, the new Don Quixote airport is set to open in Ciudad Real, approximately 125 miles to the south of Madrid. 125 miles is a significant distance, but Don Quixote will have its own dedicated station on the high-speed AVE rail route between Seville and Madrid. The journey time from the new airport to Atocha station in central Madrid should take about an hour. So far, no details have been confirmed about possible opening dates, or which airlines might operate flights to Don Quixote airport.
Other alternatives
Although there are other airfields within the Madrid region, only Barajas is open for passenger flights. If your intention is to hire a car and drive around central Spain as well as visit Madrid, then it might be worth looking at Ryanair's flights to Valladolid, which is around 160 miles north of the Spanish capital. Spain is developing an impressive high-speed rail network from Madrid, although it currently terminates in Zaragoza to the east and Seville to the southwest. Both of these cities have regular flights from London, with Ryanair also opening up new cheap flights to Seville from Liverpool for the summer 2006 season.
Mini Guide to Madrid
The people of Madrid , the Madrilenos, claim their city has the best nightlife in the world. Quite a claim – but difficult to dispute when you consider that the party animals of Madrid are just getting into the swing of things long after Londoners and New Yorkers are tucked up in bed. This really is the city that never sleeps. Indeed, apart from watching football, an activity which takes on quasi-religious importance, spending the evening bar and club hopping is the favourite pastime of Madrilenos'. Daytime temperatures during the summer regularly top 40 degrees, so it is little wonder that many people retreat indoors until the sun has gone down. Another solution is to simply leave the city for cooler climes, which can result in the Spanish capital feeling like a ghost town during August. It is not always roasting hot though – it can get darn chilly in the winter. A relative newcomer compared to many of Spain 's ancient cities, Madrid appeared from nowhere in the 16 th century when it was designated the new capital by Philip II because of its central location. The Spanish empire was at its zenith at the time and Madrid rapidly became the imperial centre, built on a grand scale around its quaint medieval heart.
So, apart from the buzzing nightlife and majestic architecture, what else lures all these galacticos and their model wives to Madrid ? The city has undoubted glamour and if a scientific test was ever done we are sure Madrid would come near the top for the number of beautiful people per square mile - naturally there is a superb range of designer shops to supply their every need. But Madrid 's real draw is its world famous art museums, including the heaving Prado, famed for its royal portraits and religious paintings, the Reina Sofia, which specialises in modern art, and the vast private collection of the Thyssen. The best time to visit Madrid is during the shoulder months either side of the blistering summer. This also happens to be a good time to watch Europe's most successful football team, Real Madrid, in action. Getting tickets for Real games is rarely a problem (their stadium is massive) unless they are playing bitter rivals Barcelona or the city derby against Atletico. Madrid hosts a dazzling array of fiestas which invariably result in accommodation shortages. The city is also an important business and administrative centre, so it is well worth booking ahead if possible.
Madrid Flight News
- New Bmibaby flights launched from Manchester - 20/06/2008
- New Lisbon and Madrid flights from Manchester - 26/02/2008
- Jet2 expands flights network from Leeds Bradford - 13/09/2007
Other flights and travel news stories:
- Easyjet in hot water over misleading ad - 02/07/2008
- BA set to buy French business airline - 02/07/2008
- Aviation tax reform plans may be dropped - 02/07/2008
Flights to Spain - Other Cities
Can't find any good value flights to Madrid? Read our general guide about finding flights to Spain, or try one of the other cities in Spain mentioned below:
- Flights to Barcelona Any (BCN0)
- Flights to Malaga (AGP)
- Flights to Alicante (ALC)
- Flights to Tenerife Any (TCI)
- Flights to Madrid
- Flights to Ibiza (IBZ)
- Flights to Murcia (MJV)
- Flights to La Palma (SPC)
- Flights to Fuerteventura (FUE)
Other useful Madrid travel websites
- Madrid (MAD) Airport Transfers - Find airport transfers with Transfers.net
- Madrid Airport - Official AENA Website (select airport from menu)
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