I saw the opening of the new terminal on Los Desayunos con TVE this morning ... they seemed to think it was very chaotic with people getting lost and such..... I am sure that was a little exagerrated...makes for a more exciting story right? It looks like a beautiful new building.

It was kind of comical, the British Airways PR staff was there taking pictures of us as we were getting onto the plane, they seemed very excited about the opening. I was bummed that the Duty free store was not open though!

Now that the new terminal has been open for more than 6 months, does anyone have any definitive experiences to share? What is the best way to get there from the city out of the choices available?
How is the shopping?

Flew out of T4 with BA a couple of weeks ago. Everybody seems to be confused on where to go as the information and signs are terrible.

Our plane was delayed because the baggage handlers forgot to put the bags on the plane. Ended up a 2 hour delay.

Coming back to T4 last week was just as bad. 1 hour and 10 minutes waiting for the bags. There were about 500 people from different flights waiting for luggage. People were not happy.

Flying out again tomorrow so hopefully it will be a pleasant experience. If not i'll go back to using Easyjet as they fly from T1

I'm flying in to the new T4 next Monday and I'm really looking forward to seeing it - check out the photos on Wikipedia , it looks amazing. I was reading that it's up for an award for world building of the year. Apparently it's the largest airport in the world in terms of terminal area.

From the first time I ever flew to Madrid I thought how lousy the airport was for a capital city of the stature of Madrid, so I'm pleased to see it's now got one worthy of it's status. I just hope that baggage or transport problems don't give me a bad first impression of it!

NOTE: For those who use the metro.

The last stop on line 8 is T4. However, that takes you outside to a bus that you will have to use your metro ticket again to get to T4. However, if you take the stop beforehand (at T1,T2, and T3) you can catch a free bus from that terminal to T4 and not have to pay the extra fare. Yes, it's not too expensive either way, but it's not much shorter the second way.

Just an FYI from experience!

Sorry, wesrick, the last stop on line 8 is not T4, but Barajas.

Currently (as of October 2006), the two last stations in line 8 are:
- Aeropuerto (the last-but-one), that serves terminals T2 and T3 (onsite) and T1 with a 5-10 minutes walk through the terminals. As you rightly say, there is a free transfer bus that takes you from T1/2/3 to T4, just follow the 'transfer bus' signs once you get out from the metro station.
- Barajas (the last one), that serves the town of Barajas, not any airport terminal. From there, as you say, there is a bus (#201) that takes you to T4 and requires you to pay again.

Sometime in 2007, a new station will be added to the line after Barajas, and that one will actually serve T4. Its name is unveiled yet. It is important to know that, if you use Metrobus (the 10-trip ticket) to pay your metro trip, an additional fare will be required to take this last leg of the line 8 (Barajas-New station), unlike using a single metroMadrid ticket that allows you to use the full Madrid metro network. So, once this station is opened, if your final destination is it, buy a metroMadrid single ticket (1 euro currently).

I´ve just read this terminal has won an award, the Sterling prize for archtecture

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/15/nprize15.xml

Well it certainly looks nice, but until the facilities are used properly and the metro arrives there, in my opinion flying into and out of T4 is a pain in the a**e.

The problem seems to be getting cases across from the satellite terminal 4S, if you are unlucky enough to end up there. It´s a long way from 4, and I and others I know have had to wait up to an hour after arriving in the baggage hall.

Then if you use the metro, as detailed above, you have to get a bus to T2, then walk to the metro.

It´s main benefit so far is that if you use T1 you can now find a seat and check in relatively easily.

Taking the Metro line 8 to Aeropuerto where all folks with suitcases get off... as mentioned, the stop before last. Good thing about this Metro # 8, it has an alerting signal system on board, letting you know which next stop is coming around, good for first time undergound travelers.

Fun item also, I was in Madrid a week ago, is entering the Metro from the Airport, you may find a tourist stand right downstairs, at the entrance of the Metro, who offer their (not used parts of the) 10(strip) ticket!

Happened to me twice, once coming into Madrid from Holland and the next time after returning a week later from Asturias... lucky.

The Shuttle Bus bus, btw. is BLUE, easy to spot outside and the signs inside Terminal are easy to follow too.

I want to go back! :jump:

I found an interesting wesite with some comments about the new terminal (T-4) and Madrid airport in general:

airlinequality.com

I agree with several observations. The new terminal seems "pointlessly large" (at least until use of the new Airbus A-380 becomes commonplace), and I didn't see the reason for passing through security and then having to do it again before boarding. I surrendered my water bottle at the first security point and then purchased one and had to do it again before boarding the plane. Lucky I was thirsty!