Europe · Spain

Handling at Madrid (LEMD)

We handle overflight permits, slots, flight plans, fuel, customs and the turnaround at Madrid Barajas. One coordinator owns the stop at Madrid, from the first filing to wheels up.

AERODROME

--:-- local

ICAO: LEMD
IATA: MAD
Elevation: 1,998 ft
Position: 40.493, -3.572

RUNWAYS

18R/36L4,350 m / 14,271 ftAsphalt
14R/32L3,988 m / 13,084 ftAsphalt
14L/32R3,500 m / 11,483 ftAsphalt
18L/36R3,500 m / 11,483 ftAsphalt

Reference only, not for flight planning. Lengths are full declared runway length rather than declared distances, and this page is not amended on the AIRAC cycle. Check the current AIP and NOTAMs, or ask the desk and we will check them for you.

The field

What LEMD is actually like

Madrid is Spain's principal hub and the main European gateway for Latin American traffic. It runs a dedicated executive aviation facility, so private trips are not squeezed through the scheduled terminals.

Operating brief

What we handle before you file

Permits

EU rules for European operators. Madrid's real permit relevance is as a transatlantic staging point, where the interesting paperwork belongs to the next leg rather than to Spain.

Slots and parking

Slot coordinated but large, with capacity that Palma and Ibiza do not have. Parking is generally obtainable, including at short notice.

Customs and border

Madrid is the main Schengen entry point for traffic off the South Atlantic and the border post is built for it. That makes it a genuinely good technical stop with passengers aboard, which is not true of every field on this list.

When it gets tight

Less seasonal than the coastal fields. Easter week and the run of major football fixtures are the periods where ground transport and hotels tighten faster than the airport does.

On the ground

Off the aircraft and into the car

The executive terminal keeps private traffic out of the main halls entirely, which at an airport this size is worth a great deal. The city is thirty minutes and the road is predictable, which is not something you can say about most capitals on this list.

Alternates

Where we go when LEMD will not take the trip

Every one of these is a field we would put to you with the reason attached, not a list of nearby runways.

LEVS
Madrid Cuatro Vientos
General aviation only and closer to the city, for aircraft that fit the runway.
LEBL
Barcelona
The other Spanish gateway, and often the better one if the trip continues into France or Italy.
LEZL
Seville
Andalusia, and a useful fuel stop on southbound routings.

What we handle here