There is nothing romantic about the history of Madrid's principal airport, just practicalities. In 1928 it was decided a big city needed a big airport and a piece of wasteland at Barajas, only 15 kilometres (9 miles) from central Madrid, was cleared for the job.
By the beginning of the 21st century it was handling over 34 million passengers a year and, with a projected 46.6 million a year by 2010, development is already under way. A new satellite terminal is planned and two new runways, bringing the total to four.
Barajas already has the longest runway in Europe and sees its future quite clearly as a major hub with worldwide connections. It has established the strongest links of any European airport with Central and South America.
