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Barajas International AirportBarajas International Airport in Madrid, Spain, is that country's most important international and domestic getaway center. Started in 1928, the airport has grown to be one of the most important aviation centers of any Hispanic country. Barajas International Airport has the IATA airport code MAD and its ICAO airport code is LEMD. Barajas is the principal hub and mantainance base for Iberia and Spanair. A development on the Madrid Metro system has recently provided a direct link from Barajas to the Nuevos Ministerios station in the city's business district. A check-in counter at Nuevos Ministerios enables passengers to check in their bags before leaving for the airport. The final section of the link from Nuevos Ministerios to Barajas (line 8) was opened in May 2002. Barajas serves as the main hub of recently privatized Iberia Airlines. It consequently serves as the main gateway to the Iberian peninsula from Europe and the rest of the world, particularly Latin America. Current passenger volumes range upwards of 40 million passengers per year. To cope with expected annual increases of 10%, a new fourth terminal and satellite building is in the process of being constructed, scheduled for a 2005 opening. It is expected to significatively avoid delays and double the capacity of the airport. Two additional runways are also being built. The airport has been involved in several tragedies: In 1983, a Iberia Boeing 727 and a Aviaco DC-9 collided there, killing hundreds of passengers, and about 2 months later, an Avianca Boeing 747 landing from Bogot, Colombia, crashed nearby, killing most of the people on that plane. Then in 1985, another Iberia Boeing 727 crashed, this time while landing in Valencia after a flight from Barajas, killing all of the passengers on that flight. Airlines currently flying to Barajas include: External Links
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