---
title: "MAD is which airport? Madrid"
description: "MAD is Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain. Why the code is MAD and not something you could guess, plus the codes it gets mixed up with."
url: https://atoneplace.net/airport/mad/
site: "At One Place"
---

# What airport is MAD?

**MAD is: Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport**

Madrid, Spain

## Why the code is MAD

The first three letters of Madrid.

The airport authority or a contemporaneous record states this directly.

## The airport

- **IATA code:** MAD
- **ICAO code:** LEMD
- **Airport:** Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport
- **City:** Madrid, Spain
- **Code origin:** Documented

Terminal 4, by Richard Rogers and Estudio Lamela, has a bamboo roof that undulates the length of the building and columns painted in a colour gradient so passengers can tell where they are by hue. Madrid is the main European gateway to Latin America.

## The other code, LEMD

Every airport has two codes. The three-letter IATA code, MAD, is the one on your boarding pass and your luggage tag, and it is assigned for commercial use. The four-letter ICAO code, LEMD, is the one pilots and controllers use, and it is assigned geographically: the first letter or two identify the region, so every airport in the same part of the world shares a prefix. That is why LEMD looks nothing like MAD.

## Common questions

### What airport is MAD?

Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, in Madrid, Spain.

### Why is Madrid's airport called MAD?

The first three letters of Madrid.

### What is the difference between MAD and LEMD?

MAD is the IATA code, used commercially — tickets, timetables, luggage tags. LEMD is the ICAO code, used operationally by pilots and air traffic control, and assigned geographically by region.

## Related pages

- [Spain](https://atoneplace.net/country/spain/)
- [The flag of Spain](https://atoneplace.net/flag/spain/)
- [Airport codes in Spain](https://atoneplace.net/airport/in/spain/)
- [What airport is BCN?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/bcn/)

## Sources

- OurAirports — OurAirports (https://ourairports.com/data/) [Public domain]