Protests at World's Largest Terminal

Last-minute preparations for the opening of the world’s largest airport terminal in Madrid are being marred by protesters who claim a massively expanded airport is set to shatter the peace of more than half a million Spaniards.

Terminal 4 at Madrid’s Barajas airport, designed by British architect Lord (Richard) Rogers and due to start operations on Sunday, is split into two long buildings with rippling metal roofs that are connected by a driverless shuttle train. Two new runways, a new control tower and the new terminal will jointly allow Barajas to increase the number of flights from 53 to 120 an hour.

Authorities say it will eventually handle more flights than what is now Europe’s second largest airport, Schiphol in the Netherlands.

But with the airport, first built close to the city in 1933, now surrounded by booming satellite towns, mayors representing some 700,000 people are continuing to protest about noise. They claim to have noticed an increase in flights over the past few days that have disturbed the sleep of those living to the north-east of the city.

Even more angry are the residents of the village of Belvis who have been told they may be moved as future airport expansion eats up the village’s land.

Although Spain’s AENA airports authority insisted yesterday that everything was under control, it was keeping journalists away from the new terminal.

A midnight flit will see a fleet of trucks moving Spain’s Iberia airlines and its partners in the One World alliance - which includes British Airways, American Airlines and Aer Lingus - from the existing terminals on Saturday night.

Architects have provided space for a metro station but a funding row between regional and national authorities means that the metro line has not reached it yet. Travelers wishing to get on the metro must catch a bus to the old terminals, which will still be used by budget airlines such as easyJet and many other companies.

But the size of the new terminal means that Madrid travelers will have to ditch their habit of arriving for flights at the last minute. ABC newspaper has advised its readers to get to the airport with an hour and a half to spare.