Terminal 4 at Madrid’s Barajas international airport may be an architectural wonder but it is also the cause of some frustration for business travellers. Opened in February last year, its stunning undulating lines were designed by Antonio Lamela and the Richard Rogers Partnership.

What the virgin passenger may not realise is that the terminal is cunningly split into two sections, Terminal 4, and Terminal 4S (for satellite), which are a lung-busting 2.5 kilometres apart and connected by an underground train. If your flight leaves from the farthest gate of the satellite terminal (a mere 290,000 sq m compared with the gargantuan 470,000 sq m of the main building), the recommended transit time is, yes, 24 minutes. Tardy passengers will, in all likelihood, miss their flights.

The flip side of this is that T4 is probably the world’s best-looking airport terminal, with vast amounts of natural light and space. Getting there and back is also fairly painless: a taxi into the heart of Madrid will cost about €30 (£21) – try £50 for the same trip from Heathrow into Central London. There is also a metro line with spacious air-conditioned trains running to terminals 2 and 4.

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