Madrid could get a second airport under revived €400m plan

A small aerodrome near the Madrid-Toledo border has revived a €400 million plan to handle up to one million passengers a year. The proposed expansion would add a runway for larger aircraft and target European flights, cargo services and private aviation.

Casarrubios would grow from flying-school hub to passenger airport

The small aircraft, flying schools and maintenance hangars at Casarrubios del Monte could eventually share their runway with commercial passenger jets. Air City Madrid Sur has revived plans to transform the privately owned aerodrome, located near the boundary between Madrid and Toledo, into a public-use airport serving the Spanish capital. The revised proposal carries an estimated investment of €400 million.

Casarrubios currently has a 1,000-metre runway and handles around 65,000 non-scheduled aircraft movements a year. Approximately 100 businesses operate at the site, mainly connected to pilot training and aircraft maintenance. Under the expansion plan, the existing runway would be lengthened to 1,800 metres. A second runway measuring 3,200 metres would accommodate larger aircraft, while a passenger terminal and two terminals for private aviation would also be built.

The airport would be designed for up to one million passengers annually, compared with the ten million envisioned when a much larger version of the scheme was presented in 2018.

Cheaper fares remain possible, but are not guaranteed

The promoters see Casarrubios attracting point-to-point European services, executive aviation and air cargo. Its location beside the A-5 corridor could also support an adjoining logistics hub.

For future passengers, the most attractive possibility is greater competition. An airport operator willing to offer lower charges could persuade budget airlines to open routes that are less appealing at Barajas. 

When Air City chief executive Javier Ruedas recently raised the proposal with Ryanair chief executive Eddie Wilson, Wilson reportedly welcomed competition over airport charges but acknowledged that he had not studied the Casarrubios project in detail.

Barajas is preparing its own €4.5bn answer

Casarrubios is being promoted partly as a way to relieve pressure on Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, which handled a record 68.2 million passengers in 2025, three per cent more than the previous year. Air City argues that continued growth will eventually take Barajas towards the expanded terminal capacity of approximately 90 million passengers.

Aena disputes the need for a rival airport. Its current priority is an investment programme worth almost €4.5 billion for Madrid’s airports during the proposed 2027-2031 regulatory period. The work would enlarge terminals T4 and T4S, create a new passenger-processing building, renew the boarding areas serving T1, T2 and T3, and prepare Barajas for new metro and high-speed rail connections. Aena says the existing four runways provide sufficient long-term capacity.

Casarrubios would therefore be competing against an established airport undergoing one of the largest expansions in Spain.

Several approvals stand between the plan and its first flight

The €400 million proposal remains under examination by the joint Defence and Transport commission responsible for assessing its compatibility with surrounding airspace. It would subsequently require public-use status, a master plan, environmental and planning approvals, and safety certification from the Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency (AESA). 

The development would also expand the site from approximately 40 hectares to 1,300. Much of the surrounding land is rural, divided among different owners and would require rezoning. Regional authorities in Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha have previously declared the project to be of regional interest, but this does not replace the required national and aviation approvals.

The earlier scheme stalled during that process and had once been expected to receive flights by 2024. No opening date, completed financing package or commercial airline agreement has been confirmed for the revised plan. For travellers, the deciding moment will be when an airline finally places Casarrubios on its booking page.