TRAVEL chaos has erupted at Madrid-Barajas airport this morning after a major pipe burst flooded a crucial access tunnel and severed the Metro connection.
Thousands of passengers are facing gridlock and missed flights as the main artery connecting the terminals remains underwater.
The incident occurred early on Thursday morning when a pipe burst on the Avenida de Logroño, sending a torrent of water cascading into the M-14 tunnel.
This tunnel is the vital link between the older terminals (T1, T2, and T3) and the satellite Terminal 4 (T4).
Emergency services have completely closed the road to allow firefighters to pump out the floodwater, leaving the tunnel impassable.
To compound the misery for travellers, Metro Line 8 – the ‘pink line’ that connects central Madrid to the airport – has been suspended due to the incident.
This ‘double whammy’ has left thousands of tourists and commuters with no rail access to the airport, forcing them onto the roads just as traffic is collapsing.
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The tunnel closure means shuttle buses and taxis cannot easily transfer passengers between terminals.
Traffic monitoring systems show that key approaches to the terminals are effectively gridlocked, with the closure of the M-14 tunnel creating a trap that has paralysed the M-13 and backed up traffic onto the A-2 motorway.
Anyone attempting to connect from a flight in T1 to a departure in T4 faces severe delays as vehicles are forced onto the already-congested M-13 and surface roads.
Aena, the airport operator, confirmed the closure and stated that ‘alternative routes’ are available, but social media is already flooded with reports of missed flights.
The DGT traffic authority has warned of ‘complicated circulation’ on the M-13 as drivers try to bypass the flooded zone.
Fortunately, emergency services have confirmed that no vehicles or people were trapped inside the tunnel when it flooded.
The chaos comes as Madrid is battered by heavy rain from Storm Leonardo, which is hampering drainage efforts and making driving conditions treacherous.
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