What is the best time of day to book your trip? What time to book a taxi to the airport

The time to book your taxi to the airport for is worked out backwards: from your flight time take off 2 hours if it is a European flight or 3 if it is international, then the journey time from your area and, finally, an extra margin if you are leaving at rush hour or on high-traffic dates. As for when to make the booking, any time is fine: our service runs 24 hours a day and ideally you should book as soon as you know your flight.

Let us take an example: a flight to London departing at 10:00.

1. Time to arrive at the terminal. As it is a European flight, you should be at the airport by around 8:00. If it were international, by around 7:00.
2. Journey. Take off the time it normally takes from your address to the terminal. If you are not sure, ask when you book.
3. Margin for the time of day. On a weekday at that time it coincides with people going to work, so add a generous cushion.
4. Personal margin. If you are travelling with children, with lots of luggage or need to check bags in, add a bit more.

The time you arrive at is the one you should enter in the booking as the pickup time, not the flight time. It is one of the most common mistakes when booking an airport taxi. If you are flying outside Europe, also look at our tips on when to be at the airport for international flights.

The journey to the airport does not take the same time at every hour. These are the general patterns in Madrid; any day can bring the unexpected, such as roadworks, accidents or rain, so treat them as a guide.

The days that change everything

Beyond the time of day, there are days when traffic behaves differently: the start and end of long weekends and holidays, the evenings of big sporting events or concerts, days of heavy rain and major trade fairs. On those dates, as well as leaving earlier, it is worth booking your taxi further ahead than usual. We explain this in how far in advance to book your airport taxi.

Not if you book with us. We work with a fixed fare by area: you pay the same at four in the morning as at six in the evening, and the same whether there is a traffic jam or the road is empty. From inside the M-30 it is €33, and the other areas have their prices on our airport fares page. That lets you choose your pickup time thinking only about arriving on time, without worrying about whether the journey takes longer.

The best time is as soon as you have your flight. The time of day does not matter: you can book online at any hour on our airport taxi booking page, write on WhatsApp or call 911 76 00 81, which is answered 24 hours a day. The only thing to avoid is leaving it until the last minute: with less than 2 hours to spare, call rather than booking in writing, and if you are already running late, follow our tips for getting to the airport with no time to spare.

For pickup at Barajas you do not need to work anything out: give your flight number when booking and the expected arrival time. If the flight lands early or late, let us know by phone or WhatsApp so we can adjust the pickup.