Terminal still not complete

TERMINAL four at Madrid-Barajas Airport, from where the plane was taking off, became operational in 2006 but will not be fully completed for another two years.

Aena, the Spanish state-owned firm behind all the country's airports, directed architects Antonio Lamela and Richard Rogers, and Initec and TPS engineers in the construction of the new building and its satellite. The architects won the 2006 Stirling Prize. The 6 billion terminal can handle 35 million passengers a year.