Hi there
Leaving this week
Our bags will be ticketed to Crete because our American Airlines ticket includes our Athens to Crete leg. If our bags go through - do we still have to collect them and recheck them
In passport control (like in Miami) or do the bags go and we the humans just go through passport control? We have plenty of time (5 hours) in between flights but just trying to cut down on confusion. Also when we leave Crete we are spending a few days in Athens - any guidance on what time to arrive at Chania airport for an early am flight on Aegean with checked bags?
Posted by
France Southwest
1796 posts
If you only have one Chicago-Crete flight ticket, you will not have to pick up your luggage in Athens, it will be transported to Crete.
At Chicago Airport your luggage tag will have the inscription CHQ for Chania or HER for Heraklion
If you have two separate tickets Chicago-Athens + Athens-Crete you will have to collect your checked baggage in Athens and re-check them on the Athens-Crete flight.
At Chicago your luggage tag will have the inscription ATH for Athens
Posted by
Nanaimo, BC, Canada
1366 posts
Aegean will probably tell you how early they want you at the airport. In reality you really need about an hour before your flight out of Chania. We have taken that flight and the airport is just barely waking up. Aegean will allow you to electronically get your boarding pass 48 hours before the flight so you don't even need to spend time on that just drop off your bags.
As you mention confusion I will describe our arrival in Athens a month ago. Our bags were on separate tickets so we had to collect the bags and re check them which probably took us 15 minutes. You won't have to do that.
Obtain your boarding pass 48 hours before your transatlantic flight.
Deplane and go to Passport control. That is a fairly quick process although on one of our flights 4 jumbo jets all arrived at the same time. Even with all those passengers, passport control took no more than about 20 minutes in line. Now you just find the exit door. There will be a sign that says nothing to declare. Walk through that door and you are on the arrivals level. Go up one floor elevator, escalator or Stairs. You are now on Departures level.
You can hang out on this level or you can pass through security and go into the gates level to put in time before your flight. All very easy.