Customs and connecting to flight to Crete from Athens, How long will it take?

On the premise that you are entering the Schengen zone at Athens, and the one bag is a carry on, I would give myself at least 4 hours.

What is the on time history for the arrival flight into Athens you are looking at?

Need a few more details about your journey to offer relevant advice.

I disagree, for several reasons. I believe that 2 1/2 hours will be plenty. Do you recall the time of year you went before? And the day of the week? The incoming traffic is greatest on Saturday, and bigger crowds at very end of June through late August.

There is no "customs" to go through... what you are talking about is the passport control line.... that's the only thing that will take any time. If you are worried, then do your best to choose seats that are towrds the FRONT of the economy section of the plane. Then get your 2 teens to wrangle their bags from the overhead and HUSTLE towards the passport control line, to be near the front, then you join them there. The maximum amount of time for the line should be no more than 45 minutes at most, and no time waiting at the bag carousel, which often takes more time than the above. You do not have to switch to another building, just go to other side of same building.... and you just need to be in the domestic check-in line 45 minutes before departure. Back in the day, you had to pick up your Aegean/Olympic tickets at their counter before getting in the check-in line, but I believe that's finally been modernized since 10 years ago... check their website to be sure.

I agree with Janet that 2.5 hours is enough. There’s been a lot of work done on the airport in the last year or so which has streamlined things.

There is only one queue for passport and no separation of Schengen and non Schengen passengers. I’ve been through twice in the last six months and the longest I’ve waited has been 15 minutes. Both flights arrived early Saturday evening so it might be longer at other times but I don’t imagine by much.

Alan

Alan what good news about the queues! I haven't been since that was changed! I always been cranky if there were several large planes arriving from Non-Schengen, to see the teeny Schengen line zipping through. Much fairer now, and as you report, it is much faster, even when several planes land at once.

Janet, yes everything has been spruced up and seems to us quicker. I hope it’s not just that we’ve been lucky at the time we always come in:-)

The departure areas have also all been extended. A welcome sign that more people are coming to Greece. The economy still really needs it!

I agree that 2 to 2 1/2 hours is enough time. The Athens Airport is not that large, is efficient and quick. It's not like Charles De Gaul in Paris or Heathrow in London which can be a nightmare of long waits if you happen to be there at the wrong time.

It's just a matter of coordinating arrival time in Athens and Departure time for the flight to Crete.

Wow, thanks so much for the feedback. And yes I did mean the passport line. We will actually be checking the one bag each and flying first class, so we will be first off. I was originally thinking two hours. Last time we were there was mid Sept and I do not remember what day we arrived. I am assuming that we will have to go through security again? I like the idea of checking history of flight time arrivals. Thanks again for the feedback its super helpful!