I'm planning on flying from Paris or Zurich to the islands, either Santorini, Rhodes or Heraklion. How much time should I allow for the transfer at the Athens airport?. There are some layovers as short as 50 minutes, which I would love to book. I'm flying in late March/early April 2018.
I will have cleared customs in Paris several days prior to my flight. Thank you.
Athens airport is very small, with just two easily walkable terminals. 50 minutes should be fine, assuming no flight delay. But for your protection, try to book the whole route on one ticket, through code-share partners that will help you in case of delay. For instance you can book the tickets through Aegean, which is part of the Star Alliance. They do sell the Swiss Air/Agean flight combo that I mentioned on your other thread, but I don't find it on the Swiss air site.
If you don't have a "code-share" ticket keep in mind that if you have to collect any luggage in Athens and re-check it you will need a lot more than 50 minutes. 1.5-2 hours is recommended.
So you don't necessarily have to change planes in Athens.
I will have cleared customs in Paris several days prior to my flight.
1) If flying from Switzerland, that isn't in the EU, so your luggage will go through customs France --> Switzerland and again flying to Greece.
2) But, customs takes zero time as 99% of travellers are not stopped, so not relevant.
3) You will go through Schengen Area immigration (passport control) when you arrive in Paris. Switzerland and Greece are also in the Schengen area, so no passport control France --> Switzerland --> Greece.
