Hello! I bought a ticket (Aegean Air) from Istanbul to Santorini with a 2-hr stop through ATH (Athens Airport). Two questions: 1) Since I am coming from an extra-Schengen country (Turkey), after passport control, will I have to retrieve my checked bags at baggage claim, then recheck my bags for my Santorini flight? 2) Will two hours be enough to make this transition? If not, what duration do you recommend? Thank you in advance for your answers!
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8048 posts
You can verify when you check-in in Istanbul, but your bag should be checked through to Santorini. The US is the only country I know that does the "retrieve your bag, walk a hundred yards and drop it back on a conveyor" thing. Essentially, Customs will be in Santorini...though that is just walking out the door indicating nothing to declare
Two hours should be fine since you are one ticket, Athens is not that large an airport, you will stay in the secure zone.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you for your reply. However Aegean Air's website says:
If you fly from an airport outside the Schengen Zone to a destination within the Schengen Zone*, after passing through passport and security control and claim your baggage, head to Gates B1-B31.
(https://en.aegeanair.com/travel-information/at-the-airport/connecting-passengers/)
Which is technically what Istanbul-to-Santorini is. Hence my worry. I haven't been able to get anyone from Aegean Air to confirm at this point.