Any recent experience with how long passport control (including EES) takes arriving MAD airport T1 at about 10am? I've seen reports that vary considerably. Unfortunately, reports regarding other times of day or other terminals are likely not relevant.
Posted by
Chicago
4273 posts
You can read about my very recent experience here:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/we-love-spain-a-trip-report
Different terminal, but you can read about the process for EES in Madrid.
Unfortunately, no prior experience will be able to predict how long passport control will take. I’ve arrived at the same airport with one time taking 5 minutes and one time taking over 90 minutes.
There’s just too many factors out of your control (how many flights are arriving at the same time? how many machines are working? how many passport control officers are working?). It takes as long as it takes.
Posted by
Jacksonville, Florida
306 posts
I've always worried about whether I will make an airline connection, so what I've started doing is planning my trips so my first stop in Europe is in the city where I will have to go through passport control. We will spend a few days there and take the train to our next destination. It takes the stress out of long, slow passport control lines- tick tock, tick tock, oh my God, am I going to be able to make my next flight. Our next trip is to Valencia so we will first spend a few days in Madrid.
Yes, I worry too much, but doing this does take away some stress.
Posted by
TX
542 posts
I doubt it would be worse than what we were dealing with at our own airports recently.
Posted by
OP
NYC, USA
147 posts
The estimates I've seen for mid-morning arrivals range from 15-30 minutes on the low end to two hours or more on the high end, depending on the usual factors noted above, arriving plans, passport officers, etc. Most posts I've seen are about terminal 4/4s. Since we're arriving T1 I wonder if there's a different usual range.
There are apparently concierge services to shorten the process, which would be worthwhile for longer waits and a waste for shorter, so I was hoping to get a better feel.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
8561 posts
Pre EES, I’ve breezed through in as few as 20 minutes and as long as 2.5 hours. Will find out soon enough how EES has changed things.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
9332 posts
Pre EES, I’ve breezed through in as few as 20 minutes and as long as 2.5 hours. Will find out soon enough how EES has changed things.
That is a pretty big variance, no guarantees that without EES it would not be more, so hard to tell what the issue might be.
My main observation is that the airports mentioned the most as having problems (Lisbon, CDG as two examples) are airports that have been nightmares for ages, or airports that are routinely backed up periodically (AMS, Madrid, FCO, etc.)