Madrid Airport and Domestic Travel in Spain

None? Will you have checked bags you need to retrieve and recheck? I guess my thought is, you have no time to leave the airport, so you are pretty much taking care of checking in once you clear immigration. The way you are phrasing the question, I am assuming these are two different bookings (Not one ticket through to Menorca), so if you have bags, you will need to use the immigration route to go collect bags, exiting the secure zone, then checking in, and through security. If carry-on only, then look for "connecting flights" immigration, once cleared, find a service desk in the secure zone for your airline, then go get something to eat or drink until your flight.

Thanks Paul - yes, they are two separate tickets. We actually have a booking at the in-airport hotel so we can cool our jets there before the flight to Menorca as well.

So do you have bags checked and is the hotel outside the secure zone?

With just 5 hours between flights, I would not bother with the hotel... You'll barely have time for a nap, and the flight to Menorca is short so you'd just have to wait a couple of hours to take a shower.

Thanks all - and Paul, yes, we will be checking bags and the hotel IS outside the secure zone (if I remember correctly).

I would buy a day pass to a lounge, vs a hotel for such a short time.

With checked bags you will have to leave the secure area to retrieve your bags. I would check them in for the next flight and then go back through security and wait in a lounge. For the maybe 2 hrs you will have, I do not see a hotel being worthwhile.

My $0.02

If you're set on checking bags, then I would immediately check in and drop bags for your flight, in normal times that is a half hour or so of time, these days? depends who shows up for work. If you need to, take some time before checking in to swap out things in the luggage (fresh clothes, toiletries, whatever) before you check them.

Then I would see what security is like. It might only be a short line, it could be backed out the door, it is then you decide if delaying going through security and going to the hotel is prudent.

In whatever case, I would not head to the hotel first and assess the situation after a couple hours.

The logistics of this will hinge a bit on the airlines flown. Iberia, AA, BA, Vueling and a random few others operate out of Terminal 4 (& concourse T4S). Delta, United, AirEuropa, and RyanAir are all in terminals 1-2-3. The complexes are quite separate, but I think there's a bus transfer between the two.

A day pass to a lounge with a shower would be my choice for this connection—it's not really long enough for a hotel. The Iberia lounges in T4 have nice showers.