Please sign in to post.

Switching Planes in Madrid - how much time is “safe”

Posted by on

I am flying from US to Madrid and land at 955am. I want to immediately go to Barcelona and we will have a good bit of luggage. Both flights will be on Iberia but haven’t booked the Barcelona leg yet. Trying to figure out best time For Barcelona flight as there are lots of options throughout the day. Have some questions though.

  1. Even though it’s the same airline I am guessing we may have to leave security to recheck our bags. Is this the case or is there an Iberia recheck after customs?

  2. If not is Iberia check in right outside security or any way a porter can help expedite.

  3. Are Iberia international and domestic flights in the same terminal?

In sum trying to figure out if A 1:00pm flight is to ambitious or should we go later than that? Not traveling with infants or persons with mobility issues.

Thanks in advance!

Posted by
4074 posts

Your best bet is to contact Iberia directly and add Barcelona to the Madrid itinerary so everything is on one ticket and you are protected if there are any delays or even cancellations both of which can happen. Plus you’ll be able to check your bags all the way through to Barcelona thereby staying airside in Madrid.

There will be many flights to Barcelona so pick one that gives you at least two hours in Madrid only because there can be transatlantic delays and the next available seats if you miss your connection may not be on the next flight if the flights are oversold to Barcelona. So give yourself that 2 hour cushion when you contact Iberia to add Barcelona to your itinerary.

Posted by
7313 posts

We always land at terminal 4 on our United Airlines flights from the east coast. I checked the Iberia website, and flights from MAD to BCN depart from terminal 4. So, if you land at T4 you’ll stay in the same terminal. I’d still leave a minimum of two hours in case your flight departs late from the U.S., or in case you’re on separate tickets and have to claim, then recheck, your bags and go through security again.

This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity.