My wife and I will be flying from Bilbao to Lisbon this spring and I am looking at flights. I am considering using Iberia with a 1 hour layover in Madrid. It appears that Iberia operates out of Terminal 4 and I was wondering if that would be enough time between connections. I would appreciate any insights.
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
7887 posts
Would the entire journey be on one ticket? Looks like you are thinking about Iberia. If you would have separate tickets for each leg, I do not feel its enough time. If its all one ticket and you miss the connecting, Iberia is responsible for getting you to your destination.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
13275 posts
Looking at a random date in May I see 1 or 2 flights per day that are direct. Seems to vary by day of the week if there is 1 or 2.
That is the option I would choose.
To directly address your question of 1 hr being enough, is dependent knowing if you have one or two tickets is essential..
Posted by
490 posts
MAD is large and slow going, I would never be comfortable with a one-hour layover. I would suggest at least 3 hours. Every time I am at MAD I have seen people running to catch their flight and missing it. There are several security checks along the way that seem to be there for no particular reason. If both flights are out of T4 and you don't need to train to the other part of T4 and your flight is on time, you are sure of which way to walk and don't get turned around, one hour might make it, but why risk it? J
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you for sharing your knowledge of Madrid airport. The itinerary I am considering has us leaving Bilbao at 0915 and arriving in Lisbon at 1150. There are 2 separate flights on the same airline which means 2 separate boarding passes. I considered a direct flight, but they leave in the evening and I would prefer navigating a new city during the day. Iberia has additional flights to Lisbon later in the day, so I should be able to schedule a later flight to pad the layover time.
Posted by
1 posts
From our experience in November 2025, I would suggest a much longer connection than one hour. We were connecting through Madrid to board an Iberia flight to Malaga. We returned home the same way, through Madrid. Terminal 4 is huge. It is crowded, as in sardines (or at least it was when we were in transit). If you need to get between Terminal 4 and Terminal 4S, it will take a long time and requires taking the train! There is much winding around, escalators, security stops, and the train. You must tap in with your (airline) boarding pass to get on the train. I would give at least 45 minutes just to make this transit across Terminal 4, even going as fast as you can. If your original flight is delayed (imagine that) for any amount of time, you will likely not make your connecting flight in Madrid. I would give about 3 hours for connecting in Madrid, but that's just us. You might be willing to risk it at 2 hours. But you need to get to your departure gate soon enough to make sure you get on the plane. Good luck!