I'm a little confused about how this will work and the FCO airport website isn't much help.

I'm currently booked JFK-FCO on DL, arriving 7:30am, connecting to FCO-ATH on AZ. (It's a reward ticket in Business through CO). I have a 90 minute connection, assuming the incoming flight is on time (from JFK in the summer, I'm not counting on it...)

How does the transfer/connection work? Do I have to clear immigration & customs in FCO before proceeding to the ATH flight (Schengen)? Do I have to collect my bags and re-check them in between? If not, do I go through Customs in Greece? How do they segregate bags/passengers that need to be screened through customs?

So -- what is the connection procedure and is 90 minutes enough time?

If I miss the connection, the next AZ flight isn't for 5 hours. I assume they won't protect me on another airline, correct?

I can re-route the trip NYC-Atlanta-Athens, which is a longer trip, but the ATL connection will be relatively easy with no security/immigration. Should I just do that?

Thanks

You arrive at the non-Schengen terminal C. It's an easy transfer, all things considered:

- off the plane, likely an airbridge to the little satellite area from which there is an automatic train to the main part of terminal C

- coming off the train, you follow signs to Transiti and turn left (I think) before passport control and up the escalator

- then you have a security check where your hand baggage is scanned (remember liquids restriction - broadly similar to the US)

- then you have to walk from terminal C to terminal B (10 minutes say), and between the two there is a passport check, but it's much simpler than the long lines at immigration in the US, normally very short line (if at all) although I've never done it at that time in the morning. You may want to walk fast to get there before all the other pax on your plane

- I guess your FCO-ATH leaves from terminal B, as terminal A seems to be only domestic flights. (Otherwise you just have to walk a bit further.)

You should check your bags through to ATH. (Ensure they are when you check in.) When you arrive in ATH, there are three exit channels from the baggage reclaim hall (as in most international EU airports):
(1) red - if you have something to declare (i.e. you have more than a certain amount of alcohol, tobacco, or gifts etc)
(2) green - if you have nothing to declare
(3) blue - if you started your journey in the EU (doesn't matter if Schengen or not, that's about passport control, not customs).

You should go through the green channel. If you try to go through the blue channel, the customs agents may spot your non-EU-originating baggage tags and stop you.

90 minutes should be ample time for this connection. BUT there have been desperate problems with baggage recently at FCO, leading to all sorts of complaints in the press and interventions by government. Hopefully it will be sorted before then.

If you miss your flight, AZ will put you on the next one, so I'm afraid you'll have 5 hours to kill at FCO, which isn't the most interesting of airports. I've never used a lounge in terminal B but presumably you'll have access to one or other of them, with a business class ticket. Otherwise there are some reasonable food outlets and the usual selection of high-end shops. There's a very good Feltrinelli bookshop in terminal A if you can read Italian.