Iberia Airlines Iberia Plus - 1:15 hours international connection at MAD enough?

I am flying ORD-MAD-FCO on Iberia with a 1:15 hours connection in MAD. Is that enough to make it?

I am flying ORD-MAD-FCO on Iberia with a 1:15 hours connection in MAD. Is that enough to make it?

More than enough! You will arrive at Terminal 4S and will have to take the transit to Terminal 4 for the FCO flight. Its only about a 5 minute ride.

Although, come to think of it, clearing immigration at T4S at that time may take a little while longer especially if you are a non EU passport holder. The ORD flight gets to MAD at the intercontinental flight arrival rush hour so expect a queue.

Even if you don't make it (in case your ORD flight is delayed), IB personnel will wait for you just outside the gate as you enter MAD with your new boarding pass and maybe even escort you to your FCO gate (not so sure about the latter). They'll probably be shouting 'Roma!' 'Vigo!' etc for all the connecting pax so no worries!

Enjoy your flight!

Sometimes there are lengthy multiple queues at arriving immigration to process into Spain / Schengen. If most lines are equal in length, take the one closest to "EU Passport Holders", as those queues sometimes get quite short and the officials will start moving people from the nearest Non-EU queue into the "EU Passport Holders" queues.

Also, eschew the escalators and take the lifts down to the train to T-4.

At least that's what has happened with me (more than once). But IMO 1:15 is tight.

I am flying ORD-MAD-FCO on Iberia with a 1:15 hours connection in MAD. Is that enough to make it?

The official MCT for T4S to T4 is 1h30mins so you are outside the guidelines and should not have been sold the flight but hey this is IB! :D

Off-topic note - the original post inquiring about a US Airways to Spanair (T-1 to T-2) connection has been relocated to this thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/europe/1247577-mad-madrid-usairways-spanair-connection-1-05-sufficient-time.html) in the Europe Forum, as it was not related to Iberia and is likely to get broader input there.

Thanks for following it there. /JDiver, Senior Moderator


I have a somewhat different situation: I took advantage of the low Spanair codeshare fares from BOS-PHL-MAD, and I'll be arriving on US's PHL-MAD flight at 8:15 a.m. I'm looking to continue on to BCN on a 9:20 a.m. Spanair nonstop....

Thanks for your advice.

JDiver and OPebble are right, 1:15 is a bit tight and should not have been allowed really.

It normally takes me around 20minutes from leaving the aircraft in T4S, getting the train, going through passport control with no queues, back through security when there are no queues, to entering T4.

The advice about using the lifts is a good one, they are much quicker than the escalators.

Boarding starts earlier than a lot of airlines with Iberia - often 45mins before at Heathrow.