I'll by flying UK to Athens a couple of times later in the year and my first choice (for mileage collection purposes only!!) is SAS. So, the routing is xxx-CPH-ATH but the only ATH flight leaves CPH at 08:40 in the morning. I'm thinking of taking a late flight in from the UK and spending the night in the airport. I know some places are more 'friendly' for this than others.

Does CPH allow me to just stay airside after arriving - remember this will be from outside Schengen if that makes a difference? If not, are there places to hang out and sleep landside or am I liable to be kicked out of the airport totally? I transited CPH last year (arriving from within Schengen) and I basically left the aircraft and walked right into the departure lounge but I'm just thinking it might be different arriving from outside.

I'm getting a bit old for this lark now - it wouldn't have bothered me as a 20-something. The last time I slept in an airport (other than my home one) was at AMS last year and they even had some reclined 'couches' in a nice, quiet, dimly lit area for over night sleepers. I'm used to ATH where it's a bit different - you have to go landside first but security seems to be open from very early (around 3am) so it's not a big deal.

A related question - will there be anywhere to get decent priced foor or drink while I wait or will I need to take out a second mortgage? I'm assuming they'll accept Euro at all the airport shops but what about if I head out of the airport?

Thanks in advance.

PS - didn't there used to be a dedicated area/thread about sleeping in airports? I couldn't find it.