Madrid Airport - layover/immigration question
Jan 27th, 2015, 10:21 AM
#1
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Madrid Airport - layover/immigration question
Hi folks! First-time poster here, lookin for some help 
In February, my girlfriend and I are scheduled to fly into Madrid from the U.S., via a connection in Istanbul, through Turkish Airlines. Our flight lands Sunday night at 10:55pm.
Due to some changes in plans, I'm now hoping we can book a new flight, as early as possible on Monday, from Madrid to Morocco (probably via Ryan Air).
Is it possible to do such an overnight layover in the Madrid airport, all terminal 1, WITHOUT going through immigration/getting our passport stamped?
I want to avoid officially entering the Schengen area - we have changed plans for Europe a few months later, so I'm hoping to not start our 180-day counter in February.
Thanks so much for the advice, folks
In February, my girlfriend and I are scheduled to fly into Madrid from the U.S., via a connection in Istanbul, through Turkish Airlines. Our flight lands Sunday night at 10:55pm.
Due to some changes in plans, I'm now hoping we can book a new flight, as early as possible on Monday, from Madrid to Morocco (probably via Ryan Air).
Is it possible to do such an overnight layover in the Madrid airport, all terminal 1, WITHOUT going through immigration/getting our passport stamped?
I want to avoid officially entering the Schengen area - we have changed plans for Europe a few months later, so I'm hoping to not start our 180-day counter in February.
Thanks so much for the advice, folks
Jan 27th, 2015, 11:27 AM
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"you'll have to pass through passport control when you land in Madrid."
Do understand why
You're making an international-to-international transit, without bags. On almost any airline other than Ryanair, you'd go, through security, to the onward gate without going through immigration, waving the boarding pass you printed when you checked in online before leaving home.
Ryanair, currently, require holders of non-EU passports to get their travel docs checked at a landside Ryanair desk. To get to it, you've got to go through immigration. Ryanair aren't going to waste money on staff where they don't need any.
As so often, European low-cost airliners are low cost partly because they've optimised their process for point to point travellers. Connecting travellers just aren't in Ryanair's business model. They don't want your business, and it really doesn't worry them that they won't get it.
Find another airline.
Do understand why
You're making an international-to-international transit, without bags. On almost any airline other than Ryanair, you'd go, through security, to the onward gate without going through immigration, waving the boarding pass you printed when you checked in online before leaving home.
Ryanair, currently, require holders of non-EU passports to get their travel docs checked at a landside Ryanair desk. To get to it, you've got to go through immigration. Ryanair aren't going to waste money on staff where they don't need any.
As so often, European low-cost airliners are low cost partly because they've optimised their process for point to point travellers. Connecting travellers just aren't in Ryanair's business model. They don't want your business, and it really doesn't worry them that they won't get it.
Find another airline.
Jan 27th, 2015, 11:32 AM
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Ahh, ok, well then if we chose another airline for Madrid to Morocco (we don't have tickets for that yet), would we be able to stay in the international terminal without passing through immigration?
Jan 27th, 2015, 12:11 PM
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"would we be able to stay in the international terminal without passing through immigration?"
As a general rule in Europe (and everywhere in the civilised world: that is, everywhere outside the USA): yes.
As long as the ongoing airline concerned doesn't have odd rules (as Ryanair does - though I don't know how enforcable they are in these circs) and as long as you don't need to go through immigration to collect checked in bags.
The most common way of handling this is NOT to connect to a point-to-point airline, but to a full-service one. There'll certainly be a One World combo which does this. Other mixes might throw up idiosyncrasies like Ryanair's
As a general rule in Europe (and everywhere in the civilised world: that is, everywhere outside the USA): yes.
As long as the ongoing airline concerned doesn't have odd rules (as Ryanair does - though I don't know how enforcable they are in these circs) and as long as you don't need to go through immigration to collect checked in bags.
The most common way of handling this is NOT to connect to a point-to-point airline, but to a full-service one. There'll certainly be a One World combo which does this. Other mixes might throw up idiosyncrasies like Ryanair's
Jan 27th, 2015, 01:49 PM
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According to the information on the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas website, all connecting passengers have to pass through secirity on Floor 0. Ryan Air's departure gate is on Floor 1.
A little more information to digest:
Check-in: Non-Schengen flights: 3 hours before the scheduled departure (20 minutes more if the flight leaves from Satellite Terminal T4)
Passport Control: If the destination of your flight is a non-Schengen country, you must go through document control.
A little more information to digest:
Check-in: Non-Schengen flights: 3 hours before the scheduled departure (20 minutes more if the flight leaves from Satellite Terminal T4)
Passport Control: If the destination of your flight is a non-Schengen country, you must go through document control.
