yousefm

Hi everyone,
I recently booked a ticket from Tel-Aviv, Israel to Funchal,Madeira, with a connection at Madrid barajas.
I booked the ticket via a travel agency and the operating airline is Iberia , however, i'm a little concerned about the transfer time from terminal 4S to 4- my flight lands in Madrid at 10:40 at terminal 4S, then the flight to Funchal,Madeira departs at 11:35 at terminal 4, totalling about one hour between touch down and take off, a timeframe within which I have to get from the plane to the departure gate.
I've done my homework and read about the underground 5 minute train, but ideally I'd really like to have an account of someone who's faced the same transfer; is it possible in one hour ? I'd just like to know it this is a /possible/ amount of time, so as to know if I should get a train down instead, i dont know any thing about barajas and how it goes
I'd be very grateful for any information anyone can bring to the matter.
Thanks to all who read

nytraveler

Is this a single ticket or two separate ones? Assume the second flight is not a cheapo airline that requires check in far in advance?

Do you have checked luggage or only carry-on?

Can you get a seat at the front of the plane and move very quickly - jogging - as soon as you get off?

Robert2016

There is a difference between the scheduled landing time and the time it takes to reach the gate and deplane. In some cases it can take 20 minutes or more just to reach the gate after touching down. I'd check with the agent who sold you the ticket.

The departure gates normally close 20 minutes before departure.

yousefm

hey mytravelet
firstly its a single ticket; about my luggage i talk with my agent he said to me that its automatic send to the next airplane and to too airline is iberia

how can i go quickly to t4 in 55 min and how it goes, its the first time on barajas airport
thanks alot

one more question; the secont airplane can leave without me ? we are 2 people ? and if they left what i can do ?

yousefm

hey mytravelet
firstly its a single ticket; about my luggage i talk with my agent he said to me that its automatic send to the next airplane and to too airline is iberia

how can i go quickly to t4 in 55 min and how it goes, its the first time on barajas airport
thanks alot

one more question; the secont airplane can leave without me ? we are 2 people ? and if they left what i can do ?

tonfromleiden

Because it's one ticket, it's the responsibility of Iberia to get you to your final destination. It's in their own interest you can make the connection, if only to spare themselves the trouble to find you a seat on a next flight.
I had that situation a couple of times, and airline staff was waiting to get me through.

newtome

if it's one ticket they have to put you on the next flight BUT the next available flight might be several hours or the next day later.

nytraveler

Typically flights do not wait for people coming from a late connection unless it's a large number of people - I have seen it done in the US when about 35 people were connecting.

But wait for 2 people - never. If they did this airports would be chaos - since there are always people late for some reason or other. They would likely give your seats to people on a waiting list.

It's our job to get there. Which is why I would want much more time.

Gardyloo

It's doable but it's going to be tight; it's right at the published MCT (minimum connection time.) You'll go through Schengen passport control at T4S, after which you'll need to take the train to T4. One thing I'd do is take the elevators/lifts from the T4S passport control level down to the train level; the escalators seem to take forever, then the same back up to T4 departures.

T4 is enormous (so is T4S) so try to spot your departure gate information on the reader boards ASAP, and don't even <i>think</i> about duty free or such.