Tight Connection at Madrid Airport
 

I am flying into Madrid airport in January on Delta, arriving in Terminal 1 at 9:15 AM. I have a flight departing at 11:00 AM from Terminal 3 on Spanair to Barcelona.
1. Do I have enough time to make the connection?
2. What will the process be? Do I have to go through immigration/customs after collecting luggage from Delta?
3. How long does it take to go from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3?
Thanks for any and all advice.

Hi stonesc,

I have done the same transfer, but in reverse and with a bit more time.

Once you arrive in Madrid , you will go through passport control, and then claim your lugagge. Once you have your lugagge, you go through the green line, "nothing to declare" , and you are out. It will take you about 15 mins once you exit with your lugagge to walk to terminal 3.
However, given that you ahve less than 2 hrs to connect, everything would have to go like clockwork. If it does, then you will be able to check in for your BCN flight, but of course, there are no guarantees.

Is there a later Spanair flight you could take?

Forgot to clarify, that terminal 1 is connected on the inside to terminal 3.

Hi stonesc,
If you could avoid checking bags and just have carry on luggage, you could shave off 10-15 minutes from this transfer. When we carry on, we can get in and out of passport control and on our way in no time.

Delta probably has a baggage transfer agreement with Spanair. When you check in for the flight in the US ask them to check your luggage through to Barcelona. That way you don't have to deal with it in Madrid and your connection time should be more than adequate.