3

Next week I will fly by plane for the first time.

I have checked baggage in my itinerary and it says it applies to PRG - SDR. However, there is a transfer in madrid. The itinerary says I should arrive at terminal T4 (not T4S). Is that possible? I have to wait more than 12 hours in Madrid. Both flights are from Iberia, and the company says on its website that I have to check my luggage again in this case.

Does this mean that I have to pick up my baggage at Terminal 4 and walk completely out of the terminal and do the whole procedure again? Will my boarding pass still work?

Edit. http://help.iberia.com/frequently_asked_question/luggage-check-in-on-flights-with-stopovers-or-connections/ (see exceptions)

Departure time into Madrid is 18.50 (31.8). Next departure at 7.40 (1.9.).

2
  • Can you point to the page where it says you need to check-in again, or if that’s on your personal booking pages, I coude the actual text? Also, what times are you arriving in/departing from Madrid? If your stop is a “stopover” then a new check-in is required, but that’s usually only for stops over 24 hours or in some cases overnight (and most often that comes at extra cost, airlines prefer it when you don’t have to).
    – jcaron
    Aug 29, 2021 at 14:13
  • Plese, see my edit. It the case with overnight
    – struct
    Aug 29, 2021 at 14:22

1 Answer 1

6

Terminal 4 at Madrid airport consists of 2 buildings - the main 'T4' building which contains all of the check-in counters, baggage claim, etc, and a "Satellite" terminal, 'T4S'. These two buildings are connected via a automated train that takes about 4 minutes to go between buildings.

Your itinerary will always list "T4" regardless of which of those two buildings your flights end up arriving in and departing from. Given you are on a flight from/to a Schengen area country it is most likely your flights will both use the main 'T4' building, however it is possible (but unlikely) they will use the 'T4s' building.

As your connection is overnight and more than 12 hours, Iberia's policy is that you will need to re-claim your bags. It is possible that if you ask at check-in they will tag them all the way through to your final destination, however most airlines will not do this for an overnight connection like this on the presumption that you will want your bags during the connection time.

If they are not willing to check them all the way through (you can confirm if they have done this by looking at the destination on your baggage tag), then you will need to reclaim them at Madrid, and re-check them the next morning (no more than 4 hours before your flight departure time).

4
  • Excellent and comprehensive answer!
    – struct
    Aug 29, 2021 at 14:53
  • Four hours? Not so long ago, Iberia did not open check-in for domestic/EU flights until 2 hours before the flight. Has that changed (I will be happy if it has)?
    – wimi
    Aug 30, 2021 at 7:36
  • 1
    One addition as it is part of the main question: you get a different boarding pass per flight. You'll be issued one boarding pass for PRG - MAD. And then a different boarding pass for MAD - SDR Aug 30, 2021 at 11:40
  • It all turned out well in the end. In PRG my luggage got a sticker with final destination SDR. I was very suspicious about it so in MAD I left gate zones to check luggage claim to make sure the luggage doesn't actually arrive. And it didn't. I went everywhere with the boarding pass they gave me in PRG. I didn't have to do new or check in at all. The rest was very simple and the airport in MAD has a great mobile app. Thank you guys
    – struct
    Sep 4, 2021 at 7:20

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .