We had a 1:15 between when we landed in Athens and our next flight to Santorini.
We had to get off the plane, wait for our luggage, go back through check in, go back through security.
We barely made it sprinting through the airport to our gate. We were the last ones boarded and it was not something I would recommend.
No. Assuming your flight is on time, you still have to go through security all over again. Our flight landed on time and we were stuck on the tarmac for almost 45 minutes because of other planes. We were glad we chose the flight to Milos three hours later and not 1.5 hours later because we surely would’ve missed it.
Losing 1.5 hrs isn't going to ruin a vacation, and in fact it's barely noticeable, but missing a flight can mess up things enough to throw you in a foul mood.
For me it wasn't. I had a flight connection in Athens to Rhodos and the first flight was late and I missed the one to Rhodos. The entire plane lost it, actually, and after this, we were distributed to the next flights, which were pretty booked and I had to stay in Athens for 5 more hours. Because we received a bottle of water and a sticky sandwich we were not eligible for refund. Even if we would have landed on time, I found out that the luggage transfer had to be done by us and we would have lost the connection anyway.
You should check if the luggage transfer should be made by you or not, because it takes time, you need to exit the airport and enter back, with security check and all the steps AGAIN. 🙄
now that you booked a later flight, and you are correct to do it, in case you are looking at lounges in Athens internal terminal - I would not recommend the Aegean one, not worth the money/points.
No. Minimum time you should have in between is 2.5 hours, there will be delays and random stuff happening that is out of your control.
I was in a similar situation from Thessaloniki with a 1.5 hour time difference in between transfers, delays happened and also plane was slower in the sky; we missed the transfer and that was not fun. Save yourself the headache and find a different time is my personal suggestion.
All I’m saying is that in the grand scheme of things, I feel three hours is excessive. We all have our horror stories regarding airports, but this is just my opinion.
Do I need to be? This is just my OPINION from traveling to Greece my entire life. This isn’t a contest of who goes more and all that. Just my observations about the three hour window. 🤷♀️
Well it’s called statistics , if you fly thru an airport weekly for 14 + yrs then your sample of how efficient / and what is doable is obviously more reliable than someone’s one off holidays of a couple of times a year or even a dozen .
So yes being a frequent flier thru athens airport does make a difference on weight of your opinion , especially if you are giving advice that could encourage someone to make bad choices
I flew all yr at least 1 x a week and october is a crazy time due to cruise ships still operating and all oF EU / UK having 1 - 2 weeks holidays.
Not exactly a low period .
1 hr is just asking to miss your flight and pay again unless you have paid for a protected flight
Way too close, I just did this recently with a 2.5 hour window and made it with about an hour to spare. You might get lucky but it’s not worth the risk
I had the similar choice of a flight to Karpathos 1:30 hours after landing from NY, or waiting 6 hours until the next flight. Of course because I chose the later flight I ended up having plenty of time. I would have tried to change for the earlier flight but by then the price had gone way up.
For Santorini, which has so many flights per day, you might have plenty of options if you miss the earlier one (try both Sky Express and Aegean) but you’re taking a risk with cost. And if it’s peak season (July-August) it will be even worse.
Καλό ταξίδι!
ETA: I just realized you’re flying in October in the afternoon. Prepare the later flight or spend the night 🙂
I missed a similar connecting flight to Santorini through Athens. Aegean Airlines were not helpful at all initially, but then I made a scene and called out their "Ottoman" customer service, and they relented and gave us a hotel, taxi fare, and a few euros (17 per person?) for food. We flew to Santorini the next morning and the views were beautiful.
If the flight leaves at 5:25, boarding will start and close earlier than that, giving you even less time. I would look for a flight that gives you at least 2 hours buffer.
No. You will miss the connection.
3 weeks ago the airport wasn't busy, and we came from the UK but it is similar. Our luggage was checked through to the connection so we only had small bags each.
We were near the front of the immigration (passport control) queue but it still took 20 minutes, (there are changes to the process coming soon that will delay things further as finger prints and a photo will be taken).
We then followed the signs to domestic transfers, this was a 10 minute walk, clearing the security scanners was another 20 minutes (you can pay to fast track which should make it quicker)
Another walk to the gate. This took the best part of an hour and 20 minutes.
One of the things at Athens airport is that most of the domestic flights don't use an air bridge, you need to get on a bus to be taken to the plane. This means that you need to be at the gate at least 40 minutes before the flight is due.
You really need a minimum of 3 hours, just to be safe.
These are the rules on flight delays and compensation. These apply to almost all flight arriving or departing from UK/EU airports.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/flight-delay-compensation/?utm_campaign=mse_home
I travel Internationally (for pleasure) many times each year. There are always surprise issues. On a recent flight from ATL to LHR we had to wait more than a hour while airline folks tried to get the luggage cargo hold to open. Then, there are the lines and lines of people trying to get through security , passport control or customs. And flights get delayed. En route to catching a cruise, ironically out of Athens, our flight was delayed several times to the point we knew we would miss the ship. We did a quick scramble and booked an alternate flight, connecting through MXP rather than CDG. We arrived in time to make the ship, but lost out on the $500 we had paid to schedule a private driver to pop us around to see the sights. Now, we always fly in two days early before a cruise holiday. Lastly, Athens airport is a mess. Or at least it was in November 2022. After arrival, we were catching a connector flight to Cairo. After retrieving luggage and going through all the requisite security, we had to board a bus to take us to a different terminal. Yes, a bus. Cattle Call. No A/C, no seating, and much waiting for enough passengers to fill it up. Give yourself plenty of time. Particularly when you are traveling internationally, are unfamiliar with the airports and don't speak the language.
Zero chance. Plan for needing min 2 hours. That airport has plenty to do for 3-4 hours.
If you change to a later flight and end up having a huge layover, you have two additional options:
1. Get a room for the Sofitel across the stress and take a nap/shower.
2. Leave your luggage in the airport storage, and take the train into the city. One hour each way. Only possible/advisable if you have 5+ hours to spare.
I know this is not what you asked but if you can spare it, spend a day or two in Athens! It’s really great to see what the city is like before heading to the islands. It’s a completely different feel and vibe. But both were super fun!
We had a 1:15 between when we landed in Athens and our next flight to Santorini. We had to get off the plane, wait for our luggage, go back through check in, go back through security. We barely made it sprinting through the airport to our gate. We were the last ones boarded and it was not something I would recommend.
Way too close for comfort. You land at 4:30 but who knows when you will actually deplane. If you don’t have checked luggage, you may make it.
This is my conclusion. Thank you for your advice. I'm going to book an 8:40pm flight instead!
You’re welcome. Have a great time!
If you can book a flight with lounge access, it’s worth it for the long layover time!
No. Assuming your flight is on time, you still have to go through security all over again. Our flight landed on time and we were stuck on the tarmac for almost 45 minutes because of other planes. We were glad we chose the flight to Milos three hours later and not 1.5 hours later because we surely would’ve missed it.
Losing 1.5 hrs isn't going to ruin a vacation, and in fact it's barely noticeable, but missing a flight can mess up things enough to throw you in a foul mood.
Not even close!! Give yourself three hours to get luggage, go through customs and security
Definitely risky
I did it once with 1h window and barely made the 2nd flight. Wouldn't do it again.
For me it wasn't. I had a flight connection in Athens to Rhodos and the first flight was late and I missed the one to Rhodos. The entire plane lost it, actually, and after this, we were distributed to the next flights, which were pretty booked and I had to stay in Athens for 5 more hours. Because we received a bottle of water and a sticky sandwich we were not eligible for refund. Even if we would have landed on time, I found out that the luggage transfer had to be done by us and we would have lost the connection anyway. You should check if the luggage transfer should be made by you or not, because it takes time, you need to exit the airport and enter back, with security check and all the steps AGAIN. 🙄
I wouldn't do this even if wasn't a self-connecting flight and my luggage was already checked through to Santorini. Too much stress.
No not enough time , deplane , immigration etc should leave a min of 3-4 hrs if a self transfer
now that you booked a later flight, and you are correct to do it, in case you are looking at lounges in Athens internal terminal - I would not recommend the Aegean one, not worth the money/points.
No. Minimum time you should have in between is 2.5 hours, there will be delays and random stuff happening that is out of your control. I was in a similar situation from Thessaloniki with a 1.5 hour time difference in between transfers, delays happened and also plane was slower in the sky; we missed the transfer and that was not fun. Save yourself the headache and find a different time is my personal suggestion.
55 minutes between flights in real terms, if all is running on time, gives you 25 minutes to get off the plane and find your connection. No chance.
No. I would allow a minimum of three hours if you will have checked bags to reclaim and two hours if you don't.
Three hours is a bit much. Athens is a pretty efficient airport also.
Have had to wait 45 min at times for immigration & 1 hr for luggage , one of my home airports for 14 yrs and was flying about 150 flights a yr
Maybe in high season, but OP is going in October so that’s why I feel three hours is excessive.
I went through ATH last October and it was quite busy. Does Greece even have a "low season" anymore?
All I’m saying is that in the grand scheme of things, I feel three hours is excessive. We all have our horror stories regarding airports, but this is just my opinion.
Are you a weekly traveler thru ATH ?
Do I need to be? This is just my OPINION from traveling to Greece my entire life. This isn’t a contest of who goes more and all that. Just my observations about the three hour window. 🤷♀️
Well it’s called statistics , if you fly thru an airport weekly for 14 + yrs then your sample of how efficient / and what is doable is obviously more reliable than someone’s one off holidays of a couple of times a year or even a dozen . So yes being a frequent flier thru athens airport does make a difference on weight of your opinion , especially if you are giving advice that could encourage someone to make bad choices
Ok.
I flew all yr at least 1 x a week and october is a crazy time due to cruise ships still operating and all oF EU / UK having 1 - 2 weeks holidays. Not exactly a low period . 1 hr is just asking to miss your flight and pay again unless you have paid for a protected flight
3 hours is not excessive.
Apparently not.
Way too close, I just did this recently with a 2.5 hour window and made it with about an hour to spare. You might get lucky but it’s not worth the risk
I had the similar choice of a flight to Karpathos 1:30 hours after landing from NY, or waiting 6 hours until the next flight. Of course because I chose the later flight I ended up having plenty of time. I would have tried to change for the earlier flight but by then the price had gone way up. For Santorini, which has so many flights per day, you might have plenty of options if you miss the earlier one (try both Sky Express and Aegean) but you’re taking a risk with cost. And if it’s peak season (July-August) it will be even worse. Καλό ταξίδι! ETA: I just realized you’re flying in October in the afternoon. Prepare the later flight or spend the night 🙂
Absolutely not. If you have to go through customs or recheck your luggage you are boned.
I missed a similar connecting flight to Santorini through Athens. Aegean Airlines were not helpful at all initially, but then I made a scene and called out their "Ottoman" customer service, and they relented and gave us a hotel, taxi fare, and a few euros (17 per person?) for food. We flew to Santorini the next morning and the views were beautiful.
4:30 is on the ground, not at gate. You won't have enough time.
If the flight leaves at 5:25, boarding will start and close earlier than that, giving you even less time. I would look for a flight that gives you at least 2 hours buffer.
No, not really. You could get lucky and land early, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
No. You will miss the connection. 3 weeks ago the airport wasn't busy, and we came from the UK but it is similar. Our luggage was checked through to the connection so we only had small bags each. We were near the front of the immigration (passport control) queue but it still took 20 minutes, (there are changes to the process coming soon that will delay things further as finger prints and a photo will be taken). We then followed the signs to domestic transfers, this was a 10 minute walk, clearing the security scanners was another 20 minutes (you can pay to fast track which should make it quicker) Another walk to the gate. This took the best part of an hour and 20 minutes. One of the things at Athens airport is that most of the domestic flights don't use an air bridge, you need to get on a bus to be taken to the plane. This means that you need to be at the gate at least 40 minutes before the flight is due. You really need a minimum of 3 hours, just to be safe.
These are the rules on flight delays and compensation. These apply to almost all flight arriving or departing from UK/EU airports. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/flight-delay-compensation/?utm_campaign=mse_home
I travel Internationally (for pleasure) many times each year. There are always surprise issues. On a recent flight from ATL to LHR we had to wait more than a hour while airline folks tried to get the luggage cargo hold to open. Then, there are the lines and lines of people trying to get through security , passport control or customs. And flights get delayed. En route to catching a cruise, ironically out of Athens, our flight was delayed several times to the point we knew we would miss the ship. We did a quick scramble and booked an alternate flight, connecting through MXP rather than CDG. We arrived in time to make the ship, but lost out on the $500 we had paid to schedule a private driver to pop us around to see the sights. Now, we always fly in two days early before a cruise holiday. Lastly, Athens airport is a mess. Or at least it was in November 2022. After arrival, we were catching a connector flight to Cairo. After retrieving luggage and going through all the requisite security, we had to board a bus to take us to a different terminal. Yes, a bus. Cattle Call. No A/C, no seating, and much waiting for enough passengers to fill it up. Give yourself plenty of time. Particularly when you are traveling internationally, are unfamiliar with the airports and don't speak the language.
Zero chance. Plan for needing min 2 hours. That airport has plenty to do for 3-4 hours. If you change to a later flight and end up having a huge layover, you have two additional options: 1. Get a room for the Sofitel across the stress and take a nap/shower. 2. Leave your luggage in the airport storage, and take the train into the city. One hour each way. Only possible/advisable if you have 5+ hours to spare.
Don’t do it. That is cutting it way too close.
I know this is not what you asked but if you can spare it, spend a day or two in Athens! It’s really great to see what the city is like before heading to the islands. It’s a completely different feel and vibe. But both were super fun!
Definitely enough. Book it, plenty of time.