Arrival Question

[Colo]

We will be flying Iberia Dulles to Madrid and transfer to Porto. It appears are arrival in Madrid and transfer to Porto are going to be in the same terminal.
Will passport control for us be in Madrid or Porto? Assuming we will have to clear in Madrid and then go back through security for our transfer flight.

thanks

 

[Ian Sutton]

Only going by other transfers I've had: same terminal => no security check at the transfer airport. Thus I'd expect passport control to be in Porto (and your departing airport).

 

[Colo]

thanks
sure hope we clear in Porto

 

[Andrew]

No, you enter Schengen in Madrid and clear passport control there. At least for the date that I searched this itinerary, there's a change from arrival at Terminal 4S (satellite) to the main Terminal 4, which requires a train.

ETA: From the Iberia site:

If your flight originates from an airport not in the Schengen area and you are flying into an airport that is in the Schengen area, including airports in Spain, when you reach the terminal check on the information screens for the boarding gate your flight will depart from and follow the instructions for going through passport control. Having done this, you should go down the stairs or take the lift down to the train platform where the APM will take you to the Main Building, which is where boarding gates H, J and K are found. Remember that the entire process requires a time of between 20 and 30 minutes, so we recommend you don’t linger in the transit area.


Very rarely, your connecting flight will depart from the M gates. In this case we ask you to follow the signs at the airport, as you will not have to change terminal.


This table shows information about No Schengen / Schengen flights

From Non-Schengen to Schengen
Arrival Terminal	Departure Terminal	Information	Time required
T4 S - Gates S	T4 - Gates HJK	*Transfer needed between terminal T4S and terminal T4	20 to 30 minutes
T4 S - Gates S	T4 S - Gates M	*No change of terminal	20 minutes

And a YouTube:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLaXYIDDDIo&t=150s

 

[Colo]

I like Ian's answer better
However, Andrew it appears your post is the scenario we should expect

 

[Andrew]

We have a trip through Madrid coming up; I understand from FlyerTalk that there's no avoiding a security check when connecting there on arrival from the U.S.

 

[Colo]

Andrew are you going soon? Please report how the transfer goes. BTW - I corrected above. Still like Ian's answer, but I am sure you are correct.

 

[Andrew]

That's understandable, Colo, that you would prefer it as Ian has it. From what I saw of your plans on another thread, we may be flying to Europe on the same day, but our outbound isn't on Iberia or through Madrid (Delta to Rome). After several adventures, we'll return Amsterdam-Boston on Iberia via Madrid; we were going to have the MAD connection in the other direction than yours, but a schedule change makes us spend the night in Madrid.

 

[Colo]

Once again thanks for the insight. The youtube clip basically walks you through the process.

I guess there are worst places to spend the night. I had a bunch of Marriott points and we stayed at Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel & Conference Center once in 2019. It has free shuttle service, a nice restaurant, and beautiful pool. My wife is a swimmer and passed the time going back and forth. The place is humongous!

Usually avoid chain hotels in Europe, but it was a very pleasant stay.