Procedure in Barcelona Airport after Disembarking Flight

[2Canucks]

I will be arriving at the Barcelona Airport on a flight from Canada with a flight connection in Amsterdam. Canada-Amsterdam-Barcelona.

 

What procedure will I need to do in Barcelona? (I'm Canadian.)

 

Disembark Plane...Passport Control...Baggage Claim...Find Car Service Driver.

 

OR

 

Disembark Plane...Go Straight to Baggage Claim...Find Car Service Driver.

 

How long does this usually take?

 

Where to Find... the Pre Booked Car Service Drivers?

 

 

Thank You for any info you can share with me.

 

Pat

Edited August 27, 2015 by 2Canucks

[MADflyer]

You will go through passport control on your arrival at AMS Amsterdam. On some flights they can require a passport to exit the plane into the terminal.

 

You will then be transferring to a Schengen area terminal for a flight to Schengen gates at BCN Barcelona.

 

At Barcelona you will collect your baggage and proceed through the green line if you have nothing to declare.

 

I normally find my baggage arriving about the moment I have made my trek to the baggage claim at BCN and waits are not the norm, especially on Schengen flights.

 

20 minutes maybe from gate to driver unless there is a problem.

 

Pre-booked drivers will know your flight has landed and that baggage is being collected and normally would wait just as you exit customs into the terminal.

[juniper berries]

Hi we will be on direct flight from Toronto Ontario Canada to Barcelona I assume we will have to go through customs upon landing. Do we collect our baggage first or afterwards.Then get a taxi to our hotel for the night. Thanks for any help.:)

[MADflyer]

Hi we will be on direct flight from Toronto Ontario Canada to Barcelona I assume we will have to go through customs upon landing. Do we collect our baggage first or afterwards.Then get a taxi to our hotel for the night. Thanks for any help.:)

 

You will exit from your flight into the non-Schengen area and will first go through passport control to enter the Schengen zone. Passport control is separated by Schengen passport holders and non-Schengen. The non-Schengen line moves more slowly and takes maybe 10 to 20 minutes to clear.

 

You will then proceed to baggage claim. Barcelona checks all baggage pre-carousel and once on the carousel passengers proceed with the same system and exit a green zone if they have nothing to declare. Some passengers are selected for further screening. Sometimes a guard will approach and ask questions about your flight and stay in Spain. Most passengers just walk through and enter the public area of the terminal. If you have something to declare, like having over 10000 euros then you go to the red exit and declare.

 

If you are at a peak time the taxi line can appear very long, but it moves very quickly and you will soon be on your way and the taxis are metered in Barcelona. The minimum fare from the airport is 20 euro and normal city fares are 29 to 35 euro.

[juniper berries]

Hi MADflyer thank you for the information. You explained it better than the Barcelona airport web site. One other question what time is peak time for taxi's. Also with the taxis do you pay for each piece of luggage if there are only 2 people in the taxi. We will have 2 suit cases each. Thanks again.:)

[MADflyer]

Hi MADflyer thank you for the information. You explained it better than the Barcelona airport web site. One other question what time is peak time for taxi's. Also with the taxis do you pay for each piece of luggage if there are only 2 people in the taxi. We will have 2 suit cases each. Thanks again.:)

 

The paying for bags supplement is one that is somewhat abused. It is only supposed to apply to large bags and not carry-on sized, even if placed in the hold. Some drivers apply the charge for all bags, but there is a sticker in the window for every cab. It is 1 euro per large bag.

 

Early morning between 0830 and 1000 and then evening between 1800 and 22:00 would be peak times. It flows very well though.

 

You do have the option of the A1 or A2 aerobus for express service into the city and many hotels are close to the bus. This bus costs 5.90 per passenger and space and no charge for bags.

[2Canucks]

You will go through passport control on your arrival at AMS Amsterdam. On some flights they can require a passport to exit the plane into the terminal.

 

You will then be transferring to a Schengen area terminal for a flight to Schengen gates at BCN Barcelona.

 

At Barcelona you will collect your baggage and proceed through the green line if you have nothing to declare.

 

I normally find my baggage arriving about the moment I have made my trek to the baggage claim at BCN and waits are not the norm, especially on Schengen flights.

 

20 minutes maybe from gate to driver unless there is a problem.

 

Pre-booked drivers will know your flight has landed and that baggage is being collected and normally would wait just as you exit customs into the terminal.

 

 

 

Thank You for this excellent info! :)

 

 

Are you familiar with the Amsterdam Airport procedure as well?

 

How do I find Passport Control after disembarking my 1st flight?

 

How to find my gate for the next flight? Will it be in the "same terminal"?

 

I'm flying KLM and have a 1 hour 55 minute layover if my 1st flight is on time.

 

First time to travel solo and first time through Amsterdam so I'm a little anxious! Don't want to get lost and miss my connection!

 

Pat

[MADflyer]

Thank You for this excellent info! :)

 

 

Are you familiar with the Amsterdam Airport procedure as well?

 

How do I find Passport Control after disembarking my 1st flight?

 

How to find my gate for the next flight? Will it be in the "same terminal"?

 

I'm flying KLM and have a 1 hour 55 minute layover if my 1st flight is on time.

 

First time to travel solo and first time through Amsterdam so I'm a little anxious! Don't want to get lost and miss my connection!

 

Pat

 

Amsterdam is a well marked and efficient airport for transfer. You will deplane on the lower level and move toward the Schiphol Plaza central area where all the piers from the terminal join together.

 

You will arrive to a non-Schengen pier and will move to the end of your section where you will have a passport control. Your baggage will be transferred to your connecting flight.

 

You will see many flight information boards after passport control in the main plaza area. You then move upstairs to move to the departure gate. You will be on a Schengen pier to Barcelona and therefore will not have additional security for your carry on after you have entered the Schengen terminal.

 

It will be very clear that you are to move up to connect for the transfer flight and other passengers would move through their passport control and out to a baggage claim zone.

 

After passport control at Amsterdam, information kiosks are many and well staffed to assist transfer passengers.

 

The boards at Amsterdam will even tell you how many minutes to gates in your pier. KLM operates from arrivals hall 3 and your connecting flight would most likely be one floor up above arrival hall 1 so about a 20 minute walk.

[2Canucks]

MADflyer... I agree with juniper berries....your info is so much more informative then both the Barcelona & the Amsterdam websites!! Clear...easy to understand info...now I feel I can do this on my own. My late hubby was the one who got us through "new to us" airports so I really appreciate your help! :) I've printed off both your airport info posts so I'm Good To Go!!!!

 

With Gratitude

 

Pat

[cruiseturbo]

MADFLyer.....I know this is an old thread but hope you are still following and can assist me as well!

 

We are flying from Miami to Atlanta to Barcelona in October. I am assuming there won't be anything different for us to do at Miami or Atlanta than we usually do on domestic US flights. However once we get to Barcelona I understand we need to go thru Passport Control first and then claim our luggage. Some travelers have reported very long waits at Passport Control at BCN, like 2-3 hours. Will our luggage still be waiting for us at the baggage claim for that long? I am sure they have several flights that will need to use the baggage carousel so how does that work if there are long lines and everyones baggage is still circling on the carousel?

 

Hopefully we won't have a long wait but want to prepare ourselves for the possibility! Thank you!

[EnricM]

... normal procedures are not, by a long shot, that "problematic". Passport control at El Prat airport (BCN) *shouldn't* take you that long. But again, no crystal ball here, sorry.

 

Reflection: this is one of the busiest airports in Europe, surely it's fairly "organised" (albeit sometimes it doesn't look like, LOL!) otherwise it couldn't handle that volume of passengers.

 

But again, I'm a frequent flyer and this and other major airports can be sometimes a mess so, yes, do prepare yourself in case you are there in "one of those days"

 

Btw, answering your other question: that depends on the airport, but generically speaking, when a new set of luggage from "the next" flight needs to be delivered on a specific carousel, any previous luggage is removed and placed in 'storage' until someone claims it. Obviously, 'storage' tends to be somewhere not too far from the carousel as you need to pick up your luggage BEFORE passing thru Customs. But again, different airports have different procedures. In any case, if you were to be stuck in Passport Control, you'd be stuck with dozens or hundreds of fellow passengers from the same flight, right? so your luggage would not be the only one circling the carousel and handlers would notice that. Some airports use prediction software that tells the handlers when to start delivering the luggage and this software takes into account this and other variables. But again, not everything is so rosy in real life anyway :)

Edited January 19, 2018 by EnricM

[MartinsCruise]

If we take a flight which arrives at 7:15 AM is there a place to eat and hang out for a while at the airport after collecting our luggage? Do you know of any other places to go before checking in to our hotel?

[fabnfortysomething]

If we take a flight which arrives at 7:15 AM is there a place to eat and hang out for a while at the airport after collecting our luggage? Do you know of any other places to go before checking in to our hotel?

 

why would you want to hang around the airport with luggage?

 

Your hotel room may not be ready but the hotel will store your luggage till it is and you can then explore Barcelona

[cruiseturbo]

why would you want to hang around the airport with luggage?

 

Your hotel room may not be ready but the hotel will store your luggage till it is and you can then explore Barcelona

 

Glad to hear that about the hotel storing luggage. We also have an early flight and plan to explore that day until our room is ready. Our plan was to try to check in early or ask the hotel to hold our luggage but wasn’t sure how many do that?

[telebax51]

We always have the Hotel store our luggage if we arrive early for check-in. but be aware if the hotel have a room for you when you arrive early and you accept it make sure they do not charge you for another day, this was talked about on other forums.

[cruiseturbo]

We always have the Hotel store our luggage if we arrive early for check-in. but be aware if the hotel have a room for you when you arrive early and you accept it make sure they do not charge you for another day, this was talked about on other forums.

 

Thank you, I will verify before accepting the early check in!

[MartinsCruise]

Thank you for the suggestion. I'll check with the hotel we've booked to make sure they will store luggage.