Is 50 minutes enough to get through Munich on our way to Istanbul?

[Vagabond51]

Viking has us landing on our across the pond flight into Munich at Terminal 1. Our Istanbul flight is scheduled to depart 50 minutes later from Terminal 2. My research says it's a 15 to 20 minute walk beteen gates, if you don't doddle. I could not find out anywhere if we have to reenter security between terminals. I'm fairly certain we do have to clear immigration in Munich, but not customs. I'm going to assume our bags will be checked all the way to Istanbul where we will have to clear customs.

 

I'm not feeling too comfortable with such a short amount of time to do this. DW is not as spry as she once was, and I'm getting there. There is another flight, same airline, four hours later. Trying to decide if I should have Viking move us to that flight. Although it takes up a good chunck of our first Istanbul day, probably getting us to the hotel by 6ish, it may save us a lot of stress.

 

Am I being too cautious here? Any experience getting though Munich would be appreciated. Thanks!!

Edited February 16, 2023 by Vagabond51

[CDNPolar]

Depending on where you are coming from, if this is the first Schengen country you are landing in then you will have passport control as well.  Not security, but definitely passport control.  The non-Schengen travellers are one by one with a live agent, when the Euro passport holders are automated.

 

It is our experience in both Munich and Frankfurt that 50 minutes is not enough.  That is also assuming that you are not delayed in your departure and late in your arrival - how far back you are in the aircraft, etc.

 

If you are arriving at a busy time, you could have a 20 minute wait or more at passport control.

 

We don't book any connection in Europe now without at least 2 hours as we have been the one running a number of times with the threat of the airbridge door closing.

 

WE would go for the four hour connection every time.  Would rather spend 4 hours in the airport than miss a connection and perhaps not get where we want to be the same day.

Edited February 16, 2023 by CDNPolar

[Berlin Bear]

10 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

Depending on where you are coming from, if this is the first Schengen country you are landing in then you will have passport control as well.  Not security, but definitely passport control.  The non-Schengen travellers are one by one with a live agent, when the Euro passport holders are automated.

 

It is our experience in both Munich and Frankfurt that 50 minutes is not enough.  That is also assuming that you are not delayed in your departure and late in your arrival - how far back you are in the aircraft, etc.

 

If you are arriving at a busy time, you could have a 20 minute wait or more at passport control.

 

We don't book any connection in Europe now without at least 2 hours as we have been the one running a number of times with the threat of the airbridge door closing.

 

WE would go for the four hour connection every time.  Would rather spend 4 hours in the airport than miss a connection and perhaps not get where we want to be the same day.

I agree with this. Munich has the reputation of being the most pleasant airport in Germany, so rather a longer wait than a stressful connection.

[Haqdeluxe]

1 hour ago, CDNPolar said:

Depending on where you are coming from, if this is the first Schengen country you are landing in then you will have passport control as well.  Not security, but definitely passport control.  The non-Schengen travellers are one by one with a live agent, when the Euro passport holders are automated.

 

It is our experience in both Munich and Frankfurt that 50 minutes is not enough.  That is also assuming that you are not delayed in your departure and late in your arrival - how far back you are in the aircraft, etc.

 

If you are arriving at a busy time, you could have a 20 minute wait or more at passport control.

 

We don't book any connection in Europe now without at least 2 hours as we have been the one running a number of times with the threat of the airbridge door closing.

 

WE would go for the four hour connection every time.  Would rather spend 4 hours in the airport than miss a connection and perhaps not get where we want to be the same day.

Agree with CDNPolar, I don't like to do less than a 1hr 30 layover in either Frankfurt or Munich. 2-2.5 is my sweet spot, where I feel I can comfortably make it through border control and to my connection gate. Also agree that both these airports are nice and easy to navigate (although a slog to and from the Z gates) with good amenities to occupy a long layover. 

[Vagabond51]

Thanks Folks, confirmed my caution. Viking Air got us on a later flight to Istanbul that put us in the airport for almost five hours and gets us in late in the day, but it takes the stress out of the transfer. Took almost an hour on the phone with them. At first Viking wanted to charge us almost $400 to make the changes. We had a spirited conversation, and I now have their mistake fixed, no charge.

[duquephart]

There's probably a really good lager there somewhere.

[LindaS272]

40 minutes ago, Vagabond51 said:

Thanks Folks, confirmed my caution. Viking Air got us on a later flight to Istanbul that put us in the airport for almost five hours and gets us in late in the day, but it takes the stress out of the transfer. Took almost an hour on the phone with them. At first Viking wanted to charge us almost $400 to make the changes. We had a spirited conversation, and I now have their mistake fixed, no charge.

We have a similar conundrum coming up for our April cruise out of Venice, though not Viking Air. Booked from Seattle through Paris on Delta. Originally with four hour plus transit through Paris—changed last week to TWO hours only. Ugh! Going to try to change to later flight out of Paris about 5 1/2 hours, rent a four hour room in CDG and take showers for the onward journey. Arriving Venice about 9:30 pm instead of 5:30 pm or thereabouts.

[OneSixtyToOne]

We connected in Munich twice last month. Cleared passport control in less than 2 minutes. One of the easiest airports we’ve ever been through.

[dd57]

We have been faced with very long lines at passport control in Munich.  I'm sure it varies with time of day.  But last time I noticed that the automated machines would take a US passport , the kind that has a biometric  chip in it. If on the front of your passport there is a gold rectangle with a circle in the middle, it will work.  The dirty scanner couldn't read my face clearly so I ended up seeing an agent anyway, but there is a dedicated agent to handle that.  So if you are faced with a long line, check for a sign with that same rectangle/circle or a sign that talks about e-passport at the automated lines.  Also, if you use mobility assist services in Munich, they take you to a fast access spot, basically at the front of the line.

[sfocruiser]

If you are going “across the pond” from US/CAN to Turkey all are non-Schengen.   You should not have to go through passport control and in MUC probably not security     FRA would be a completely different story.  Avoid FRA 🙂

 

having said all that I still would go with a longer connection.  Just less stress

 

with your longer layover check out the Airbräu for a nice beer

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187309-d1492309-Reviews-Airbraeu_Brauhaus-Munich_Upper_Bavaria_Bavaria.html?m=19905

[donaldsc]

Ask yourself what is the downside if you miss the plane.

 

DON

[Berlin Bear]

And at least you won’t have to worry about your luggage making the connecting flight 😉

[Vagabond51]

6 hours ago, sfocruiser said:

If you are going “across the pond” from US/CAN to Turkey all are non-Schengen.   You should not have to go through passport control and in MUC probably not security

 

From the recent research I've done I'm fairly certain we will go through both immigration/passport control and security. We land at terminal 2. Our Turkish Air flight leaves terminal 1C. The area between terminals is considered "landside". We would need to pass through security to get into terminal 1. Germany is a Schengen country. We are coming from a non Shengen country into a Schengen country at MUC, thus the need to pass through immigration/passport control. I get conflicting reads and info about this. If anyone has made the trip between terminals and knows, it would be great to know for sure.

 

The worst that could happen is Turkish Air charges us for a later flight once we missed ours, as the missed flight was "on time", after waiting in line for who knows how long. It has happened to us and others we know, mostly with non US carriers. $$$

 

we thought about taking the 10 minute train ride into Munich with the extra time. I don't think we would need visa's?

Edited February 17, 2023 by Vagabond51

[Berlin Bear]

Munich airport is quite a long way from the city centre. The train takes about 40 minutes. Perhaps you are referring to the frequency: apparently trains run every 10 minutes.

[sfocruiser]

2 hours ago, Vagabond51 said:

 

From the recent research I've done I'm fairly certain we will go through both immigration/passport control and security. We land at terminal 2. Our Turkish Air flight leaves terminal 1C. The area between terminals is considered "landside". We would need to pass through security to get into terminal 1. Germany is a Schengen country. We are coming from a non Shengen country into a Schengen country at MUC, thus the need to pass through immigration/passport control. I get conflicting reads and info about this. If anyone has made the trip between terminals and knows, it would be great to know for sure.

 

The worst that could happen is Turkish Air charges us for a later flight once we missed ours, as the missed flight was "on time", after waiting in line for who knows how long. It has happened to us and others we know, mostly with non US carriers. $$$

 

we thought about taking the 10 minute train ride into Munich with the extra time. I don't think we would need visa's?

 

There there used to be  a  shuttle bus from T1 to T2 for non-schengen passengers.  I have not taken it since Covid so not 100% sure the buses are running   This PDF from the Munich Airport site shows the pickup and drop off points for the non-schengen  and Schengen buses.

 

Also this thread is dedicated to MUC transfers (primarily for Star Alliance) and has some good current information

 

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/lufthansa-austrian-swiss-brussels-lot-other-partners-miles-more/749463-connecting-munich-muc.html

 

 

shuttle-bus-t1-t2.pdf

[Peregrina651]

On 2/16/2023 at 5:18 AM, Vagabond51 said:

Am I being too cautious here? Any experience getting though Munich would be appreciated. Thanks!!

 

Go with your gut, otherwise your gut is going to be talking to you from now until you land in Istanbul -- and you already aren't happy with what it is saying.

 

Are you being too cautious? NO!! Better safe than sorry. As donaldsc asked, what is the downside if you miss your plane?

 

Fifty minutes isn't 50 minutes, it is 35 minutes because doors close 15 minutes prior to departure.

[Jazmyn49]

Exactly, Peregrina.  The time of the scheduled landing is NOT the time you deplane and the time of departure is NOT the latest you can board.  You just might make it, then again......what's the downside?

[azdrydock]

On 2/17/2023 at 3:24 AM, Vagabond51 said:

 

From the recent research I've done I'm fairly certain we will go through both immigration/passport control and security. We land at terminal 2. Our Turkish Air flight leaves terminal 1C. The area between terminals is considered "landside". We would need to pass through security to get into terminal 1. Germany is a Schengen country. We are coming from a non Shengen country into a Schengen country at MUC, thus the need to pass through immigration/passport control. I get conflicting reads and info about this. If anyone has made the trip between terminals and knows, it would be great to know for sure.

 

The worst that could happen is Turkish Air charges us for a later flight once we missed ours, as the missed flight was "on time", after waiting in line for who knows how long. It has happened to us and others we know, mostly with non US carriers. $$$

 

we thought about taking the 10 minute train ride into Munich with the extra time. I don't think we would need visa's?

We did this a few years ago and it was as stated, Passport control and immigration were crowded  but very fast moving unlike AMS. We went through a long corridor that looked like it was temporary and eventually arrived at the screening point. No lines since it was a limited access area for transit passengers only. I am guessing 20 to 30 minutes from plane to gate. Boarding process was chaotic, They just announce it is time to board and everyone goes at once. This has been the case for other xfers in Munich.

 

The Airlines are not supposed to close the gates at least until departure time when in transit passengers are enroute.  We were last to arrive a few times and the doors were closed as soon as we boarded, One time about 10 minutes late in Chicago. We once landed on time but missed our connection in Munich because we turned right instead of left and got to the gate a few minutes after the doors closed. The gate agent already had new tickets for us on another flight.... no charge, adjacent gate, routed to Bergan via Copenhagen instead of Oslo and arrived before the original flight.

 

With this being said, if we weren't aware that there were multiple paths to IST that day and we could afford arriving several hours latter we would not have booked a 50 minute layover.

 

 

[Vagabond51]

Thank you for all the advice and tips. I actually hung up on the first attempt to talk with a Viking Air rep in the Phillipines (I asked her where she was). Her English was so poor I could not follow what she was saying. I repeatedly asked her to speak slower. I believe she was either incapable or unwilling to do so. I remained very polite. She insisted it would cost a $300 each change fee to move from the 10:40 flight to the 2:30 one. Realizing this was going nowhere, I called Viking Air back 30 minutes later and got the nicest kind woman who simply made the change in about 5 minutes with new business class seats confirmed. She remarked I probably would not make the original booking connection.

 

[SJD117]

On 2/17/2023 at 6:15 AM, Peregrina651 said:

 

Go with your gut, otherwise your gut is going to be talking to you from now until you land in Istanbul -- and you already aren't happy with what it is saying.

 

Are you being too cautious? NO!! Better safe than sorry. As donaldsc asked, what is the downside if you miss your plane?

 

Fifty minutes isn't 50 minutes, it is 35 minutes because doors close 15 minutes prior to departure.

 

We talked to our guts about a connection in April, transiting Paris/CDG to Venice. Delta changed our connection time from 4 hrs./15 minutes to 2 hours. Adequate? Perhaps, but only if all the stars align (which is never, ever certain at CDG).

 

In the end, we decided to take a later flight to Venice in order to avoid sweating the connection time and worrying about a possible missed flight. Instead of rushing between terminals, we can hang out in Air France's new lounge. Much better!