Posted in Travel Tips
February 13, 2018
This Is How Much Time You Actually Need To Catch Your Connecting Flight
Do you live in fear of missing your connecting flight? Are your palms getting sweaty just thinking about that mad dash through the airport to your next gate?
Here’s how to figure out how much time you actually need between connecting flights.
Tiny local airport or massive international airport? It takes a lot more time to get across a sprawling building than it does a small one. In some cases, you could be in for a 20-25 minute walk inside the airport.
The time it takes to clear customs and immigration varies wildly – you could spend anywhere from five minutes to four hours waiting in line. Factors that influence this range from the country you’re entering, the time of day and even the season.
If you’re traveling outside the country, add at least an hour and half to your minimum connection time. More time is better.
If you’re leaving one airport and traveling to another to catch your connecting flight (or plan on exploring your layover city), be sure to take the weather forecast into account. If anything other than sunshine is expected, give yourself a cushion of at least 20 to 30 minutes to cope with traffic, icy sidewalks or accidents.
Sometimes the snack or meal situation on a flight is a mystery until the food trolley wheels by. If you feel like you’ll be hungry in transit, make sure you schedule time for a quick bite between flights. The difference between a grouchy flight and a refreshed arrival could be an airport bagel.
Even if you book a wheelchair in advance, it will still take time to find the check-in counter and wait for the wheelchair attendant to arrive with your ride. Allow extra time for this.
If you figure out how much time you can expect to spend at each of the stages above, you can add up all that time and be left with about how long you need to catch your flight. To save even more time, consider flying out of these 7 alternative airports.
