Layover Time Checker
Enter your layover and the kind of connection you’re making and we’ll tell you whether it’s realistically enough time — with the buffer you’ve got and where the minutes actually go.
How this tool works
Airlines publish a Minimum Connection Time (MCT) for every airport, airline and connection category — it’s the shortest connection their system will sell you. We start from an MCT baseline for your connection type, add the penalties your specific itinerary incurs, and cross-check that against a step-by-step time budget. We then use whichever of the two is larger, because being optimistic about a connection is how people miss flights.
- Baselines by connection type. Domestic to domestic is the fastest; international arrivals into the US are the slowest because you clear immigration, reclaim your checked bags for customs inspection, re-check them, and then re-clear security. International-to-international at a non-US hub usually stays airside, so it sits in between.
- Penalties are additive. A terminal change adds time for a train or a bus plus the walk at both ends. Separate tickets add the most, because you leave the secure area and start over. Re-checking bags on separate tickets adds a carousel wait, which is the least predictable part of any connection.
- The time budget is the sanity check. Deplaning takes time, especially from a back row. Walking to a far gate takes time. Immigration takes 20–90 minutes. Boarding closes 15 minutes before departure on a US domestic flight — so “making your connection” means being at the gate well before the departure time on your ticket.
- Separate tickets are a risk, not just minutes. On one ticket, a misconnect is the airline’s problem: they rebook you, usually for free. On separate tickets, a missed second flight is a no-show and the fare is generally gone. That’s why we flag it regardless of how much buffer the maths gives you.
Where these numbers are soft. Every baseline in our data is medium confidence and carries an explicit uncertainty note, because published MCTs are set per airport and per airline and vary enormously — domestic MCTs run from 25 minutes at one hub to 75 minutes recommended at another. The international-to-domestic baseline of 90 minutes is the low end of what is bookable, not what is comfortable: airport operators themselves recommend 120–180 minutes. The bag re-check figure is likely optimistic — carriers that removed the step report saving passengers around 45 minutes, not 25.
What this can’t know. Your actual airport, your actual airline, whether you have PreCheck or Global Entry, how far apart the two gates are, whether the inbound flight is late, and how long the queue is at 6am on a Monday. Treat the result as a floor to plan against, not a promise.
Connection time baselines, penalties and the airport time budget
| Type | Factor | Minutes | When it applies | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | Domestic → Domestic | 45 min | Starting point for this connection type | Published MCTs go as low as 30 minutes, and American runs a 25-minute domestic MCT at PHX. Large hubs are commonly quoted at 60-75 minutes as a practical buffer. 45 minutes is the middle: legal at most hubs, tight if anything goes wrong. |
| Baseline | Domestic → International | 60 min | Starting point for this connection type | Adds an international-terminal move and pre-departure document checks on top of a domestic arrival. Industry MCTs for transferring to an international carrier reach up to 90 minutes; major US hubs are commonly recommended at 90-120 minutes. |
| Baseline | International → Domestic (customs) | 90 min | Starting point for this connection type | The most time-intensive connection: clear immigration, claim checked bags for CBP inspection, re-check them, then re-clear TSA. Airport operators recommend well above the legal MCT — Seattle advises 120-180 minutes, and American's MCT at DFW is 120-125 minutes. |
| Baseline | International → International | 75 min | Starting point for this connection type | At most non-US hubs this stays airside — no immigration, no bag reclaim — so it is faster than international-to-domestic in the US. International MCTs generally run 60-120 minutes at Asian and European hubs, with Amsterdam around 75 and Heathrow around 150 for international-to-international. |
| Penalty | Terminal change | +20 min | Added when it applies | Airside people-movers are fast but not instant: DFW's Skylink runs every 2 minutes with a 9-minute maximum end-to-end ride, plus 5-20 minutes of walking to and from the stations. Landside terminal buses run every 8-10 minutes and are slower. |
| Penalty | Separate tickets | +50 min | Added when it applies — and a risk flag | You must re-clear security and re-check bags; no protection if you misconnect. |
| Penalty | Re-check bags (separate tickets) | +25 min | Added when it applies | Waiting at the carousel is the unpredictable part — bags can take 20+ minutes to appear regardless of how fast you cleared immigration, and the re-check desk has its own queue. Airports arriving into the US use a bags-first process: claim through customs, then re-check, then security. |
| Time budget step | Deplane and get off the jet bridge | 10 min | Every connection | About 5-10 minutes if you are seated toward the back of the aircraft. |
| Time budget step | Walk to the next gate | 10 min | Every connection | Roughly 15 minutes if the connecting gate is in a different concourse, even walking quickly. |
| Time budget step | Change terminals (train/bus) | 20 min | Only on a terminal change | DFW Skylink: every 2 minutes, 9 minutes maximum ride, plus 5-20 minutes walking. Landside shuttle buses run every 8-10 minutes. |
| Time budget step | Immigration / passport control | 30 min | Only arriving from abroad | Portland puts the full immigration and customs process at 20 to 90 minutes. Seattle warns processing can take 60 minutes or longer at peak. Global Entry, Mobile Passport Control and Simplified Arrival cut this substantially. |
| Time budget step | Claim and re-check bags | 25 min | Only when you must reclaim bags | Arrivals into the US use a bags-first process: collect luggage, carry it through the customs inspection area, then hand it back at the baggage re-check desk. |
| Time budget step | Security screening | 20 min | Only when you re-clear security | Standard lanes average 15-30 minutes nationwide and can exceed 45 minutes at peak. PreCheck lanes typically run 5-10 minutes. Early morning (5-8am) is consistently the worst window at 25-45 minutes. |
| Time budget step | Be at the gate before boarding closes | 15 min | Every connection | Boarding commonly ends 15 minutes before departure on US domestic flights. Delta asks international passengers to be at the gate 45 minutes before scheduled departure. |
FAQ
How long of a layover do I need?
As a planning rule: about 60–75 minutes for a domestic-to-domestic connection on one ticket, 90–120 for domestic to international, and 2–3 hours if you’re arriving internationally into the US and connecting onward, because you clear immigration, reclaim and re-check bags, and go back through security. Airlines will sell you less than that — their minimum connection times are the shortest legal connection, not a comfortable one.
Is a 1-hour layover enough?
For a same-terminal domestic connection on one ticket with carry-on only, usually yes — it’s above most published minimums, though you’ll be walking briskly if your inbound is late. For anything involving a terminal change, checked bags on separate tickets, or clearing customs, one hour is below the realistic minimum and you should expect to misconnect if anything slips.
What’s the minimum connection time for international flights?
Published MCTs for international connections generally run 60–120 minutes at major hubs, and international-to-domestic in the US is commonly 90 minutes legally but 120–180 minutes as recommended by the airports themselves. Some hubs are far worse — international-to-international at Heathrow is quoted around 150 minutes.
Do I have to go through customs on a layover?
In the United States, yes — every passenger arriving from abroad clears immigration and customs at the first US airport, even if they’re only connecting. That means reclaiming your checked bags, carrying them through the inspection hall, handing them back at a re-check desk, and clearing security again. At most non-US hubs an international-to-international transfer stays airside with none of that.
What if my flights are on separate tickets?
You are your own airline. Your bags won’t be checked through, so you’ll usually reclaim and re-check them, then re-clear security. Crucially, if the first flight is delayed and you miss the second, the second airline owes you nothing — it’s recorded as a no-show and the fare is typically forfeit. Self-transfer guidance suggests at least an hour domestically, 90 minutes internationally with hand luggage only, and two hours or more with checked bags. Different airports entirely? Allow five hours.
Will they hold the plane for a delayed connection?
Sometimes, on the same ticket, if there are enough connecting passengers and the delay is short — but never count on it, and effectively never across separate tickets. If you’re on one ticket and misconnect, the airline is responsible for rebooking you; that protection is the single biggest practical difference between one ticket and two.
Does checking a bag change how long I need?
On one ticket for a domestic connection, no — your bag is tagged through and the airline moves it. It matters in two cases: arriving internationally into the US, where you must reclaim it for customs and re-check it, and on separate tickets, where you have to collect it at the carousel and check it in again from scratch. The carousel wait is the unpredictable part — bags can take 20 minutes or more to appear no matter how fast you cleared the hall.