What is a minimum connection time?
The shortest time an airport and airline allow between two connecting flights on one ticket. Tickets are never sold with less.
Minimum connection time, explained
Each airport sets minimum connection times, and airlines can set their own: shorter for a change within one terminal, longer between terminals or between a domestic and an international flight.
A connection at the minimum is legal but can be tight, especially when the first flight is late or the transfer includes passport control. On one ticket, a missed connection is the airline's to fix.
Choosing a slightly longer connection on a long trip trades an hour in the lounge for a calmer change.
On a business class trip
At a large European hub, a connection from a flight from the US to a flight within Europe includes passport control, so a two-hour layover is often more comfortable than the shortest one sold.
Related terms
- Layover
The time between two flights in a connecting city, usually a few hours. On international tickets it lasts under 24 hours; anything longer is a stopover.
- Hub airport
An airport where an airline bases its network and connects most of its flights, such as Frankfurt for Lufthansa or Doha for Qatar Airways.
- Interline agreement
An agreement between airlines to carry each other's passengers and bags on one ticket, even outside an alliance.
- Positioning flight
A separate flight to the city where the main trip starts, taken because a fare from there is cheaper or better.
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