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Layover calculator: is your connection time enough?

Enter the connecting airport and both flight times to see your layover time and whether it looks tight, risky, comfortable or long. The time-needed breakdown adds up deplaning, terminal changes, immigration, bag re-checks and boarding, all as clearly labelled estimates.

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LHR · London Heathrow Airport

First flight lands (local)
Next flight departs (local)

Use the times printed on your tickets. Both are local time in London, so the time zone and any clock change are handled for you.

Connection type

International to international

Tickets
Terminal change?
Collect and re-check bags?

Suggested for this connection

Clear immigration / customs?

Suggested for this connection

1h 25m layover

Risky

Enough only if everything runs on time. About 5m to spare over the estimated 1h 20m needed.

Lands Sat, Nov 14, 7:10 AM GMT · departs Sat, Nov 14, 8:35 AM GMT

Time needed (estimate)1h 20m + 30m delay buffer
Time you have1h 25m
  1. Get off the plane ~15 minLarger aircraft, longer to deplane
  2. Transfer security ~15 minRe-screening before the next gate
  3. Change terminal ~30 minTrain, bus or long walk
  4. Boarding closes ~20 minGates usually close before departure

All durations are rough estimates for a typical connection, not measured times for this airport.

General guidance only, not LHR’s official minimum connection time. Your airline’s published minimum connection time, boarding times and transit rules are authoritative.

How the layover verdict is calculated

The calculator adds up general estimates for each step of a connection, then compares that with the layover time you have. These are TripCache’s rough guidance figures, not any airport’s official minimum connection time. Your airline’s published minimum connection time and transit rules always win.

  • TightLess time than the estimated time needed.
  • RiskyCovers the estimate, but with less than 30 minutes to spare (60 on separate tickets).
  • ComfortableCovers the estimate plus the delay buffer.
  • Long5 hours or more. We also check whether leaving the airport could be realistic.

Estimates used (minutes)

Get off the plane
10 min after a domestic flight, 15 min after an international one
Walk to the gate
10 min in the same terminal, 30 min with a terminal change (20 if unsure)
Passport control
30 min when you clear immigration or customs
Collect and re-check bags
25 min
Transfer security
15 min after an international arrival, or whenever you leave the secure area
Boarding closes
15 min before a domestic departure, 20 min before an international one
Separate tickets with bags
bag drop closes 45 to 60 min before departure

Delay buffer: 30 minutes on one ticket, 60 on separate tickets, because a missed connection on separate tickets usually is not the second airline’s problem. Real queues vary by airport, time of day and season.

How long should a layover be?

Rough layover time guidance by connection type, on one ticket without a terminal change, using the same estimates as the calculator. Add time for terminal changes and separate tickets.

Domestic to domestic

Comfortable from1h 5m

Estimated minimum: about 35m

Usually the quickest: no passport control, bags checked through on one ticket.

Domestic to international

Comfortable from1h 10m

Estimated minimum: about 40m

Some countries add an exit passport check before international departures; switch it on in the tool if yours does.

International to domestic

Comfortable from2h 20m

Estimated minimum: about 1h 50m

Often the slowest: you usually clear immigration and customs at the first airport and re-check bags.

International to international

Comfortable from1h 30m

Estimated minimum: about 1h

Quick when you can stay airside; transfer security is common at large hubs.

Is a 1 hour layover enough?

For a domestic connection on one ticket, an hour is usually workable, and an airline generally sells a connection on one ticket only if it meets its own minimum connection time. An hour gets tight for international connections that involve passport control, collecting bags or changing terminals, and it is risky on separate tickets, where a late first flight is not the second airline’s responsibility.

Is 45 minutes enough for a layover?

Sometimes, for a domestic connection with gates close together and bags checked through. It leaves almost no room for a late arrival or a slow deplaning, so sit near the front if you can, check the onward gate before landing and tell the crew about a tight connection. For most international connections 45 minutes is tight.

Can you leave the airport during a layover?

Often yes, if you have enough time and you are allowed to enter the country. Leaving the airport means going through passport control into that country, so you need whatever entry permission your nationality requires there, such as a visa, an electronic travel authorisation or visa-free entry. You then need to get back in time to clear security again and, for an international departure, possibly an exit passport check.

  • Check the country’s official entry and transit rules for your passport before you plan to go out.
  • Make sure your bags are checked through to your final destination, or you will need to collect and store them.
  • Count the time to clear arrivals, travel to the city and back, and be at the airport about 2 hours before an international departure.
  • On a long layover, the calculator estimates how much time you would actually have outside.

Do you have to go through customs on a layover?

It depends on where you connect and how you are ticketed. As a general rule, you clear immigration and customs at the first airport where you enter a country. If you arrive internationally and connect onward within that country, you usually go through passport control and customs at the connecting airport, often collecting and re-checking your bags.

On an international-to-international connection on one ticket, many large hubs let you stay airside in a transit area, usually with a transfer security check but no customs. Some countries do not offer airside transit at all; the United States, for example, requires international arrivals to clear immigration and customs even when they are only connecting. Some nationalities also need a transit visa to change planes in certain countries.

Confirm with your airline and the connecting country’s official transit rules. On separate tickets, expect to go landside, collect bags and check in again.

Layover time questions

Short answers about connection times, customs, bags and separate tickets.

Is a 1 hour layover enough?

Often yes for a domestic connection on one ticket in the same terminal, and sometimes for an international transfer that stays airside. It is usually too short if you have to clear immigration, collect and re-check bags, change terminals or are travelling on separate tickets. If the airline sold the connection on one ticket, it generally meets the airline's minimum connection time.

Is 45 minutes enough for a layover?

45 minutes can work for a domestic connection on one ticket at an airport where both gates are close together, but it leaves little room for a late arrival. For international connections, terminal changes, bag re-checks or separate tickets, 45 minutes is usually tight.

How long should a layover be?

As general guidance, allow roughly 45 to 60 minutes or more for a domestic connection and 90 minutes to 2 hours or more for an international one. Add time when you change terminals, clear passport control, re-check bags or book separate tickets, where 3 hours or more is a common rule of thumb.

What is a minimum connection time?

A minimum connection time (MCT) is the shortest connection an airline or airport will accept for a given transfer, for example international to domestic at a particular terminal. Airlines use it when selling connecting itineraries on one ticket. This calculator does not have official MCT data; check with your airline.

How much time do I need for an international layover?

Plan for at least 90 minutes to 2 hours when you stay airside, and more if you must pass through immigration and customs, re-check bags or change terminals. Arriving internationally into a country and connecting onward often means clearing immigration at that first airport.

What happens if I miss a connection on one ticket versus separate tickets?

On one ticket, the airline generally rebooks you onto a later flight if the first flight's delay makes you miss the connection, subject to its conditions of carriage. On separate tickets, the second airline usually treats you as a no-show, so you may need to buy a new ticket. Check each airline's own rules.

Do I need to re-check my bags during a layover?

On one ticket, bags are usually checked through to your final destination. Common exceptions are separate tickets and arriving internationally into a country such as the United States, where you collect bags for customs and drop them again. Your bag tag and the check-in agent can confirm it.

Does the calculator handle overnight connections and time zones?

Yes. Enter the landing date and time and the onward departure date and time, both in local time at the connecting airport. The calculator uses that airport's time zone, including clock changes, and flags overnight connections.

Related TripCache resources

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