Connecting at a hub: minimum connecting time and tips for tight layovers

The plane touches down, the clock shows 40 minutes until your connecting flight departs – and the aircraft taxis and taxis. Anyone who often travels through hubs knows this moment. The good news: tight connections are not a gamble if you know what the minimum connecting time really means, which stages lie between the arrival and departure gates and which rights you have if it doesn’t work out anyway. This guide explains the logic behind the MCT, shows the typical time-eaters at the hub and gives you a strategy for when things get tight.

Minimum connecting time: the short answer

The minimum connecting time (MCT) is the shortest span between landing and departure that an airport allows for a connection. It is set for each airport individually and can differ by terminal, airlines involved and type of connection – a connection within one terminal is easier to make than one with a terminal change and passport control. Reservation systems apply the MCT automatically: connections below it are generally not even offered to you on one ticket.

What matters is what the MCT is not. It is not a comfort value and not a guarantee. It describes what is feasible in normal operations when the inbound flight is on time at the gate, the paths are clear and the checks run quickly. Every disruption comes out of your buffer.

Who sets the MCT and where it is stored

There are default values for every airport, and airlines can store different times for their own connections. The data reaches the reservation systems in a standardized format. IATA regulates this in its Standard Schedules Information Manual (SSIM): a chapter of its own describes how MCT data is represented, applied and transmitted. For you as a traveler, that means: you don’t need to know the number to book correctly – the system does the check. You should, however, know the structure behind it, because it shows where things get tight.

Typical distinctions are:

• Within a terminal or between terminals – a terminal change by train or bus costs minutes.
• Schengen–Schengen, Schengen–non-Schengen and vice versa – at the Schengen border, a passport check awaits.
• Same airline or alliance and different airlines – with partners, procedures for luggage and rebooking are usually better rehearsed.

How busy the hub currently is, on the other hand, the MCT barely reflects. At peak times, when a whole wave of inbound flights lands at a hub almost simultaneously, checks and walkways are fuller than around midday. How these waves come about is explained in the article Hub waves (banking) at hubs; the basic principle behind it is covered in the comparison Hub-and-spoke and point-to-point.

Why the time in the schedule is shorter than it looks

Is there a 50-minute gap between the scheduled arrival time and the departure of your connection? Then you don’t have 50 minutes to walk. Scheduled times refer to leaving and reaching the parking position, and counting back from departure, the gate closes considerably earlier. In between lies a chain of stages:

Stage	What happens	Typical time-eater
Taxiing and docking	After landing, the aircraft taxis to its position	long taxi routes, occupied position, remote stand with a bus
Deplaning	Door opens, aisles empty from the front	seat far back, carry-on in a bin over other rows
Walk to the connecting gate	Walking, train or bus between terminals	terminal change, satellites, long piers
Checks	Passport control and, if applicable, security check	Schengen border, queues at peak times
Boarding cutoff	The gate closes before departure time	boarding starts early on widebody aircraft

The first row in particular is underestimated. If your flight lands on a runway far from the terminal or parks at a remote stand, you lose noticeable time even before deplaning. Which runway is currently used for landings depends on the wind – the guide Understanding runway direction in use at airports explains that. How much happens on the ground in parallel before an aircraft can take off again is shown in the article on the turnaround.

Schengen, passport and security: the three hurdles

The biggest variable when connecting is which checks lie between the two gates. Munich Airport sums up the basic rule for transfer passengers like this: if both airports are in the Schengen area, passport control is generally not required. If both are outside it and you stay in the gate area, it isn’t either. If, on the other hand, you switch from the Schengen to the non-Schengen area or vice versa, you have to go through passport control – and depending on the destination, your visa is checked as well.

On top of that there may be another security check. Both Munich and Frankfurt Airport point out that, depending on the connection, transfer passengers have to go through the check again and should allow time for it. The normal rules for liquids apply – including for duty-free purchases from the first flight. If you travel with a camera, you know the drill: body and lenses on the belt, batteries within reach. What to keep in mind with equipment in your luggage is covered in the article Camera gear in carry-on luggage.

Both airports offer help for tight connections. In Frankfurt, most border and security checks in Terminal 1 have so-called Short Transfer Lanes, which let you move up the line if your flight is shown on the monitor at the checkpoint. There and in Munich you can also use EasyPASS, the automated passport control – for EU citizens, among others.

Terminal changes at big hubs

At hubs with several terminals, the way between the buildings decides your buffer. Two examples from Germany:

• Frankfurt: The free SkyLine train shuttles between Terminals 1 and 2. In Terminal 1, there is also a connecting walkway between Piers A and B for Schengen travelers. The departure monitors directly behind security and passport control show you the walking time to your gate as soon as it is assigned.
• Munich: A free shuttle bus runs between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, which according to the airport takes five to seven minutes. The satellite belongs to Terminal 2 and is connected by an underground train that runs every four minutes during the day and takes about one minute for the trip.

At other big hubs like Vienna Airport, Zurich Airport, Amsterdam Schiphol or Paris Charles de Gaulle, too, a look at the map is worthwhile before you board. Note the arrival and departure areas, check whether a Schengen border lies in between and see whether you need a train or bus. The official airport apps help with this; an overview is in the comparison Official airport apps.

One ticket or two: the most important difference

Whether you connect calmly or have to sweat is often decided at booking. Munich Airport puts it in a nutshell: with a joint booking reference, the airline plans enough time for the connection, and your checked luggage is automatically loaded onto the onward flight. With separately booked flights, luggage is not checked through – you collect it, check it in again and have to allow time for checks and possible delays of the inbound flight.

A joint booking also works across several airlines – for example within an alliance like Star Alliance or via codeshare partners. How codeshares work and why your flight can have two flight numbers is explained in the article Codeshare flights explained. What happens to your suitcase between the arrival and departure belts is shown in The journey of your suitcase.

When it gets tight: the plan for the road

Most tight connections are decided not on the ground but in the hour before. If you know early that it will be tight, you can react.

Any common flight tracker works for step 2. If you set up alerts for specific aircraft, you even get the information automatically – how that works is shown in Setting up notifications for aircraft, types and airlines. Why delays occur and why they propagate through the day is explained in the article Why flights are delayed. Sometimes the cause is also in the air: if the inbound aircraft circles in a holding pattern, your buffer melts before you have even landed.

Missed connection: your rights in the EU

If it wasn’t enough despite everything, EU Passenger Rights Regulation 261/2004 applies to a joint booking – provided the trip falls within its scope. According to Your Europe, that is the case for flights within the EU, for departures from the EU with any airline and for flights from third countries into the EU if an EU airline operates them. Iceland, Norway and Switzerland are included as well.

What matters for a compensation payment is the delay at the final destination. On February 26, 2013, in the case of Air France v. Folkerts (C-11/11), the European Court of Justice ruled that travelers with connecting flights can be entitled to compensation if they reach their final destination three hours or more late – regardless of how late the first flight departed. Extraordinary circumstances are excluded.

Regardless of compensation, you are entitled to care: meals in reasonable proportion to the waiting time and, if the onward journey is pushed to the next day, a hotel including transfer. For the onward journey, the airline generally rebooks you on the next suitable connection; for cancellations and very long delays, the regulation also provides a choice between the earliest possible rerouting, later rerouting at your convenience or a refund. The scale of the amounts by distance and all the details are in the article Passenger rights under EU Regulation 261/2004. Since the regulation has been under revision at EU level for years, it is best to check the current status directly with the EU portal or your airline.

What to look for when booking

Long layover? Then you spot

For spotters, a generous layover has a bonus: hubs are among the most exciting places for watching aircraft. From the terminal you see long-haul aircraft of airlines that never show up at home, and during a hub wave dozens of aircraft roll past you. What may be photographed in the terminal and where the limits are is covered in the article Photography in the terminal. The guide Spotting during a layover collects concrete ideas for the wait.

If you have several hours and no luggage tying you down, under the right conditions a detour to a public spot can even be worthwhile, for example the Munich Airport visitors’ hill. That only works, though, if you are allowed to leave and enough time remains for the way back through all the checks. When in doubt, you are better off staying airside. And if you want to be lucky once more on the onward flight, the article Choosing the best window seat for photos tells you the right side of the aircraft.

Conclusion

The minimum connecting time is a calculation figure for booking systems, not a promise of relaxed walkways. It tells you that a connection is feasible in normal operations – nothing more. Whether you really make it depends on taxiways, seat, terminal change and checks. The most important decision comes at booking: a joint ticket protects connection, luggage and rights. On the road, the winner is whoever knows the way and tracks the inbound aircraft live.