Is My Layover Long Enough? — Connection Time Checker
Your three airports and the time between flights → whether the connection works, from the airline’s own minimum and twelve months of real arrivals.
Tight1 h at Chicago (ORD): about 1 in 6 United flights landing there arrive late enough to leave you under 30 minutes to make your next flight.
United flights landing at Chicago (ORD) from inside the US, August 2025 – July 2026 (191,708 flights, US DOT):
Then a median 17 minutes from landing to the gate here.
- On one ticket, the airline sets the minimum connection time and only sells connections that meet it; if its delay makes you miss the next flight, it rebooks you (every large US airline commits to that on the US DOT’s dashboard).
Minimums from Air Canada’s and Finnair’s own tables; the delay record is the US DOT’s (flights within the US by the large US airlines); the rules from CBP and Heathrow. Checked on 10 October 2026.
A layover is long enough when it is at least the airline’s minimum connection time and leaves room for your first flight to land late. On one ticket the airline sets that minimum and won’t sell you less; on separate tickets no minimum applies. Type your trip above: you get the published minimum where the airline publishes one, and at a US airport how often flights landing there are late enough to leave you under 30 minutes.
How to use it
Type where you start, where you change planes and where you end — a city, an airport name or its three-letter code — then the time between landing and your next departure, the airline of your first flight, and whether it is one ticket. The answer updates at once: the verdict, the minimum Air Canada or Finnair publishes when you change planes at one of their hubs, the delay record of the airport you connect at (the twelve months of the US Department of Transportation’s flight data), and what you will have to do on the ground — customs, bags, security. The link under the answer keeps your whole trip.
How often flights land late at the busiest US airports
Every flight within the US by the large US airlines, August 2025 – July 2026, from the US DOT. “Late” is against the scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are left out. The last column is the median time from touchdown to the gate.
| Airport | Flights landed | 15+ min late | 30+ min late | 1 h+ late | Landing to gate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago (ORD) | 373,172 | 26.4% | 18.1% | 11% | 17 min |
| Atlanta (ATL) | 342,761 | 17.7% | 12.1% | 7% | 8 min |
| Denver (DEN) | 315,465 | 20.7% | 13.6% | 7.4% | 8 min |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | 302,095 | 22.5% | 15.7% | 9.5% | 12 min |
| Charlotte (CLT) | 229,468 | 17.4% | 11.9% | 7.1% | 12 min |
| Phoenix (PHX) | 196,388 | 20.4% | 13% | 6.8% | 6 min |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 192,166 | 19.9% | 12.4% | 6.3% | 9 min |
| Seattle (SEA) | 181,363 | 20% | 11.5% | 5.3% | 10 min |
| Las Vegas (LAS) | 173,244 | 21.8% | 13.9% | 7% | 6 min |
| Houston (IAH) | 169,304 | 18.2% | 12% | 7% | 9 min |
| New York (LGA) | 157,843 | 26.7% | 19.3% | 11.6% | 7 min |
| Orlando (MCO) | 157,171 | 24.6% | 16.3% | 9% | 9 min |
Read it as the chance your first flight eats into your layover: at Chicago O’Hare about 18.1% of flights land 30 minutes or more late, so a one-hour connection there is tighter than the same hour in Atlanta.
Minimums the airlines publish
Most airports leave the minimum to the airline, and US airlines don’t publish theirs: on one ticket, the booking simply won’t offer a connection shorter than it. Two airlines print their tables. Air Canada, for its own flights (other airlines’ may differ):
| Connecting at | Within Canada | Canada → US | Canada → abroad | US → Canada | US → abroad | Abroad → Canada | Abroad → US | Abroad → abroad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | 50 min | 1 h 10 min | 1 h | 1 h 10 min | 1 h | 1 h 15 min | 1 h 25 min | 1 h |
| Montreal | 45 min | 1 h | 50 min | 1 h | 50 min | 1 h 10 min | 1 h 10 min | 1 h |
| Vancouver | 40 min | 1 h 10 min | 1 h | 1 h 10 min | 1 h | 1 h 10 min | 1 h 10 min | 1 h |
| Calgary | 35 min | 50 min | 40 min | 1 h | 1 h | 1 h | 1 h 15 min | — |
Air Canada names exceptions — from Vancouver, Ottawa or Montreal through Toronto to an international flight it is 1 h 20 min. Finnair at Helsinki: 35 minutes within Finland or the Schengen area, 40 between non-Schengen flights, 45 from outside Schengen into it and 40 the other way — “only when all flights have been issued on the same ticket”. Munich Airport says its minimum goes “down to 30 minutes”, depending on the connection and the terminal.
Worked examples
Boston to Denver through Chicago O’Hare, one hour, United. Tight: about 1 in 6 United flights landing at O’Hare arrive late enough to leave you under 30 minutes. With two hours on American, it drops to about 1 in 13.
Vancouver to London through Toronto, one hour, Air Canada. Too short: under Air Canada’s minimum: Air Canada’s minimum for that connection is 1 h 20 min, so it won’t sell it on one ticket.
Dublin to Los Angeles through New York JFK. You clear US customs in Dublin before you board (CBP Preclearance), so at JFK you walk to your next gate like a domestic passenger. From London instead, you clear customs at JFK, collect and re-check your bags and go through TSA again — give it more time.
Common mistakes
- Booking two tickets with an airline’s minimum in mind. On separate tickets you leave, collect bags, check in and clear security again, and no minimum applies — Heathrow and Finnair both say to allow plenty of extra time.
- Forgetting customs at the first US airport. Arriving from abroad, you clear passport control and customs where you first land in the US, then re-check your bags and go through TSA — unless you were precleared in Dublin, Shannon, Abu Dhabi, Aruba, Bermuda, Nassau or Canada.
- Counting from the scheduled landing. At O’Hare the median flight still needs 17 minutes from touchdown to the gate.
- Trusting a blog’s “minimum”. Lists of minimum connection times by airport rarely say whose they are or when they were checked; the airline’s own booking is what counts.
Before you fly
Pack for a quick dash with the carry-on packing list, book smarter with finding cheap flights without refreshing all day and the best time to book flights, and know what a missed connection can be worth with flight delay compensation. The Missed Connecting Flight tool says what the airline owes you if it goes wrong, the Flight Time Calculator times each flight, and the Free Stopover Finder turns a long connection into a free stop.
FAQ
Is a 1 hour layover enough?
On one ticket within the US, usually — the airline would not sell it below its minimum. At a busy hub it is tight: about 1 in 6 United flights landing at Chicago O’Hare arrive late enough to leave under 30 minutes. Arriving from abroad, one hour is short, because you clear customs and re-check bags at your first US airport.
What is the minimum connection time?
The shortest connection an airline will sell at an airport, set for each kind of connection — domestic, international, changing terminals. Air Canada and Finnair publish theirs; most airlines don’t, and their booking won’t offer you anything shorter. It applies only on one ticket.
How long of a layover do I need?
At least the airline’s minimum, plus room for your first flight to land late. At the twelve busiest US airports, an hour leaves you under 30 minutes on 1 in 9 to 1 in 5 landings; two hours on 1 in 33 to 1 in 13. Add more for customs, a terminal change or separate tickets.
Is a 45 minute layover enough?
On one ticket, for a connection inside the US, it can be — the airline sold it. A 45-minute connection at Charlotte on American is left under 30 minutes about 1 in 6 times — and Air Canada’s minimum at Toronto within Canada is 50 min.
Is a 2 hour layover enough for an international flight?
Usually, on one ticket. Air Canada’s minimum at Toronto for a flight from abroad connecting to the US is 1 h 25 min, and at Montreal and Vancouver 1 h 10 min. Arriving in the US from abroad, the two hours also have to cover customs, re-checking your bags and TSA security at your first US airport.
What happens if I miss my connection?
On one ticket, if the airline’s delay made you miss it, the airline rebooks you — every large US airline commits to that on the US DOT’s dashboard. On separate tickets you are not a connecting passenger, as Heathrow puts it, so the time is yours to plan. The Missed Connecting Flight tool walks through the rest.