Of all the hassles of air travel, missing a connecting flight is one of the most stressful and frustrating. It could mean everything from missing some of your precious vacation time, to being late for your best friend’s destination wedding or an important meeting. Regardless, it’s annoying—especially if it’s not your fault and the airline is running behind.
While situations like that are usually out of your control, there are ways to minimize the chances of this happening. It may take a little more time, effort or even money, but it’s worth it if it gets you to your destination on-time and not frazzled.
Pay attention when you book
Ever had to sprint through an airport terminal to catch your next plane? There’s a simple reason why. When listing ticket configurations online, airlines use what are called “minimum connecting times,” or MCT, to determine which flights line up with your requested itinerary. It’s an automatic formula that’s designed to get you to your destination as quickly as possible, but can also lead to some very tight connections. You might have as little as 30 minutes to get from one plane to the next, and if there are any delays with the first flight, you’re practically guaranteed to miss your next flight.
So what’s a flyer to do? For starters, pay close attention to your layover times when you’re booking your flights. A 35-minute layover may sound like you have time to use the bathroom and grab a quick bite, but it’s probably barely enough time to make it to your next plane. Most people will tell you to give yourself at least an hour layover time for domestic flights, and two hours for international flights.
Intentionally book longer layovers
Giving yourself two hours for domestic flights and three hours for international flights, you should never have any issues missing connecting flights. If your flight search results come back with shorter layovers, keep looking until you find something with a longer window. That gives some wiggle room for delays, using restrooms and eating some slightly-less-terrible-than-airplane-food.
It also allows you time for something I forget about all the time: finding your next gate. Unless you’re pretty familiar with the airport you’re flying into, you’ll need a little extra time to get your bearings. After all, you’ll need to disembark the plane (which always takes longer than you expect it to), find a flight status board, look for your flight listing, then actually make your way to the designated gate. And that’s not even taking into account all the other obstacles airports can throw your way.
Research the airport and airline ahead of your trip
Does the airport have construction going on? Is your next flight on a different airline? Do you have to go through extra security? Do you have to go through customs? Do you need to change terminals? Do you need to take a shuttle or train in order to change terminals? Is your connecting flight the last flight of the day for that airport? Catherine Hamm at the Los Angeles Times says these are all questions you should ask yourself and try to answer before you book those tickets.
You also need to take into account your ability to read signage and navigate large buildings, and consider your level of fitness. If you have a bad sense of direction, or know you can’t hustle from gate to gate, give yourself even more time.
Other strategies
As tempting as it is to book different legs of a trip on multiple airlines because it’s cheaper (i.e. what Kayak refers to as “hacker fares”), doing so offers your fewer protections for missed connecting flights. For example, you’ll likely have to pick up your baggage and re-check it onto the second airline. Also, if your first flight is delayed and you miss your second flight on a different airline, you’ll probably need to buy an entirely new ticket for your second flight. So if it’s an option, always try to book connecting flights through the same airline (or partners in an alliance).
Also, selecting seats as close to the front of the plane may also help you make tight flight connections, because you’ll be getting off first. Of course, this usually costs more money, but it could be worth it for a few extra minutes.
This story was originally published on 9/20/17 and was updated on 6/20/19 to provide more thorough and current information.