Research · Oct 17, 2026
Connection Time Index 2026
How long a layover you really need at 56 airports, from a quick domestic hop to customs and a terminal change.
Verified Oct 17, 2026By Steven MoHow we check Report a correction
Immigration, customs, rechecking bags and security again add up: from 2 h 15 min at HOU, MDW, MSY and OAK to 2 h 25 min at ATL, CLT, DEN, DFW, JFK and others.
Including ORD, PHX, MCO, MIA, JFK and EWR. The worst case, at New York (JFK), needs about 1 h 45 min.
From 45 min at the easiest airports, such as MDW, DAL and HOU, when you stay in one terminal.
U.S. preclearance at Dublin (DUB), Toronto (YYZ), Vancouver (YVR) and Montreal (YUL) means you land in the U.S. as a domestic passenger, which makes the next connection much easier.
After an international arrival
Recommended minimum to connect to a domestic flight at U.S. hubs: immigration, customs, bag recheck and security.
- ATL · Atlanta2 h 25 min
- CLT · Charlotte2 h 25 min
- DEN · Denver2 h 25 min
- DFW · Dallas–Fort Worth2 h 25 min
- JFK · New York2 h 25 min
- LAX · Los Angeles2 h 25 min
- ORD · Chicago2 h 25 min
- AUS · Austin2 h 20 min
- BNA · Nashville2 h 20 min
- BOS · Boston2 h 20 min
- BWI · Baltimore2 h 20 min
- DTW · Detroit2 h 20 min
- EWR · Newark2 h 20 min
- FLL · Fort Lauderdale2 h 20 min
- HNL · Honolulu2 h 20 min
- IAD · Washington, D.C.2 h 20 min
- IAH · Houston2 h 20 min
- LAS · Las Vegas2 h 20 min
- MCI · Kansas City2 h 20 min
- MCO · Orlando2 h 20 min
- MIA · Miami2 h 20 min
- MSP · Minneapolis2 h 20 min
- PDX · Portland2 h 20 min
- PHL · Philadelphia2 h 20 min
- PHX · Phoenix2 h 20 min
- SAN · San Diego2 h 20 min
- SEA · Seattle2 h 20 min
- SFO · San Francisco2 h 20 min
- SJU · San Juan2 h 20 min
- SLC · Salt Lake City2 h 20 min
- STL · St. Louis2 h 20 min
- TPA · Tampa2 h 20 min
- HOU · Houston2 h 15 min
- MDW · Chicago2 h 15 min
- MSY · New Orleans2 h 15 min
- OAK · Oakland2 h 15 min
Changing terminals
Recommended minimum when your connection means a terminal change. Orange means you leave security and go through it again.
- JFK · New York1 h 45 min
- EWR · Newark1 h 40 min
- LGA · New York1 h 40 min
- LHR · London1 h 40 min
- MIA · Miami1 h 40 min
- ORD · Chicago1 h 40 min
- BOS · Boston1 h 35 min
- CDG · Paris1 h 35 min
- DCA · Washington, D.C.1 h 35 min
- DTW · Detroit1 h 35 min
- FLL · Fort Lauderdale1 h 35 min
- MCO · Orlando1 h 35 min
- MSP · Minneapolis1 h 35 min
- PHX · Phoenix1 h 35 min
- SAN · San Diego1 h 35 min
- STL · St. Louis1 h 35 min
- BWI · Baltimore1 h 30 min
- DXB · Dubai1 h 30 min
- FRA · Frankfurt1 h 30 min
- MAD · Madrid1 h 30 min
- MEX · Mexico City1 h 30 min
- TPA · Tampa1 h 30 min
- YYZ · Toronto1 h 30 min
- MUC · Munich1 h 25 min
- SIN · Singapore1 h 25 min
- DUB · Dublin1 h 20 min
- LAX · Los Angeles1 h 20 min
- SFO · San Francisco1 h 10 min
- ATL · Atlanta1 h 5 min
- DEN · Denver1 h 5 min
- DFW · Dallas–Fort Worth1 h 5 min
- HNL · Honolulu1 h 5 min
- IAD · Washington, D.C.1 h 5 min
- LAS · Las Vegas1 h 5 min
- PHL · Philadelphia1 h 5 min
- SJU · San Juan1 h 5 min
- IAH · Houston1 h
- SEA · Seattle1 h
- SLC · Salt Lake City1 h
- OAK · Oakland55 min
How we did this
These are our recommended minimums, not airlines' official minimum connection times. For each airport we add up the steps a connection really takes there: walking between gates, immigration and customs, rechecking bags, a terminal transfer, security screening and boarding, plus a buffer, rounded up to the next five minutes.
Step times come from airport layouts and published processing times, explained in our methodology. Each airport's page shows the steps and its sources.
Data and citation
Download the data
Every row, with the airline or airport source we checked it against. Free to use in articles and research with a link to this page.
connection-times-2026.csvCite this study
Steven Mo, "Connection Time Index 2026," Good Flight Deals (Oct 17, 2026), https://www.goodflightdeals.com/research/connection-time-index-2026
Journalists: email hello@goodflightdeals.com for more detail or a custom cut of the data.
Sources
Last verified Oct 17, 2026. Data as of Oct 17, 2026. We update this study when airlines change their rules.
Read how we collect and check this data, or tell us if something's out of date.
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