When you purchase a layover flight, you will need to claim your bags when you land at your layover destination, and recheck them the next day when you continue your flight(s).
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You will only need to collect your luggage when you arrive at your final destination. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. If you are flying internationally and your layover is in a different country, you may need to collect your luggage and go through customs and immigration.
If you have a layover and both flights are part of the same itinerary and booked on a single ticket, you typically do not need to check in again. Your checked baggage is usually tagged through to your final destination, and you would proceed directly to your connecting gate after going through security.
When you purchase a connecting flight, checked baggage is usually forwarded to your final destination, and will change planes when you do. The agent at check-in will usually ask if you want your luggage checked through to your last stop.
If you checked a bag, you'll have to collect it from baggage claim from the international flight. You'll need to clear customs and immigration. Next, you'll recheck your luggage for the domestic flight.
You'll need to pick-up your luggage, then check it in again for the next flight. Top Tip: A wait at the airport between two connecting flights is called a layover. For more travel advice, check out our guide to dealing with a short layover.
Airlines will transfer your checked bags if a codeshare or interline agreement exists between them. You can find out what agreements your airline has by visiting their website.
It's not uncommon for your bags to make a tight connection while the passenger misses the flight. Here's a link to an example of Air Canada's MCT for various airports. Airlines have their own minimum connection time. Generally speaking an hour should be the minimum.
Minimum connection times typically range between 30 minutes and two hours for domestic flights within the continental United States. For international flights, the range increases to between one and three hours.
A 4-hour layover may be enough time to leave the airport and explore the city. But it also depends on the airport's location, the time of day, and the immigration and customs procedures.
It can take as little as 5 minutes or as long as 90 minutes depending on a multitude of factors as well as the motivation of the baggage runner. Airlines are aware of tight connections way before the plane hits the ground. Whenever possible, an expedite runner is sent to connect Shocons (short connections).
45 minutes is nowhere near enough time for the baggage crew to move a bag between planes. Second, both flights are on the same airline, which usually means both gates are on the same concourse.
We'll tag your bags right through to your final destination so you won't need to collect them and check them in again. If your connecting flight is with another airline, you may arrive and depart from different terminals.
Do I need to check in twice for connecting flights? Usually, you don't. However, if your connecting flight is not with a SkyTeam airline, you may need to check in separately to get your boarding pass. You can do that at the transfer desk or the kiosk of the airline you're flying with.
Transit. Another point of confusion is layover vs stopover or transit. Once again, a layover is a stop that lasts less than 24 hours, while a stopover lasts 24 hours or more. On the other hand, Transit is simply the act of returning to the same aircraft after your layover at the airport.
When checking in your luggage in most cases it will be checked through to your last stop. When arriving at the connecting airport all you have to do is to go to your next gate and wait for the next plane, your next flight. There might be a security check in the terminal at the connecting airport.
Baggage transferFor most transfers, you don't have to pick up your checked baggage. Airport staff will ensure it gets onto your next flight, so you only have to pick it up at your final destination.
Do I have to recheck bags on a connecting flight with United Airlines? You will need to re-check your bags if you are arriving on an international flight and connecting to a domestic flight. In this case, you need to collect your luggage, go through customs and then re-check your luggage back with the airline.
You might have to go through customs during a layover, especially if your layover is in the Schengen Area (which consists of most countries in the EU). For example, if your final destination is Paris, France, but you have a layover in Madrid, Spain, you will actually go through customs in Spain, not France.
CONNECTING FLIGHTSIf your baggage is checked through to your final destination, that's where you clear customs. If you're collecting your baggage and checking in to your next flight yourself, you need to pass through customs at Heathrow.