What Exactly Is Minimum Connection Time?
Is there an official definition of Minimum Connection Time? Is it the minimum time it takes to make the connection? As in, is that the time it takes for the first one off the plane to be the last one in on the next plane? Or is it the minimum time it takes for anyone on an arriving plane to make it to the departure of the another plane in the same airport and terminal?
We have several questions such as this one on getting this data but what does it depend on? Just the airport plus arrival and departing terminals? Or are there other parameters?
Best Answer
I believe you're looking at it from the wrong angle. As explained in the answers to the other question, it's the minimum time that should be allowed between connections. If a connection meets that threshold, the route can be booked and the airline is responsible for bringing you to your final destination. That's all there is to it; it's normative, not descriptive.
Since having passengers miss a connecting flight entails additional costs, airlines have strong incentive to make sure it's realistic but AFAIK how they go about it is completely up to each individual airline.
Also, scheduled flight times are understood from the moment the doors of the aircraft close to the moment the doors of the aircraft open again at the arrival gate. So that's what minimal connection times refer to as well, by construction.
Clearly, airlines then have to account for the time it takes to disembark and move through the airport and probably add some safety buffer but it's not something they measure so much as they define it.
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What is the minimum connection?
Minimum Connecting time is the amount of transfer time, agreed in advance between airlines and airport authorities, that is considered sufficient for a passenger to make a connection between an arriving flight and a departing flight.Why is minimum connection time important?
If you're making a connection, the minimum connection time ensures you'll have enough time to reach your next flight.What is minimum time between connecting flights?
Pad Your Schedule for Airport Connections That's why many travelers deliberately pad their schedules by booking a longer layover than the minimum at a connecting hub. Consider allowing at least 60 to 90 minutes for a U.S. domestic connection, and at least two hours for an international connection.Is 50 min connection time enough?
Re: Is 50 minutes enough time for connecting flights in U.S. yes, should be fine if u arrive on time. and your luggage too. i have done 40 min connections in some us airports eg.orario voli e minimum connection time in Sabre
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Answer 2
From a slightly different perspective...(chx provides the technical definition. The practical result is this.)
Minimum connection time is the shortest duration between scheduled Arrival and next scheduled Departure* for which the airline will sell a single ticket.
This is determined by the airline and can be different between airports. Also different airlines can have different MCT's for the same airport.
This does mean that the 'official MCT' is somewhat irrelevant. For example, the official MCT for ATL might be 30 min (I don't know, it doesn't matter) but if Delta uses and internal number of 35 minutes, they will not sell you a ticket with a 30 minute connection, no matter how much you point to the official MCT.
*To be perfectly clear, each airline can have a different formula for this based on unpublished criteria. Schedule Arrival and Scheduled Departure are the published baselines for this.
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