A long layover is an opportunity to get a glimpse of a new city, but it can be a gamble. If you're wondering whether you can leave the airport during a layover, here's some expert advice.
Can You Leave the Airport During a Layover?
Updated on Nov. 13, 2024
Great adventures often arise from unexpected opportunities, and when it comes to travel, one of those is the layover. That’s right, what initially appears to be an obstacle—a lack of direct flights—might actually be an opportunity. If you plan ahead, an airport layover can give you a glimpse of a city you may have never seen or provide the chance to catch up with old friends. But all layover scenarios are not equal, so the question to start with is this: Can you leave the airport during a layover?
The answer depends on several factors, including how much time you have between flights, how far the attractions are from the airport and whether or not you need a visa to leave the airport. Flexibility is also important; a delayed or canceled flight could disrupt even the best-laid layover plans. And as frequent traveler Ann Woodward, who’s made her way through 78 countries, notes, “There’s also a tipping point of maintaining health.” If you’ve got a long journey, you might be exhausted and prefer to simply stay put in the airport and take advantage of relaxing airport-lounge amenities instead.
There’s a lot to consider, so we gathered advice from Woodward and two aviation experts—Patrick Smith, a pilot and the founder of Ask the Pilot, and William J. McGee, a senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project. Ahead, we’re answering all of your questions about whether or not you can leave the airport during a layover.
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What is a layover?
When your journey includes a combination of connecting flights, the time you spend at the in-between airports is either a layover or a stopover. “Standard layovers are usually up to four hours on domestic flights and up to 24 hours on international flights,” explains McGee. Lengthier connections (more than 24 hours) are generally considered stopovers.
McGee notes that layovers and stopovers are most common at large hub airports. “Destinations that have very few nonstop flights are usually small and/or rural cities with little passenger traffic, so the hub system allows connections to a broader range of destinations,” he says. Say you’re off to that dream safari in Kenya from upstate New York. You might fly from Buffalo’s smaller airport, have a layover in one of New York City’s airports and then have another layover at one of London’s international airports before arriving in Nairobi.
Can you leave the airport during a layover?
In theory, absolutely! In practice, however, deciding whether you can leave the airport during a layover requires research into the requirements of the destination, airport, airline and more.
Determining whether you can feasibly leave the airport during a layover and return in time to catch your connecting flight is complex. Layovers are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but leaving the airport between flights is a risk you take, and if you miss your connecting flight, it’s on you. The airline could give you a break, but it’s not required to do so.
What should you consider before leaving the airport?
To help you decide whether you can (or should!) leave the airport during a layover, we asked the experts for some advice. Here are the most important things to consider.
Location and length of the layover
While you can technically exit the airport whenever you like, you should consider how much time you have for a layover adventure. Seasoned travelers like McGee seldom exit the airport if the layover is fewer than six hours.
Why worry about how long to leave for a layover? Airports aren’t usually in bustling, interesting areas—even with Madrid’s train system, for example, it’s a 30-minute ride into the city from the airport. So you’ll need to account for the time it will take to reach the city center or attractions you’re interested in, the time required to enjoy your planned activity or meal, and the time it will take to return to the airport and go through the security steps again.
The season, time of day, local events and the type of transportation available (and whether or not it’s reliable) can also impact the amount of time you have to explore. Buses can be late, cabs (or your rental car, if you choose to use one) may get stuck in rush-hour traffic, and if there’s a holiday celebration, road race, inclement weather or construction disrupting the roadways, you might find that your fun trip out of the airport isn’t fun at all.
Woodward loves layovers in New York City because it gives her the opportunity to catch up with friends. But even with her intimate knowledge of the city and the transit system, she prefers to leave the airport during a layover only if it’s in the 10- to 11-hour range. “I always allow a ton of time for travel and check-in,” she says.
The rule of thumb is to assume things will go wrong and will take longer than you imagine. Build in a buffer of time and an alternate plan.
Customs and immigration
When it comes to international travel, there are visa and customs concerns to contend with. (If you’re traveling domestically, you won’t have to worry about this.) If you want to explore a foreign city during a layover, you may be required to pass through customs and immigration, both when leaving the airport and when reentering it.
Depending on your country of citizenship and the country you’ve landed in, you may need a visa. Some visas require advance application and a fee. Again, it depends on the airport, which is why McGee cautions travelers to do their research before making a plan to leave the airport during a layover. At a bare minimum, if you exit the airport, you’ll need to check in for your flight (though you can often save time on this step by checking in through the airline’s app) and go through security again when you return for the next leg of your trip.
Luggage
Will you need to lug around all of your luggage during your layover? You’re going to want to find out before you plan an adventure outside the airport.
On flights with layovers, the airline may transfer your checked luggage between your flights, so you’d need to deal with only your carry-on during the layover. But that’s not always the case. “Depending on the airline, the airport and the country, you may be able to have your baggage checked through to your destination,” McGee says. “Or you may need to claim your baggage and recheck it between flights. Rules vary on this, so check with the airline in advance.”
If you have to collect your bags between flights but don’t want to carry them around all day, you’ll need to find a storage solution. Before 9/11, many airports around the world offered lockers, but that’s not a common option these days. “Due to security concerns, most airports no longer allow any type of lockers or baggage storage,” says McGee. In some locations, third-party companies, like Excess Baggage, offer in-terminal luggage storage. A search on the airport’s official website for “luggage storage” or “storage lockers” can usually tell you if your layover airport works with companies that offer storage between flights.
If you’ll be keeping your carry-on luggage with you, ensure that you opt for an activity where the bag (and carrying or rolling it) won’t be burdensome.
What can you do when you leave the airport during a layover?
The types of adventures possible during a layover vary from city to city, depending on available transportation and proximity to the sites. Read on for a few ideas to get you started.
See the sites
Airports with nearby attractions and cities that are serviced by subways and trains tend to be best for layover plans. In Madrid, for example, you can take the train into town and stroll through the heart of the city. You could check out popular museums and historic architecture, join a walking tour or meet a friend for a drink. Just be mindful of the time and skip the overcrowded attractions with long lines.
Get a taste of the local culinary scene
On one of Woodward’s 10-hour New York City layovers, she took the AirTrain from JFK, then hopped on the E train to 74th Street in Jackson Heights. The plan? Eat her way through Queens with friends. An ambitious culinary tour was possible with the four to five hours spent in Queens (about 12 miles away), with five hours left for check-in and travel. “I crafted a late lunch of momos at a Himalayan restaurant, followed by Colombian empanadas and pudding from an Asian bakery,” she says.
If you’re hoping to create your own mini tasting tour, map it out, book your reservations in advance and keep in mind that service can be slow in some destinations.
Buy some souvenirs
During that same New York layover, Woodward scheduled a visit to an Indian grocery shop to pick up special chili flakes for a friend she’d soon see in Europe. On your layover, you can peruse local shops to find unique gifts for friends and family. Just be sure they will fit in your luggage and don’t violate any baggage or airline rules.
What are the experts’ top tips for leaving the airport during a layover?
“Can you leave the airport during a layover?” is likely your first question, but it shouldn’t be your last. Once you know whether you can fit in some outside-the-airport exploration, ask yourself whether you’ve done enough planning to ensure you’ll make your connecting flight.
Layover adventures shouldn’t be spur-of-the-moment decisions, and these tips can help you enjoy your side quest without risking a missed flight:
- Book a “transit tour” or “stopover program.” Some airlines, like Qatar Airways, organize sightseeing tours as a worry-free option for travelers with long layovers. The airline’s destination-management company handles all of the details—including transportation, luggage, visas and ensuring you’re back at the airport in time for your flight—so you can fully enjoy the experience.
- Check business hours. Whatever activity you choose, always double-check that the operating hours align with your layover schedule.
- Verify your transportation options. Don’t just assume you’ll have ready access to public transport. Before your trip, determine how you’ll get to your destination, whether that’s via train, subway, cab, bus or other method. Make sure you know how much these transportation options cost and where to find them.
FAQs
Why do layovers exist?
Before the arrival of long-haul aircraft, layovers were a necessity for planes to refuel or be serviced. But that’s generally no longer the case. “This has become unusual with the advent of ultra-long-haul aircraft. With scattered exceptions, almost any two major cities in the world can now be connected nonstop,” explains Smith. “Today, it’s less of a technological challenge than one of simple human endurance.” Booking a direct flight from New York City to Delhi, India, is possible these days, but not everyone wants (or is able) to be on a flight for 14 straight hours.
Additionally, smaller cities don’t have enough passengers for larger, direct flights to distant destinations, and high fuel prices pose another problem. Using the hub-and-spoke system that connects smaller airports to the larger hubs allows airlines to create a more budget-friendly means of ferrying customers between smaller regions and major cities where they then connect to flights bound for their desired destination. For example, international travelers to Mexico often land in Mexico City before taking flights to León, Mérida or any of the other dozens of smaller airports.
While changing to a connecting flight can be a hassle, this system helps make air travel more affordable. That direct flight from New York to Delhi, for example, will usually cost considerably more than a route with at least one layover.
Do you have to go through security again to make a connecting flight?
If you leave the airport during your layover, you’ll have left the secured part of the terminal and absolutely have to go through security, just like any other passenger entering the airport.
However, if you’re not leaving the airport during your layover, the answer is: It depends. If the gates you arrive at and depart from are near one another and you don’t have to leave a secure part of the terminal, you usually won’t have to go through security again. However, some huge airports, like New York’s JFK, London’s Heathrow and Rome’s Leonardo Da Vinci Airport, may require changing terminals for your flight. In that case, another security step is likely. Also, if your layover is in a different country than the one you departed from, you may have to pass through security again.
When buying flights, always check the duration of the layover, and if you’re unsure whether it’s enough time to make it to your connecting flight, ask an airline rep. Every airport is different, and some (such as the massive airport in Frankfurt, Germany) require more time. Airlines used to account for the time needed between connections, but that is not always the case these days; some sell flights with layovers of less than an hour, which is generally insufficient.
What do you do with luggage if you leave the airport during a layover?
Your checked bag may be automatically transferred to your final destination—but it isn’t always. In some airports, especially if you’re traveling internationally, you may need to claim and recheck it. Always ask the airline about this before making your layover plans.
As for your carry-on bag, you can research storage options or plan to keep it with you.
What happens if I miss my connecting flight?
Here’s the rub, adventurer: While airlines are supposed to ensure you have time to reach your connecting flight’s gate, there are no such allowances for passengers who choose to leave the airport during a layover. If you gamble on leaving the airport and don’t make it back in time to catch your flight, you’re probably out of luck. You need sufficient time to check in for the flight, go through security (and possibly customs) again and get to your gate. Being on a layover does not grant you any special priority to reenter.
And here’s another bit of unfortunate news: You will most likely be required to purchase a new ticket, and your travel insurance isn’t likely to cover this type of misadventure.
What if I don’t want to leave the airport during a layover?
Then you’re in good company. Flight days can be draining, even for the most experienced travelers. “Sometimes lying for two hours [at the airport] and taking a hot shower trumps going to a museum,” Woodward says. “I have gone to a ‘nap hotel’ in Mexico City for a sleep and a shower [during a layover].”
Yes, you read that right—in some places, you can take a proper nap at the airport (and not while slumped over on an uncomfortable chair). Mexico City, as Woodward notes, offers rentals for short-term sleep capsules or pods during short layovers. Similar pods exist at other large airports around the world, including Munich, Dallas–Forth Worth and Hanoi, Vietnam. Depending on where you are, you can also find other airport lounges and amenities to help you recharge and refresh, including pay showers, yoga studios, massage centers and play areas for kids.
Looking for a little more entertainment? Portland International Airport in Oregon has some over-the-top amenities, including a movie theater, while Athens, Greece, boasts a world-class museum, and the Singapore Changi Airport has a rooftop pool and a butterfly garden. And that’s just the beginning of the airport experiences that can make passengers feel like their layover is actually too short. Translation: Make sure you do your research on your connecting airports, not just your final destination!
About the experts
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Reader’s Digest has published hundreds of travel stories that help readers explore the world safely, easily and affordably. We regularly cover topics such as the best places to visit (and the best times to visit them), tips and tricks to zoom through airport security, flight-attendant secrets, hotel-room hacks and more. We’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. For this piece on whether you can leave the airport during a layover, we talked to three travel experts for advice. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Ann Woodward, frequent traveler who’s been to 78 countries
- William J. McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project
- Patrick Smith, pilot, frequent traveler and founder of Ask the Pilot
- Qatar Airways: “Transit Tours”
