The main difference between a stopover and layover is length of time. Stopover rules vary by airline, but are essentially longer layovers — at least 24 hours in length. Layovers, meanwhile, are connections less than a day in length depending on if you're flying domestically or internationally.
If a journey is broken at a certain point in order to drop passengers off or for operational reasons and then continues on to the destination using the same aircraft, this is referred to as a stopover. You can view any layovers or stopovers in the itinerary details shown when you purchase your ticket.
A layover typically refers to a connection point between cities, sometimes as short as 30 minutes or as long as 23 hours, whereas a stopover refers to staying longer than 24 hours in any given city when traveling internationally (on domestic itineraries, the limit is reduced to four hours).
During layovers, your aircraft may land at the connecting city to drop off and pick up new passengers. Sometimes, layovers require you to stay in the aircraft until it departs. Other times, you must get off the plane and head to a new aircraft at the airport.
Stopovers can range from as short as 24 hours to as long as 10 days, with no added cost to your airline ticket, depending on the program. To get the most out of a stopover, look for a program that offers other complimentary perks, too.
What is the difference between a stopover and a layover?
What happens if you have a layover for more than 8 hours?
Circumstances under which Airlines Provide Hotels
Generally, this is only the case if your layover is longer than eight hours. Airlines understand that long layovers can be frustrating and exhausting, so they may provide you with a hotel room to rest and freshen up before your next flight.
In theory, absolutely! In practice, whether you leave the airport during a layover is tricky. If you're traveling domestically, you won't have to worry about customs or visas, but you're still leaving the airport, and returning gives you zero priorities over other passengers who are checking in on that flight.
Are you allowed to stay in the airport during a layover?
During domestic layovers, you are free to leave the airport. If your domestic layover is longer than one hour, you should expect to receive two boarding permits. If you want to check out local points of interest, make sure you get your second boarding pass and print it out before you leave.
Is 2 hour layover enough for international flight?
For international layover flights booked on one airline, two hours is often recommended to make your connection. For international flights on different airlines, the connection time will need to be even greater as you may have to change terminals between the two flights.
Do you have to go through security again during a layover?
Do I need to go through security? During your layover, you will, at some point, have to go through airport security. Even if you don't need to go through immigration, you will most likely have to go through security before you board your next flight.
What is considered a stopover for an international flight?
At its simplest, a stopover is simply a longer layover. Most airlines define a layover as any connection of less than 4 hours on a domestic flight or less than 24 hours on an international flight.
When layover flights are booked with the same airline, your baggage will be automatically transferred through to your final destination. However, if the two flights are with different airlines, you may have to claim and re-check your baggage during your layover.
If the airline allows it, the agent will place a label on your luggage during first-time checking at the check-in desk. Then, as long as the luggage is headed for the layover destination, you can pick it up upon arrival. Read our article about airport check-in process for a smooth air travel experience.
Stopover flights are often confused with layover flights. However, these are simply connecting flights where you change from one aircraft to another within 24 hours. For this purpose, passengers usually remain in the transit area of the airport.
Travel advisers say there's a lot to take into account when booking connecting flights, but a general rule of thumb is 60-90 minutes between domestic flights and at least two to three hours for international itineraries.
"A stopover is a legal stop (to) your trip," Lima said. "I'll use Icelandair as an example ... They have the ability for you to say, make a stop in Iceland for a couple of days before you move onto another destination."
How many hours of layover do you need for international flights?
For domestic flights, a short layover is usually 1-1.5 hours, as you will not have to go through security. For the reasons mentioned above, for international flights 2 to 3 hours layover is a good time to calculate.
If your itinerary was purchased as one ticket (as in: you have only one itinerary and one confirmation number), and the connection time was too short and you miss the second (or third) flight, you can rest easy, no matter what happens. The airline will simply put you onto the next available flight, free of charge.
Do you have to pick up baggage between connecting flights international?
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.
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.
Can I leave the airport if I have a 3 hour layover?
If you have an excessive layover time you may be wondering: Can I leave the airport between connecting flights? The short answer is yes. It is possible to exit and reenter the airport.
Do I need to check in again for connecting flight?
No, you do not have to check-in again at the transit airport as both boarding pass and checked in baggage will be through checked in till the final destination issued from the point of origin, however every passenger is required to collect their baggage at the first port of entry into India, clear the relevant customs ...
Mayers recommends two hours as a standard buffer between flights to be safe. This gives you a cushion in case things go wrong during your journey. You'll definitely want at least a two-hour window if you've booked a “hacker fare,” as opposed to flying with the same airline your entire trip.
Can I leave the airport if I have a 15 hour layover?
Mostly, yes! And in most cases, you can leave the airport during a layover in the US, even while traveling to an international destination. International travelers need to make sure they have a valid visa to travel in the US. But, whether you need to leave the airport or not during a layover is completely up to you.
At a minimum, I'd say you should plan for one hour for domestic layovers and two hours for international layovers. But this is not a hard, fast rule! If you have to go through security again on a domestic layover, you might need more time.
