Is a 1 Hour Layover Enough?
Answer
A 1 hour layover is used up when the inbound flight is 60 or more minutes late, and that is the chance this page reports.
From January 2023 to December 2025, 7.46% of US domestic arrivals were 60 or more minutes late (1,536,156 of 20,588,134 flights).
You also need time to get to your next gate, so a smaller delay can still cost a connection, and cancelled or diverted inbound flights aren't counted here, though they also break connections.
Source: DelayGuard analysis of US DOT/BTS data, January 2023 to December 2025.
Check a layover
Example: O'Hare (ORD), all airlines, scheduled arrival 5 PM, any month, 60-minute layover.
At O'Hare (ORD), for all airlines, flights scheduled to arrive at 5 PM (any month): 10.78% were 60 or more minutes late (6,715 of 62,283 flights).
That is the chance the inbound flight is late enough to use up a 60-minute layover. It is not the chance you miss the connection.
On this same slice, the shares were 30+ minutes 17.87%, 45+ minutes 13.45%, 90+ minutes 7.41%, 120+ minutes 5.02%.
This slice is higher than ORD's overall 60+ minute share of 8.52%.
We show a share only when at least 100 flights match your choices. The layover checker shows not enough data for that airport, hour, airline, or month. It does not fill the gap with a broader slice.
Is a 45 minute layover enough?
BTS cannot say whether 45 minutes is enough time to change planes. It can say how often the inbound flight was already 45 or more minutes late. Nationwide that share was 9.90% from January 2023 to December 2025 (2,039,207 of 20,588,134 flights).
Across the 39 airports with a DelayGuard airport page, the highest overall share was Logan (BOS) at 12.90% and the lowest was John Wayne (SNA) at 6.88%. A 45-minute layover is used up when the inbound is 45 or more minutes late. The table lists that share for each airport.
Is a 1 hour layover enough?
A 1 hour layover is used up when the inbound is 60 or more minutes late. Nationwide that share was 7.46% from January 2023 to December 2025. At Logan (BOS) the overall 60+ minute share was 9.92%. At John Wayne (SNA) it was 4.66%.
The hour matters. The checker uses the scheduled arrival hour, local time, and compares that hour with the airport's overall share. This is still not the chance you miss the connection.
| Airport | 45+ min late | 60+ min late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logan (BOS) | 12.90% | 9.92% | 419,019 |
| Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | 12.79% | 9.77% | 264,061 |
| Newark (EWR) | 12.74% | 10.09% | 376,025 |
| Orlando (MCO) | 12.71% | 9.82% | 474,964 |
| SFO | 11.89% | 8.71% | 410,035 |
| DFW | 11.87% | 9.34% | 891,297 |
| JFK | 11.74% | 9.25% | 352,300 |
| Philadelphia (PHL) | 11.54% | 8.96% | 282,726 |
| Miami (MIA) | 11.32% | 8.64% | 318,833 |
| LaGuardia (LGA) | 11.16% | 8.64% | 447,616 |
| Reagan National (DCA) | 10.88% | 8.32% | 411,143 |
| Cincinnati (CVG) | 10.83% | 8.22% | 112,686 |
| O'Hare (ORD) | 10.83% | 8.52% | 850,027 |
| Harry Reid (LAS) | 10.39% | 7.57% | 557,719 |
| San Antonio (SAT) | 10.23% | 7.53% | 121,536 |
| Denver (DEN) | 10.08% | 7.65% | 901,086 |
| Charlotte (CLT) | 9.96% | 7.81% | 598,657 |
| Houston Intercontinental (IAH) | 9.95% | 7.74% | 338,660 |
| Austin (AUS) | 9.80% | 7.12% | 261,610 |
| San Diego (SAN) | 9.57% | 6.73% | 278,623 |
| Ontario (ONT) | 9.22% | 6.62% | 75,877 |
| Detroit (DTW) | 9.08% | 7.06% | 375,215 |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 8.54% | 6.31% | 573,396 |
| St. Louis (STL) | 8.51% | 6.18% | 189,370 |
| Atlanta (ATL) | 8.45% | 6.48% | 979,420 |
| Sky Harbor (PHX) | 8.43% | 6.24% | 562,016 |
| Love Field (DAL) | 8.38% | 5.95% | 214,828 |
| BWI | 8.22% | 5.94% | 286,830 |
| Minneapolis (MSP) | 8.22% | 6.28% | 357,716 |
| Dulles (IAD) | 8.13% | 6.29% | 157,988 |
| Burbank (BUR) | 8.09% | 5.67% | 89,640 |
| Midway (MDW) | 7.98% | 5.74% | 234,876 |
| Hobby (HOU) | 7.95% | 5.62% | 165,057 |
| Sacramento (SMF) | 7.83% | 5.53% | 164,651 |
| Sea-Tac (SEA) | 7.28% | 5.20% | 486,693 |
| Oakland (OAK) | 7.15% | 4.89% | 120,828 |
| San Jose (SJC) | 7.01% | 4.86% | 147,061 |
| Salt Lake (SLC) | 6.95% | 5.23% | 336,170 |
| John Wayne (SNA) | 6.88% | 4.66% | 131,749 |
What happens if I miss my connecting flight?
This page does not estimate that chance. BTS On-Time Reporting has no passenger itinerary and no minimum connection time, so a late inbound is not the same thing as a missed connection.
14 CFR 259.5(b)(14) says a covered carrier's customer service plan must identify the services it provides to mitigate passenger inconveniences resulting from flight cancellations and misconnections. The rule requires the plan to name those services. It does not set one rebooking time or one hotel rule for every carrier. Wording checked against the current eCFR on 20 October 2026. Section 259.5 was amended on 2 July 2026. Paragraph (b)(14) was unchanged.
14 CFR 260.2 calls a domestic itinerary significantly delayed or changed when the passenger is scheduled to arrive at the destination airport 3 or more hours after the original scheduled arrival time, among other changes. Under 14 CFR 260.6, the covered carrier that is the merchant of record must refund the airfare, including nonrefundable airfare, when the passenger does not accept that changed flight, a rebooking on an alternative flight, or other compensation. That duty follows the itinerary on the ticket. A flight bought as a separate ticket is a separate itinerary, and 14 CFR 260.6 does not say the airline that delayed the first ticket must refund or rebook the second one. This is not legal advice.
How we calculated this
Figures are the share of arrivals with ArrDelayMinutes at or above 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120. Population: Cancelled == 0, Diverted == 0, and ArrDelayMinutes recorded. Cancelled and diverted flights are excluded. The hour is the scheduled arrival hour, local time (CRSArrTime // 100).
You also need time to get to your next gate, so a smaller delay can still cost a connection, and cancelled or diverted inbound flights aren't counted here, though they also break connections.
We show a share only when at least 100 flights match your choices. The layover checker shows not enough data for that airport, hour, airline, or month. It does not fill the gap with a broader slice.
The minimum sample is 100 flights, the same floor the tight-connection guide uses for an hour cell. Airline is the BTS Reporting_Airline code. Month is the calendar month of the flight date.
Source: BTS On-Time Reporting, January 2023 to December 2025. 20,928,579 rows in the BTS files. Built 2026-10-20.