Hi there, I just booked a round-trip flight from Brussels to Da Nang on eDreams, with a layover in Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific. Does anyone know the check-in procedure for these flights? 1) For flight CX294 BXL-HKG, I’ll need to check in on the Cathay Pacific website, 2) For the next flight CX5552 HKG-DAD, what should I do? I only have a 2h25 layover. Will I need to collect my luggage, go through immigration, and then recheck in at the airport counter, etc.? I’m pretty worried about this layover—I thought check-in could be done on the airline’s website and that my luggage would be transferred automatically during the layover, like with most other airlines... Thanks so much for any help from those who’ve been in this situation!

Hi there

I completely forgot the transit procedure at Doha Airport and I’m a bit worried because I only have 1h30 to change planes, since my first flight was rescheduled. My flights: Barcelona/Doha: arrival at 6:15 AM Doha/Bangkok: departure at 7:50 AM

We only have carry-on luggage. Will they be checked again? Do we have to go through security again? Are the connections smooth and well signposted? Finally, is it common in this situation to ask a flight attendant for help?

Thanks! 🙂

Hi there,

I’m heading to the United States for the first time, flying from Paris to Austin with a layover in Atlanta. I arrive at 8:55 PM and leave again at 10:30 PM. Air France told me I don’t need to collect my checked bags, but I keep reading that I *do* have to pick them up after immigration and customs—and that doing all that in 1 hour 30 minutes is basically impossible. I’m traveling with my son, and our English isn’t great. It’s making me a little anxious because the flight I need to catch is the last one of the day, and if I miss it, I’ll have to wait until the next morning.

Do you think this is doable?

Thanks so much

Hi there,

I booked a flight from Paris to Bangkok, with a 1h35 layover in Kuwait. On the site where I reserved my flight (trip.com), it says:

"A visa on arrival is required for transit in Kuwait" ...

That already seems surprising to me, but when I checked the site https://kuwait-evisa.org/kuwait-transit-visa/, I read:

If you are remaining within the international transit zone of the airport and your layover is short, you may not need a visa. Confirm this with your airline or Kuwaiti embassy.

So I contacted trip.com for confirmation, and they redirected me to the Kuwaiti embassy, which hasn’t responded yet.

Has anyone taken this flight before and can confirm that no transit visa is needed?

Thanks.

Hi there,

We’re heading to Chile in September 2025, and we booked a Paris–Santiago flight (AF) that was supposed to arrive in Santiago at 7:45 AM, with a same-day connection to Calama on LATAM at 2 PM. Air France just changed the arrival time to 8:45 AM in Santiago. Do you think we’ll still have enough time for the connection to Calama, or should we change our 2 PM flight to one the next morning? The other same-day options are too late. How long should we budget for customs, health checks, and baggage claim—since we’ll need to recheck our bags for Calama?

Is moving between the international terminal and the domestic terminal time-consuming?

Thanks so much for your help! :)

Hi Forum, I’m planning a trip to Norway for June 2026. Our itinerary includes a flight from Bergen to Narvik, with a layover in Oslo. Can you recommend an airline? Thanks so much in advance! Happy travels

Hi everyone!

I have a question about organizing my entry into India.

I have a flight from Paris to Delhi, then Delhi to Leh. Both flights are part of the same booking with Air India, so they handle baggage transfer. I have a 20-hour layover in Delhi and I’d like to leave the airport to sleep at a hotel. Is that possible?

Also, for the e-visa, Leh airport isn’t available as an entry point. I was planning to list Delhi as my entry point and go through immigration there. But since I’ve been to India before, I remember that re-entering the airport can be tricky... Plus, I’ll be "leaving" my luggage behind during that time. I’m not sure if that’s okay.

Does this seem doable to you?

I’ve been to India twice before, but I’ve never been in this situation!

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Laura

Hi there, I’ve got a long layover (about 10 hours) in Seoul on an upcoming trip. I arrive from Phnom Penh at 7:20 AM and depart for Montreal at 6:00 PM.

First question: Will my checked baggage be transferred automatically? I have a single ticket from KTI to YUL (Air Canada ticket—KTI-ICN operated by Asiana (codeshare) and ICN-YUL by Air Canada).

Second question: I saw it’s possible to join free guided tours (Airport Transit Tour). What do you think of this kind of service? And is my "actual" layover time (accounting for security checks, check-in, etc.) enough to do one of these tours?

Thanks in advance to everyone who chimes in on this!

we have flights with Swiss and Lufthansa for January; our flights are still in our booking file. But after reading that the Cambodian ambassador in Paris advised against transiting through Bangkok (which is our case), I reached out to the airlines to potentially change our ticket via Singapore. However, both companies have canceled all flights to Cambodia, regardless of the day or airport. We’ll have our contact on the ground call us on Monday to figure out what to do, especially since no insurance covers war, conflict, etc. If anyone else is in the same situation with an upcoming departure, we can exchange tips

Hi there, I know there are some "airline experts" on this forum 😛 I’ve started doing a bit of research and saw that around ten airlines offer this route with a layover. Price will obviously be a factor, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on the airlines that operate this connection. Thanks in advance to anyone who joins the discussion!

It's really simple and without any reservation—I wouldn’t recommend Kenya Airways. I travel about three times a year and have been doing so for 23 years, and I’ve never said that about an airline before. Sure, they serve food all the time, but it’s not even good. The planes themselves are fine. As for the rest, here are the issues: Just to be clear, everything that happened to me also happened to everyone I spoke with on various Kenya Airways flights. 1. Booked 12 flights with decent schedules. In the end, nearly all of them were changed, resulting in sleepless nights, arrivals in the middle of the night, or arrivals 24 hours later than originally planned. 2. Luggage arrived 24 hours late. 3. Flights canceled and delayed mid-trip. So, hours spent in transit zones. They’re very nice and try to fix the problems, but you end up wasting so much time struggling. For example, getting to the hotel they provide can be a huge hassle, and it often isn’t even valid in the end. You might even risk missing your flight.

Hi everyone, just a quick feedback on my Saudi flight with two consecutive stopovers in Jeddah and Riyadh. This was for my outbound trip in July 2025 (return trip still to come). I booked through Lastminute without paying attention to this little detail, which caused me a lot of stress afterward. In the end, the only "difficulty" is that you absolutely need a one-year, multiple-entry e-tourist visa from visitsaudi. And it costs around 100 € at the current exchange rate per person, including children. Apart from that, luggage is checked through to the final destination from CDG, so no customs issues in Saudi Arabia and no significant impact on transit time since you don’t need to collect or recheck your hold luggage during the two stopovers in Saudi Arabia.

We had about three hours of transit between each flight. It was late, and the airports weren’t busy, so we only took about an hour each time from leaving the plane to reaching the boarding gate for the next flight—plenty of time. As a solo woman with a child, I wasn’t asked for any proof of parentage (neither a family record book nor a notarized authorization from the father, which I had taken as a precaution), and no questions were asked. No searches, nothing. I had just taken the precaution of wearing an abaya during transit to avoid any issues, but I didn’t cover my head, and I saw several Saudi women with their heads uncovered as well. Black is widely worn, but it’s not mandatory.

So, I stressed a lot, but we arrived at our destination on time with all our luggage. The only difference on board compared to other airlines is the absence of alcohol, prayer at takeoff, and the indication of flying over the *mikat*. Safe travels to all! !

Hi, I'm flying from Hanoi with VietJet Air and have a 5h30 self-transfer in Jakarta before continuing to Doha with Qatar Airways. With checked baggage. My questions are: Can I get my visa on arrival, or do I need it before departure? And do I have enough time to get the visa, collect my bags, and check in for the next flight in 5h30? If you've done this before, how long do you think these steps take?

Thanks so much in advance for your replies—it's pretty urgent!

Hi, I’m traveling with a 5th-grade class next Wednesday. We’re flying to Brussels with Brussels Airlines. Then, 1 hour and 15 minutes after landing, we take off again with the same airline to Prague. (We’ll all have carry-on luggage.) We have two different flight numbers since it’s two flights, but... in 1 hour and 15 minutes, will we have to go through security again, or since it’s the same airline, will we just switch planes? Or maybe it’s even possible it’s the same aircraft? Thanks for your answers. Teacher Bérengère.

easiest way to get there

Hi there,

I’d like to travel to Japan with my son. I read that it’s cheaper to fly via Hong Kong to reach other Asian countries. I tried it, and it’s indeed much cheaper, with better flight times on Cathay Pacific, which is a great airline. In short, it’s better—even though I think if I miss a flight, I’d lose everything.

I’d like to know if it’s easy to get around Hong Kong Airport? Do you have to go through customs again in these cases? Do you need to pay for some kind of transit visa?

If the layover is long, is it easy to head into the city for a quick visit?

Thanks for your feedback!

Hi there, We're leaving next month from Marseille to New York with a layover at London Heathrow. We have a one-hour layover—I was wondering if that’s enough time for the connection. We arrive at Terminal 3 and depart from Terminal 3. Thanks for your replies!

Hi, I’m flying Melbourne/Jakarta with Singapore Airlines, arriving at 6 PM, then switching to Turkish Airlines, departing at 9 PM. Do you think I’ll have enough time for my connection, including customs, collecting and re-checking my baggage?

Thanks in advance

Hi there, I bought a flight ticket with Air India departing from Paris and arriving in Bangkok with a layover in Delhi. I didn’t include my third given name when booking, but it’s on my passport. Could this cause a problem at boarding?

Also, with an 8-hour layover in Delhi—no need to recheck bags or leave the international zone—do I need an Indian transit visa?

Thanks for your help!

Hi there, I'm Cameroonian and I'd like to know if there's a reliable airline where someone can buy their flight ticket and travel without any issues from Cameroon to Bolivia.

Hi everyone, We’re going on a Nile cruise. My question: We’re taking off from Brussels Airport to land in Cairo. Then we have to catch a second flight to Luxor. How does that work—do we pick up our luggage, do we have to exit and then re-enter the airport? Thanks for your help, tips, and advice, etc.…

Hi,

Right now, with the war raging in Iran and affecting all the neighboring countries of the Persian Gulf, many airports are completely closed to all traffic.

Several airlines like Qatar Airways, Emirates, and others have almost completely halted their operations.

Whether in the Middle East or Africa, many travelers are stranded—maybe for a long time... A heartfelt thought for them and the struggles this will cause.

Four months ago, I was in Kenya with a flight booked through Qatar Airways... I can’t even imagine how I’d react if I were stuck there now. ??

Wishing all these travelers courage, patience, and success in making it back home.

...

Doha Airport on October 21, 2025:



...

Hi everyone,

Since it’s a hot topic, yet rarely shown, and since there’s quite a bit of criticism and prejudice around it—and since I’ve had three in ten days—I’m going to talk about layovers at Istanbul Airport, especially with Turkish Airlines. This is a common scenario for forum members planning trips to Central Asia, the Caucasus, but also Japan, China, Australia, Africa, and more.

It all starts on a plane beginning its descent, knowing that the approach to Istanbul Airport is always quite long—about thirty minutes. Through the windows, if you’re lucky, you get a view of the city. You need to know a little to get your bearings, but here we’re on the side of Sabiha Gökçen Airport, south of Istanbul on the Asian side. You can spot the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn, and Fenerbahçe’s football stadium.



Landing over highways with three times four lanes, and then the airport tarmac for the taxi phase. This can take a while—sometimes nearly half an hour—but this morning, luck was on my side: barely more than 10 minutes. It’s rare now for Turkish Airlines planes to unload via pax buses, so we got a jet bridge. Avgeeks will immediately notice they’re not in Europe anymore but in another world: Pobeda, Belavia, and plenty of more exotic airlines. As the captain seriously put it in his final announcement after thanking the kids, it’s the “crossroads of the world.”

We suddenly step into a massive corridor, an endless, bright hall, usually deserted, and turn left or right—I think it’s always left for the flights I take, heading toward “transfers.” The walk is supposed to take a good ten minutes at worst. Watch out for airport vehicles—they come fast and don’t honk.



Here’s where it gets interesting: Istanbul has always had a bypass for short layovers, something you never hear about on forums. In the past, you had to bolt out of the jet bridge like a rocket and vaguely show your boarding pass to an attendant before sprinting. But now it’s institutionalized, and there’s signage that spares you from running all the way to the main security check. Until recently—at least the last time I did this—it even let you skip all formalities, dropping you like a wild dog into the departures area, which is spacious enough to stretch your legs!



A heads-up for the young and the not-so-young: even without the bypass, if you’re under 5 (accompanied), over 65 (alone), you get fast track. That saves you a few hundred meters and possibly some waiting time, though I’m less sure about that. The entrance honestly looks like an amusement park, though.



So, not young enough, not old enough, I keep going. I pass by dozens of passport control booths (in blue) and reach the transfer security checkpoint (in red). There’s a fast track for Business and Gold passengers—in my case, I’m both—but since it’s at the wrong end for my direction, it wouldn’t even be worth it. It’d just be a frivolous sprint. None of this is crowded at all; the wait lasted about a minute. You have to take out your laptop at this checkpoint—not all of them—but you haven’t had to take out liquids for a while in Istanbul. A hallway, an escalator, and then—bam—you’re in the Dubai-esque hall. One look says it all. Everything sparkles, everything’s expensive. *Very* expensive. Just for show, I spot a sandwich for around 12 €, and some simits for about 4 € (it’s in TL, but that’s roughly the conversion).



So, I head to the lounge—or one of the lounges—at Turkish Airlines, upstairs. Here too, there’s a priority entrance for families and people with reduced mobility, and an extra hundred meters for everyone else. A few of us seem to have had the same idea, and the twin lounges are under renovation for three months. One is for Business Class passengers, the other for Miles & Smiles and Gold members. They’re nearly identical. Needless to say, it’s packed—just as crowded in one as the other. There are *tons* of Business Class passengers on Turkish Airlines. I assume some other airlines’ passengers are mixed in, but not enough to explain the crowd. It’s as busy as Gare Montparnasse on a holiday departure day, and the 5 or 6 food counters, along with the salad and dessert buffets, are struggling to keep up. I didn’t dare ask to access the shower area, but I’ll admit the Wi-Fi works without the torturous maneuvers it required just a few months ago. Later, I’ll have to watch for the gate for my destination—Warsaw. With my usual luck, it’ll be in the F double-digits, the farthest ones, listed as 15 to 19 minutes away. That said, once you reach the end of that dead end, there’s plenty of quiet space with power outlets. Because here, there’s high demand for kilowatts.

My reporter’s conscience doesn’t go so far as to guide me here—I’ve covered the free access up to the iGA lounge, which has a good reputation but costs nearly 100 € for three hours. Maybe another time, on a promo day—I’ll keep an eye on their site. The piano starts playing “Bésame Mucho,” so I’ll pause my story here.



Michel

Hi there, I’d like to know if it’s possible to catch a 9:00 AM flight to Lombok with Air Asia after landing in Kuala Lumpur at 6:10 AM from Paris with Malaysia Airlines (we don’t have checked baggage, but our tickets are separate, so we’ll need to go through immigration). Same question for the return: arriving in Kuala Lumpur at 9:20 PM from Lombok and departing for Paris at 11:40 PM. I’ve read that the two airlines are in different terminals at the airport. The other option is to take flights with a 7- to 8-hour layover. What do you think is better? Thanks!

On February 19, 2025, we traveled on Cathay Pacific flight CX702, which was supposed to take us from Bangkok to Paris Charles de Gaulle, with a transfer via their Hong Kong hub.

The departure from Bangkok was scheduled for 7:15 PM, with an arrival in Hong Kong at 11:05 PM local time.

The layover was supposed to last 1 hour and 10 minutes, and we were due to take off for Paris on flight CX261 at 12:15 AM, with a scheduled arrival at CDG at 7:35 AM local time.

From Bangkok, flight CX702 took off over an hour late. The scraps of information provided didn’t give us any real idea of the reason for the delay or whether we’d make our connection in Hong Kong on flight CX261.

Then, on the plane, the CX702 crew couldn’t tell us anything about the connection or confirm that our luggage would be transferred to Paris (we were pretty worried, as our bags contained research materials and results).

Upon arrival in Hong Kong, we were immediately told—without any explanation—that we wouldn’t be taking flight CX261!

The staff then rushed us through the airport corridors, past Chinese police checks, after handing us two non-regulation flight tickets for CX289 to Frankfurt instead of Paris.

These tickets were scribbled in ballpoint pen, with a departure time that had already passed and no gate information.

The plane took off on February 20, 2025, well after the scheduled 12:15 AM departure. We landed in Frankfurt around 7:00 AM local time.

From there, after going through additional security checks and completely exhausted from the journey, we had to walk through Frankfurt Airport’s endless corridors—only to find out we’d been dropped off at the opposite end from the gate for flights to CDG.

Not to mention, when we reached gate A01, we were told we had to backtrack to gate A24. And as if that wasn’t enough after 15 hours of travel, the gate changed again without any announcement or email.

You’d think Cathay Pacific’s management would know how long these walks are...

In the end, we arrived at Paris CDG at 1:30 PM—six hours later than scheduled, with an extra layover in Frankfurt.

Discussion: Cathay Pacific informed us via email on February 19—while we were already in the air—that our connection had been canceled for "commercial and operational reasons."

Yet, the plane for flight CX289 was full of passengers, so there was no reason the original flight CX261 couldn’t have been delayed. We concluded we were victims of overbooking—without being told!

Especially since the rerouting to Frankfurt seemed well-rehearsed...

Regarding the overbooking, our tickets were flexible, and we paid an extra 220 € for that.

We should *never* have been overbooked!!!

I also want to let other travelers know that Cathay Pacific initially told us via email that our delayed arrival in Paris would be at 10:30 AM instead of 7:35 AM.

We immediately arranged for colleagues in Paris to pick us up at that time.

Except the arrival time was changed *again* to 1:30 PM. And by then, we couldn’t get home before the evening of February 21, with all the extra costs that entailed.

Back in Frankfurt, we were stuck waiting from 7:00 AM to 12:15 PM on some of the most uncomfortable seats, with no refreshments, snacks, or assistance—right in the middle of the constant flow of travelers heading for short- and medium-haul flights. The least they could’ve done was let us into the international lounge, which would’ve been far more suitable for exhausted, freezing travelers. Right?

On this point, European law states that if an airline fails in its obligations, passengers can claim full compensation for material and moral damages without a cap. Moral damages can also be compensated (CJEU, October 13, 2011, case C-83/10).

And whether Cathay Pacific’s management likes it or not, commercial or technical issues causing flight cancellations or delays *do not* count as "extraordinary circumstances" that would exempt the airline from liability (CJEU ruling, November 19, 2009).

Most importantly, due to the over 6-hour delay and the distance between the departure airport and CDG, we should have been compensated at least 600 € per passenger under European law (Article 7 of Regulation (EC) 261/2004).

But that’s not possible because Cathay Pacific refuses to comply with European legislation guaranteeing compensation for travelers affected by such delays.

To bypass passenger rights, Cathay Pacific evades responsibility by claiming that, as a Chinese company headquartered in Hong Kong, it isn’t bound by European laws.

Yet that doesn’t stop them from enjoying commercial advantages by operating a French subsidiary for passenger transport, registered in the trade register and based in Neuilly-sur-Seine.

So it *is* subject to European law!!!

Air travelers are thus victims of Cathay Pacific’s strategies to circumvent European law...

In our case, we had to endure the cancellation of our access to flight CX261, an imposed layover in Frankfurt, no minimal assistance during the 5-hour wait in Germany, a delay of over 6 hours upon arrival, and the costs of an extra day to get home.

And as if that weren’t enough, we also suffered moral and financial damages due to the airline’s blatant disregard for its customers!

The fact is, Cathay Pacific and its executives subjected us to these damages because of an overbooking policy hidden from customers. We weren’t informed of our rights, the reasons for the delay or rerouting, or given any assistance during the imposed layover. We weren’t even refunded the extra we paid for flexible tickets—what was the point of that when overbooking was clearly planned?

And on top of it all, they excluded us from European law, which would’ve allowed us to be compensated 600 € each for the delay—totaling 1,200 €.

We wrote three times by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt to Cathay Pacific’s Group CEO, the France Regional Director, and the head of the French-registered subsidiary.

No response—except an email refusing to comply with European legislation!

Given this policy of circumventing European law and passenger protections, Cathay Pacific’s online and in-agency flight offers *must* clearly inform customers that in case of delays, cancellations, or rerouting, they won’t be compensated by the Chinese airline!!!

Hello, I’m traveling this May to France and have a layover in Dubai with a 4h45 connection. Could you let me know if I need to collect my luggage when I arrive at Terminal 3 to depart from the same terminal? My travel agency is telling me to pick it up, go through customs, and then check in again for my departure with my luggage. That seems odd to me. Could you confirm whether this is correct or not? Best regards.

Hi everyone, I have to leave for Canada and I’ve got a layover at Paris CDG. A friend of mine will be at the airport to see me. What are the options for us to meet up? Can she access my terminal (T2E), or can I leave the international zone?

Hi there,

When I run searches on Skyscanner, I see that only Lufthansa has flights to Seoul with just one stop. Air France doesn’t show up, even though I thought the French airline served Seoul? I can’t even log into the Air France website—it keeps glitching.

Hello, We’re planning to fly from Paris to Bangkok at the end of June with my wife, our daughter, and the baby who’ll be 4 months old by then. The baby won’t be born for another 2 months, and I was wondering if it’s possible to book the 3 flight tickets now and add the baby after the birth? I read that a ticket isn’t necessary for babies. Can you confirm this for me? Is there a risk that in 2 months they’ll tell me the flight is full and we can’t add our baby? Finally, is it possible to reserve a seat in the first row (where there’s the most space) right now? Thanks so much for your help

Hi,

I received an email from the airline saying my return flight was canceled and rescheduled to another flight.

Nothing about the connection in France...

I checked my passenger file, everything is the same as when I first booked.

I asked for an explanation by email.

They replied that my original flight was canceled and that I should sort it out with Air France since I bought the ticket through their site.

I called Air France. Finally got through to someone. The agent checked my file and told me there were no changes and therefore couldn’t reschedule my flight.

I checked my file again: the flight is the same as on the day I bought it.

They suggested I change it by paying!!!

I forwarded Air Mauritius’s emails to Air France. Waiting to see what happens next...

Have you ever had this kind of problem? What’s going on with Air Mauritius? Have they become a third-rate airline that’s absolutely not recommendable?

Thanks for your thoughts and any attempts at explaining this...

(The Air Mauritius flight is no longer for sale on Google Flights. The replacement flight isn’t either... Yet it still appears on the Air Mauritius site as the replacement flight.)