Connection time in Abu Dhabi

Hello, In theory, if Etihad offers it for sale on their website, it means it's doable (they run calculations, and connections that aren't feasible aren't offered). But in reality, it's stressful because if there's a slight delay on the first flight, you might miss the second one. (Though if it's all on one ticket, the airline should find you a solution, it's still a hassle.) The other risk is that even if you make the second flight, your luggage might not. (That just happened to us with a 1h20 connection in Paris—we made it, but our bags didn’t.) And finally, between two long flights, it’s actually nice to have 2 or 3 hours to walk around. So I’d say if you can get a longer connection, it’s better! !

Hi there,

The issue is that if the first flight segment has even the slightest delay, you’ll miss your connection. In this case, the airline must re-route you free of charge via another flight and provide (or reimburse) meals (and accommodation if you have to stay overnight) while you wait for the re-routing, plus compensation of 600 € per paying passenger. https://retardimportantavion.wordpress.com/2021/03/02/remboursement-frais-en-attente-du-vol-retarde-ou-de-reacheminement/ https://retardimportantavion.wordpress.com/2022/04/18/retard-premier-vol-correspondance-manquee/

To do: If this happens, as soon as you get off the first flight, check https://www.google.com/travel/flights?hl=fr to see what the "earliest possible" re-routing is—whether with the same airline or another. Start the booking process but stop just before paying, taking screenshots. If the airline offers a later re-routing when you can PROVE there was an available seat on an earlier flight, they can’t use any excuse to deny your compensation. Keep your final destination hotel’s phone number or email handy to notify them of the delay. https://retardimportantavion.wordpress.com/2023/09/29/indemnisation-meme-si-circonstance-extraordinaire-droit-reacheminement-dans-les-meilleurs-delais/ and an example procedure: https://retardimportantavion.wordpress.com/2024/01/12/reacheminement-catastrophique-droit-indemnisation-meme-circonstances-extraordinaires-2/

The second issue with a very short layover is that checked baggage won’t make it. Your checked bag will be delivered later to your hotel.

To do: Pack essentials in your carry-on, including a change of clothes for 48 hours. At your final destination, don’t leave the baggage claim area until you’ve obtained a P.I.R. (Property Irregularity Report). For long-haul flights, expect around 48 hours due to the heavy administrative procedures for transporting luggage without its owner.

What not to do: Don’t waste money on phone calls to the airline—it’ll be at your expense and completely unnecessary since everything needed is done once you have the P.I.R. They won’t send a private jet for your suitcase.

Best regards

Hello, I’m planning a trip to Australia: Paris to Melbourne. I’m flying with Etihad with a 1-hour connection in Abu Dhabi. Does this connection time seem doable to you? Thanks for your feedback.

1 hour—knowing that the boarding gates close 40 minutes before departure—I wouldn’t risk it, even if the airline offers it. Any hassles will be on you.

Hi,

If the airline sells it that way, it means it works out in at least 90% of cases. For the rest, just know you’ll be rebooked—nothing critical, just make sure you don’t have any obligations at your destination within, say, 24 to 36 hours after your scheduled arrival.

Personally, I always try to avoid these kinds of plans since they quickly ramp up the stress as soon as you board the first flight. I don’t know who’s saying the gates close 40 minutes before the scheduled departure, but I don’t buy it—it’s usually about a quarter of an hour, pretty much everywhere.

Michel

Thanks for the info, Tatra! 😊

Thanks for the info, Claire! 😊

Thanks for your reply! 😊

Thanks for the info 😊

Hello,

If the airline sells it that way, it means it’s allowed,

Michel

Hello,

Back when I was unaware of air passenger rights, another airline (Iberia) sold me a connection in Madrid that was a few minutes shorter than the MCT in the past. As a result, my connection was canceled, and I was rebooked on a later flight (over 3 hours later), even though I was still in the air on the first leg, which had no delay.

So, you can’t just say, "If the airline sells it that way, it’s allowed."

Iberia ended up having to compensate me because they initially refused to do anything.

Best regards,

In this case, the MCT, as you call it, is 60 minutes.

So, my connection was canceled, with re-routing on a later flight (more than 3 hours later), while I was still in the air on the first flight segment, which had no delay.

"So" isn’t the right word—there’s no causality here.

So, you can’t say "If the airline sells it this way, it must work out."

Re-routings usually don’t thrill them all that much.

I know your quasi-profession here seems to be suing the whole world for a few dozen euros or a procedural point that gives you this or that right, but in my view, most travelers value their time and freedom more and stay pragmatic.

Michel

Hello,

In this case, the MCT, as you say, is 60 minutes.

In Madrid, the MCT between terminals T4 and T4S was, at that time, 65 minutes. Then it was reduced to 55 minutes.

"So" isn’t the right word—there’s no causality.

??? My connection was canceled because it was shorter than the MCT.

I know that your quasi-profession here consists of suing the whole world for a few dozen euros or a procedural point that gives you this or that right.

Michel

What you call a "quasi-profession" is the fact that I don’t tolerate airlines (not the "whole world"!!!) believing, and what’s more, habitually, that they’re above the law.

It’s not about the "whole world" (sic!), and even less about "a few dozen euros" (!!!). Finally, a "procedural point" never gives "this or that right." Passenger rights in the European Union regarding air transport aren’t found in "a procedural point" but in Regulation 261/2004 of the European Parliament and Council and in the case law established under it, primarily by the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Best regards

I don’t know who’s saying that boarding closes 40 minutes before the scheduled departure time, but I don’t buy it—it’s more like a good fifteen minutes, pretty much everywhere.

Michel

Hi,

Just as a simple example, Air Caraïbes:

Best regards,

It's still 30 and not 40.... 30 is the maximum I've seen, knowing that Turkish, Lufthansa, KLM, Cathay, Emirates, ANA, JAL, and the American airlines are around 20 minutes. And in reality, you’ve seen plenty of passengers boarding well after that.

Michel

My connection was canceled because it was shorter than the MCT

Well, no, it was canceled because they had closed the gates before you could reach them.

I know your long legal texts by heart, which I’ve often skimmed before giving up. That’s great, it’s your thing, but the hassle and time we spend on it also have a cost, and you consider it negligible. To get me to write or even receive registered letters, I really need to be *very* motivated 🙂.

Michel

I don’t know who’s saying that the gate closes 40 minutes before the scheduled departure time, but I don’t buy it—it’s about a good quarter of an hour, pretty much everywhere.

Michel

Hi,

Just as a simple example, Air Caraïbes:

Best regards

Thanks for the fact-checking, but I didn’t react because of the condescending tone in the message and the poster’s tendency to always want the last word. Proof is in their latest reply: “It’s 30, not 40, nanana” 😅.

Good evening,

Even if circumstances have mostly led you to experience some of the worst airlines in this regard, you can also be open to listening to others 🙂. 40 minutes—I’d never seen that before, and even ChatGPT can’t find evidence of this practice beyond a few isolated, documented cases that stand out precisely because they’re unusual. For Etihad at its hub, the consensus in the literature is 20 minutes.

People are often scared on this site (and others, for that matter). Confidence is undermined by constantly highlighting the negatives, the risks, the dangers—everything that *might*, *could*, or *occasionally* go wrong. I find this mindset really off-putting.

Michel

Even if circumstances have mostly made you deal with some of the worst airlines in this regard, you can still listen to others 🙂. 40 minutes—I’d never seen that before, and even ChatGPT can’t find any record of this practice beyond a few isolated, documented cases that stand out precisely because they’re so unusual. For Etihad at its hub, the consensus is 20 minutes.

I’ve often played with connections, sometimes knowingly to get a paid stopover (which didn’t work out often). But never with just an hour, and certainly not in Abu Dhabi, given the size of the hub.

Whether it’s 20 or 40 minutes, what bothered me was your tone—“I don’t know who’s saying this” when you *do* know. Condescension or contempt, you’re not the teacher, and I’m not the student.

People are scared a lot on this site—and on others too, for that matter. We undermine their confidence by always highlighting the negatives, the risks, the dangers, everything that *might*, *could*, *perhaps* go wrong. I find that mindset unpleasant. Michel

I could agree with you on that. But if the original poster is asking the question, it’s because they have doubts. And in this case, with just an hour, I wouldn’t take the risk. That’s all I said.

PS: If there’s one medium (but is it even one?) that doesn’t have my ear, it’s definitely AI 😅

Have a good evening

A lot of fear-mongering happens on this site, and others too for that matter. We undermine people’s confidence by systematically highlighting the negatives, the risks, the dangers—everything that *might*, *could*, or *occasionally* go wrong.

I disagree.

We’re not scaring people or undermining their confidence—we’re giving them objective information!

It’s honestly not helpful to promise them the moon when the path to get there isn’t guaranteed.

For some, a trip is a major investment—their savings from months or even years. It’s also limited time; not everyone is retired or financially independent. Five weeks of paid leave isn’t much if unexpected obstacles disrupt the journey.

Travelers dream for months before departure, so it’s only fair to help ensure that dream goes as smoothly as possible by avoiding the most obvious pitfalls.

The pitfalls with flights? Delays, cancellations, or missed connections. It’s also about the airline or the third-party seller where the ticket was bought.

Here’s my advice:

- Always buy your ticket directly from the airline’s website - If booking separate flights, allow at least a 24-hour buffer during layovers - Avoid tight connections, especially on the outbound trip - Never schedule anything non-refundable or expensive in the first two days - Don’t return the day before an important event (job interview, exam, etc.) - If traveling with others, split everyone’s belongings across different suitcases - Pack a change of clothes and essentials in your carry-on - Never book a low-cost airline if you can’t afford a last-minute return ticket in case of cancellation (or handle unexpected changes on your own)

It’s just common sense.

We’re not here to scare, we’re not here to undermine confidence—we’re just sharing information objectively! It’s really not doing anyone any favors to promise them the moon when the path to get there isn’t guaranteed.

I’m not talking about making any promises here. This whole Etihad connection issue is just representative of a certain mindset. Objectively, since that’s the word you like, objectively, if it’s on the airline’s schedule, if it’s being sold, on routes that are sold and flown every day, then it works out fine in the vast, vast majority of cases. So, 90–95% of the time, there’s objectively no problem. Then there’s the mix of fears and the rather perverse effect of too much information. I’m often a victim of it myself: too informed to be well-informed, I end up creating problems for myself, imagining things, speculating about possible, probable, or likely situations with factors I can’t even measure. That famous "precautionary principle" has really worn down our minds and done a lot of damage to our European civilization. I agree with your list of cautious tips, but the risk itself might be acceptable—you just have to own it.

Michel

Whether it's 20 or 40 minutes, it was your tone that bothered me, saying "I don’t know who said that" when you know perfectly well. Condescension or contempt—you’re not the teacher, and I’m not the student.

No, I knew I had read it in the discussion, but I was replying to someone else and couldn’t remember who had written it.

And yeah, I was too lazy to open another window to display the whole discussion in one and the reply I’d already almost finished in the other.

Have a good evening. Michel

So, at 90-95%, there’s *objectively* no problem.

That’s not enough to be reassuring.

Someone who’s heading off with time to spare and a carefree attitude can take that option.

Best case, their flight goes as planned. Worst case, they lose a day on arrival and gain 600 €.

But someone who’s only going for 15 days and has their trip all planned out can’t afford to lose a day.

I’ve dealt with too many delays and cancellations that ruined part of my trip to settle for your statistic.

I’ll also add that not everyone has the physical ability to sprint through an airport...

Hello,

We don’t scare people, we don’t undermine confidence—we provide objective information!

It’s really not doing anyone a favor to promise them the moon when the path to get there isn’t guaranteed.

For some, a trip is a major investment—the savings of a few months or even years. It’s also limited time; not everyone is retired or financially independent. Five weeks of paid leave isn’t much if unexpected obstacles disrupt the trip.

Travelers dream for months before departure, so it’s best to ensure that dream goes as smoothly as possible by avoiding the most obvious pitfalls.

When it comes to flying, the pitfalls are delays, cancellations, or missed connections. It’s also about the airline or the third-party seller where the ticket was purchased.

For my part, I recommend:

- Always buying your ticket directly from the airline’s website - Avoiding separate tickets without allowing a 24-hour buffer during layovers - Forgetting about tight connections, especially on the outbound flight - Never planning anything non-refundable or expensive in the first two days - Never returning the day before an important event (job interview, exam, etc.) - Mixing everyone’s belongings across different suitcases if traveling in a group - Packing a change of clothes and essentials in your carry-on - Never booking a low-cost flight if you can’t afford a last-minute return ticket in case of cancellation (or don’t have the ability to adapt on your own)

It’s just common sense.

I 100% agree with every word you said. I’d add a few examples:

- SmartTags on checked luggage—those have already come in handy for me. - Spending at least one night in the city of your return flight to avoid a long trip and any potential issues (traffic jams, mechanical problems, etc.) - Booking a first hotel that’s cancelable without fees up to the last minute in case of flight-related surprises.

Hello,

A 1-hour connection anywhere means you’ve got to be a bit of a gambler. And when you gamble, you’ve got to accept some constraints sometimes. It all depends on a few factors:

If you miss your Etihad connection, they’ll put you on the next available flight, which could be the next day, with another airline, or via another city. In that case, the airline covers accommodation, meals, and transfers. Would you be okay losing a day, or is your schedule tight?

Don’t plan anything important within 48 hours of your theoretical arrival time.

Sometimes, you might catch your connection thanks to dedicated staff waiting for you when you get off your first flight. However, your checked baggage might not make it and could arrive 24 or 48 hours later.

If you’re okay with these three points, then go for it. As a safety net, pre-book (even if it costs a bit more) a seat as far forward as possible on your first flight. That’ll save you time when disembarking.

I’m also heading to Australia in a few months, and I’ve opted for a 4-hour layover in Qatar. That way, I can handle a potential 2.5-hour delay on my first flight. And most importantly, no stress. I’m not a gambler, and my time is precious.

You can make a mistake with a hotel where you’re only staying a few nights—it’s not the end of the world. But air travel and car rentals are two *very* important things you shouldn’t overlook.

Airlines try to set the MCT (Minimum Connecting Time) as short as possible because professional booking systems are configured that way. On most websites, you can usually filter by trip duration, price, and departure or arrival time. The shorter the trip, the higher it’ll appear in the results—where people tend to click first. This can be misleading because the MCT is purely theoretical and only works when *everything* goes perfectly. Airports like Frankfurt, Munich, and Vienna, for example, have *very* short MCTs that can be tricky at the slightest hiccup.

Make the right choice.

My connection was canceled because it was below the MCT

Well, no, it was canceled because they had closed the gates before you could reach them.

l

Hello,

It seemed to me that I had expressed myself clearly (I quote):

"So, my connection was canceled, with re-routing on a later flight (+ over 3 hours later), even though I was still in the air on the first flight segment, which had no delay."

To be even clearer, when I disembarked from the first flight segment, I already had a message from Iberia on my smartphone canceling my connection and informing me of the re-routing to Paris a few hours later.

Anyone with an Iberia connection in Madrid knows that Iberia sends every connecting passenger a message on their smartphone indicating the next steps as soon as they’re known. This could be a cancellation message as soon as the connection is canceled (possibly, as in my case, before the first flight segment lands, since the connection time was below the MCT), or it could be the terminal and boarding gate for the next flight segment as soon as that’s known.

I’ll come back to your "few dozen euros." For a couple with one child on a long-haul flight, that’s 1,800 € in compensation. Are you that wealthy to consider 1,800 € as "just a few dozen euros"?

Just to clarify, I’m a frequent traveler, and most of the time, I travel alone. For me personally, those "few dozen euros" are:

- August 2025, Swiss International Air Lines, 1,300 €. Time spent: 1 registered letter (one page), then filling out a form with the arguments I drafted during my long wait for the re-routing flight (several days), then a simple one-page letter, then another form for the court with nearly the same arguments. The biggest time commitment, aside from drafting the arguments (which actually helped pass the time during my long wait), was attending a hearing a few kilometers from my home—so, a morning. Roughly, all in all, about one day after my return.

https://retardimportantavion.wordpress.com/2024/01/12/reacheminement-catastrophique-droit-indemnisation-meme-circonstances-extraordinaires-2/

August and September 2025 (payment split into three parts because the airline was stubborn) Lufthansa, ordered to pay me 807.89 €. Time spent: 1 registered letter, then filling out a form with a few pages of arguments. No court appearance ("European Small Claims Procedure"). But I had to go to a bailiff a few kilometers from my home because the airline didn’t comply with the court decision, then 3 very brief emails to Lufthansa’s lawyer, showing a bit of firmness, to get the full 807.89 € + 80 € in bailiff fees. Roughly, all in all, about a day and a half.

https://retardimportantavion.wordpress.com/2024/10/23/lufthansa-championne-du-refus-des-droits-des-passagers/

- October 2025, Air Caraïbes, 600 €. Time spent: 1 registered letter, then filling out a form with a short one-page argument, then a brief email to Air Caraïbes, and that’s it. Roughly, exaggerating a bit, half a day.

https://retardimportantavion.wordpress.com/2025/06/13/vol-air-caraibes-saint-domingue-paris-12-06-2025-annule/

In total, counting generously, 2 days for 3 cases (and a lot of patience) for a total of 2,707.89 € (not counting the 80 € in advanced and reimbursed fees), from which you’d subtract the few costs for registered letters and some metro tickets. And above all, the immense satisfaction that airlines can’t always consider themselves above the law, disregarding passengers.

Are you that wealthy, earning over 1,350 € per day, to think that 2,700 € isn’t worth 2 days of work?

Best regards,

Hey, Just a few quick questions that matter for your "layover": Do you have a SINGLE ticket from Paris to Melbourne? Did you buy that ticket DIRECTLY from the airline’s website?

It’s not enough to be reassuring.

Someone who’s heading off with time to spare and a carefree attitude might go for this option.

At best, their flight will go as planned. At worst, they’ll lose a day upon arrival and gain 600 €.

But someone who’s only going for 15 days and has planned their trip carefully can’t afford to lose a day.

You know, I sometimes fly out of Rennes, and occasionally from Brest too. In Rennes, it’s KLM—they use an Embraer 170. If there’s over 30 knots of crosswind, especially from the south, the flight likely won’t come, and rebooking gets complicated. If things go wrong, I either lose the trip or have to jump in the car, race to Paris, and try to salvage the plan. I’ve done it before—once, a flight from Brest was canceled with no serious rebooking options because the staff needed to repair lightning damage were unavailable over the weekend.

When I say it’s a question of mindset, I mean you always have to accept some risk, even if that’s not really in our culture anymore.

Missing the connection in Abu Dhabi feels like a pretty low risk to me—just a few percent. There are other risks along the way that travelers, thankfully, don’t even think about.

I’ve experienced too many delays and cancellations that ruined part of my trip to settle for your statistics.

To me, that’s a common attitude in our aging world, but it’s not reasonable. No matter which flight you take or what connection you have, there’s always some risk—usually around 3%—that things won’t work out. The rules already protect you well in terms of refunds and rebooking, and I don’t see what more you need.

Michel

Hi, Yes, full-fare Paris–Melbourne ticket bought at a travel agency. Best regards,

You know, I sometimes fly from Rennes, and rarely from Brest. In Rennes, it's KLM—they use an Embraer 170.

I rarely fly from Clermont-Ferrand—I don’t want to miss my connection. Even less so by train, actually... I prefer pre-traveling by car—it’s way more reliable. Or spending a night near the layover airport. As a Breton, I’d leave from Nantes or make my way to Paris by car or train (those routes are much more reliable than Paris-Clermont...).

No matter the connection, there’s always some risk.

True, but you can *greatly* reduce that risk by taking the precautions I mentioned in another post. Then it just becomes bad luck. That’s different.

To me, it’s a common attitude in our aging world, but not a reasonable one.

Like Jojoone1, you’re equating getting older with becoming set in one’s ways. But gaining years means gaining wisdom and learning from mistakes.

No need to take avoidable risks!

The main thing is this: you have a single ticket. The airline will sort things out if you miss your connection. Just make sure to book something cancellable for the first two days and pack some extra clothes. Also, don’t plan any new travel to another destination in Australia within the first 2 days.

I think you might’ve sent this to the wrong person. 😉

I rarely leave from Clermont-Ferrand; I don’t want to miss my connection. Not to mention by train, even less so... I prefer pre-routing by car—it’s much more reliable.

Yeah, me too, most of the time, but that means 550 km to Paris or 950 to Amsterdam. At some point, it still adds up heavily on the car’s annual mileage.

Breton here, I’d leave from Nantes or get to Paris by car or train (those lines are way more reliable than Paris-Clermont...)

Nantes is pointless—it’s basically a charter airport, packed and with no services, mostly low-cost flights. The parking is super expensive too. Bad deal.

Tomorrow I’m doing Tbilisi-Istanbul-Warsaw, arriving at 8 PM and leaving on another flight the next day at 11 AM. There’s a risk. I’ll take it. Besides, I’ve got an even tighter connection a few days later. This generation wants everything risk-free; they’ve pushed for zero risk, the precautionary principle, mandatory insurance. Let me see that as a certain weakness—one that also shows in our global standing, something you really notice when traveling. Don’t you agree?

Michel

Like Jojoone1, you equate getting older with becoming set in your ways. But gaining years means gaining wisdom and learning from your mistakes.

No need to take avoidable risks!

Absolutely. That’s also called experience 😉

Hello, Yes, full Paris–Melbourne ticket booked through a travel agency. Best regards

If the ticket’s already booked, it’s a bit late to ask your initial question. Stack the odds in your favor with the info and tips shared in the other replies.

I think you sent that to the wrong person.😉

The problem when you read on your smartphone 😅 I deleted the message 😉

Good evening Jérôme,

Absolutely. That’s also called experience

That seems a bit simplistic to me; experience also means understanding that we’ll never think of everything, and that our precautions depend on our own priorities. For the textbook case we’re discussing here, I’m optimistic, and I think I would’ve taken the risk—unless I wanted to visit the hub lounge and enjoy it a bit, or make a stopover. It’s possible that at Etihad’s hub, there’s also a bypass that lets passengers with very short connections skip security. There might be something like that behind this tight connection. I also learned since that Abu Dhabi’s MCT is 45 minutes.

Michel

Hello Michel,

That does seem a bit simplistic; experience is also about understanding that we’ll never think of everything, and our precautions depend on our own priorities.

We all have different priorities.

For the textbook case we’re discussing here, I’m optimistic, and I think I would have taken the risk

Yes, me too—but only if I accepted the three conditions I mentioned in my post #25. That’s not my case right now. So personally, I try to stack the odds in my favor, even though something unexpected can always happen.

, unless you feel like visiting the hub lounge and enjoying it a bit, or making a stopover.

A lounge visit and a shower between two flights are always nice. A stopover is also a great solution to quickly discover a city you hadn’t necessarily planned to visit. It’s just a matter of time.

It’s possible that at Etihad’s hub, there’s also a bypass that allows passengers with very short connections to skip the security screening. Maybe there’s something like that behind this short connection.

Security screening isn’t always required between two flights, depending on the airport’s layout. Since I haven’t been to Abu Dhabi in years, I don’t know how it works now.

I also learned since that the MCT in Abu Dhabi is 45 minutes.

As I mentioned in my post #25, the MCT is theoretical, and everything has to go perfectly. Does Etihad offer an escort for short connections? That’s an interesting question to ask them. It would be very reassuring.

I just checked out of curiosity, picking a random date—November 19th, in this case.





In this case, EY is using an A380 for the first flight. If the flight is full and you’re seated at the back, it takes a while to disembark. That’s why I recommend pre-reserving a seat as close to the front as possible. If the flight is full, it’s a real time-saver.

This generation wants everything without risk; they’ve promoted zero risk, the precautionary principle, mandatory mutual insurance.

Which generation are you talking about?

(So many generalizations in just a few words...)

Zero risk doesn’t exist. It’s up to each person to know which risks they’re willing to take with full awareness.

What’s annoying, in my opinion, are the people who come complaining because they played and lost even though they knew they were taking a risk. If you say okay to the risk, you own it.

Not those who try to avoid trouble.

Hi, all the better, so if there’s ever an issue in Abu Dhabi you’ll be rebooked on another flight (I see from a quick search there’s a possible “option” via Sydney). Still, picking a seat on the Paris–Abu Dhabi leg (as another VF member suggested) might be a smart move!! Safe travels

Thanks, I’ll follow your scattered tips 😄

Thanks, I’ll follow your awesome tips! 😄

Good evening,

Just now, the last two passengers boarded one minute before the official departure time, which was respected as the jet bridge was closed and retracted immediately after. And this is something I’ve seen often. I thought of you when I saw that 😄. TK1263 Maybe we just don’t have experience with the same airlines.

Michel

Good evening,

Just now, two last passengers boarded one minute before the official departure time, which was respected as the jet bridge was closed and retracted right after. And this is something I’ve seen often. I thought of you when I saw that 😄. TK1263 Maybe we just don’t have experience with the same airlines.

Michel

Hello,

This isn’t anything out of the ordinary. Here’s my own experience:

After successfully claiming compensation from Iberia for three delayed flights (three hours or more to final destination), I took another connecting flight with Iberia.

Before departure, I checked the schedule. There had been a slight change, making the layover in Madrid just under the Minimum Connecting Time (MCT). I arrived in Madrid and noticed the schedule had been adjusted again (not delayed, but actually changed). I was no longer below the MCT.

I reached the gate for the second leg of the flight. Someone called out to me from a distance: "Paris?" From just as far, I replied "yes." They checked my documents, I boarded the plane, and the door closed behind me. I took my seat—there was a flight attendant sitting there. I settled in, and the plane took off almost immediately.

Another, more common scenario: A passenger whose checked baggage has already been loaded arrives at the gate after the boarding cutoff. It’s important to know that, unless it’s a case of luggage that didn’t follow its owner from a previous flight, a suitcase can’t travel without its owner on the plane.

The airline has to make a choice:

- If the passenger’s luggage hasn’t been located yet to be offloaded, stop the search and let the passenger board; or - Refuse the passenger and continue searching the hold to offload the luggage.

The choice is quickly made!

Conclusion: Even with an airline that strictly enforces the MCT, there are exceptions.

Best regards

Conclusion: Even with an airline that strictly enforces the MCT, there are exceptions.

Yes, of course. In the vast majority of cases, passengers make their connection—no airline wants the hassle of putting passengers up for the night unless it’s absolutely unavoidable. I love Turkish Airlines, and most of my flights are with them because they’re pragmatic, professional, and genuinely attentive to passengers. That’s why I trust them.

Michel

At Etihad’s hub, there might also be a bypass that allows passengers with very short connections to skip the security checkpoint. There could be something like that behind this short connection. I’ve also learned since that Abu Dhabi’s MCT is 45 minutes.

Michel

Question about these short connections: back in the day, there used to be agents waiting at the end of the jet bridge with a sign showing a flight number and destination, shouting "Tokyo?", "Paris?", and then running off as soon as they’d gathered all their passengers to the right boarding gate.

That doesn’t exist anymore, and it’s been replaced by "bypass" systems… maybe one day they’ll be paid services for those who get anxious about short connections?

Good evening,

It no longer exists, and has therefore been replaced by "by-pass" formulas... and might one day be chargeable for those anxious about short connections?

It still exists, but it's become rarer. I can mainly speak for Istanbul, which I know best; signage there allows you to bypass the security checkpoint if you have a connection under 90 minutes. That said, the other day, all connecting passengers—including me—were directed straight to the main hall without any further formalities or screening.

It’s also increasingly common for the connection option to be explicitly announced in the cabin before landing, with gate numbers and reassuring words.

Michel

Hey, Has the trip already happened?? If so, it’d be great if you could tell us about the layover!! Hoping you made your second flight without any issues!! Anyway, is a one-hour connection at Etihad’s hub doable?!

Not yet, trip planned for March 2026 😉