TL;DR: On a connecting flight you change planes at an intermediate airport. On a single booking, bags are usually transferred by the airline; on separate bookings you usually collect them and check them in again, and minimum connection times do not apply. The minimum connection time is set per airport and airline, and when entering the US you clear inspection at the first port of entry. Israel's Aviation Services Law refers to the final destination on the ticket.
What is a Connecting Flight?
A connecting flight is a route with a stop at an intermediate airport and a change of plane, for example Tel Aviv → Frankfurt → New York. Israel's Aviation Services Law defines an "intermediate stop" as a stay at an intermediate destination of no more than 24 hours, for a connecting flight to the final destination. On a flight with an intermediate stop, the "final destination" under the law is the last destination stated on the ticket.
Single Booking or Separate Bookings
According to Heathrow Airport, most connecting passengers do not need to collect their bags, which are transferred directly by the airline, and anyone unsure is asked to check with the airline. Someone who booked two flights separately will most likely need to collect their bags and check them in again for the next flight, and as far as the airport is concerned is not a connecting passenger at all.
Minimum Connection Time
Heathrow writes that the connection time depends on the route, the airline and whether you need to collect bags or change terminals, so there is "no single answer" and you need to confirm it with your airline. On a single booking, the airline quotes a minimum connection time. On separate bookings those times do not apply, and Heathrow advises allowing plenty of extra time for baggage reclaim, passport control, changing terminals, check-in and security.
Examples of what airlines publish:
- Lufthansa at Frankfurt: since 30 March 2025 the minimum connecting time on its flights is 60 minutes. The previous exception, of 45 to 50 minutes, no longer applies.
- KLM at Schiphol: the minimum transfer time is "usually around 50 minutes". Passengers arriving from a non-Schengen country go through additional security checks, which may require more time.
Entering the USA, Canada and Australia
- USA: according to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), inspection is completed at the first port of entry: you collect your bags from the carousel, clear inspection and continue to your connecting flight. At major airports bags are re-checked right after inspection. Passengers precleared abroad (Preclearance) bypass inspection on arrival in the US and go straight to their connecting flight. Preclearance operates at 16 locations in 6 countries, for example Dublin.
- Canada: according to the Canada Border Services Agency, an international passenger continuing to an international flight does not collect their bags if the airline transfers them automatically and the connecting flight is on the same day. Otherwise you collect them from the carousel and clear inspection.
- Australia: according to Australia's Department of Home Affairs, the arrangements vary by airport. At Darwin, for example, there is no inter-aircraft baggage transfer, so you clear immigration to collect your bags.
When the First Flight Is Delayed
Israel's Aviation Services Law applies to flights from and to Israel, including a flight with an intermediate stop. A flight that took off at least eight hours late is treated by the law as a cancelled flight, and the passenger is then entitled, among other things, to an alternative ticket to their final destination, food and drink according to the waiting time, and a hotel when an overnight stay is needed. From a delay of at least two hours, the passenger is entitled to food and drink and communication services. Details are in the passenger rights guide.
EU Regulation 261 applies to flights departing the European Union, and to flights into the Union only when the operating airline is European. Under the Folkerts judgment of the EU Court of Justice, on connecting flights compensation depends on the delay at the final destination: a passenger who reached the final destination at least 3 hours late is entitled to compensation, even if the first flight left with a shorter delay.
Connection Hubs from Israel
The situation changes. According to the airlines:
- Emirates: on 30 September 2026 it suspended its codeshare flights with flydubai to and from Tel Aviv, until further notice, and does not accept passengers whose final destination is Tel Aviv.
- KLM: resumed flights between Amsterdam and Tel Aviv from 25 August 2026, with a technical stop in Larnaca.
According to the Israel Airports Authority data we keep, between 5 September and 4 October 2026 Lufthansa flew from Ben Gurion to Frankfurt, KLM to Amsterdam, Aegean to Athens and Air France to Paris. There was no flight at all to Istanbul, and no British Airways flight to London.
Sources: Israel's Aviation Services Law (Nevo), EU Regulation 261 and the Folkerts judgment (EUR-Lex), Heathrow Airport, Lufthansa, KLM, Emirates, US Customs and Border Protection, the Canada Border Services Agency, Australia's Department of Home Affairs, Israel Airports Authority data.
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