I am a rookie at all of this, and am now kind of worried that I booked my family's return flights without enough time for connecting flights. We will be flying out of Florence to Amsterdam, with only a one hour layover before we catch the last leg of our flight back to the U.S. Is this going to be a problem?
Posted by
Green Bay
22753 posts
It is a legal connection, thus you were able to book it. Problem is that if your inbound flight is delayed and you miss your flight to the US, there may not be another flight until the following day. You will have to pass through Schengen exit passport control that separates two sections of Amsterdam airport. If it is tight, you can inform the people monitoring the line that you have a connection in under 30 minutes and get moved up if there is a big line.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you!
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
7531 posts
This is a very frequent question on the forum. If you like, you could search on your title, and you should get a bunch of folks that have provided their experience. Three main points:
This is a "legal" connection time. If your flights are on one ticket, the airline will take care of you should you miss your flight. Occasionally, the second flight may be held for you.
I have had a connections of one hour, even less, in Amsterdam, a number of times and we've never missed the second flight, though one time it was obvious the plane was waiting for us.
Know your gates, find out where your first flight lands, and where the second one leaves, be assertive at check points, there is often a line for folks with short connecting. Go to the restroom towards the end of your first flight, so you don't need a pitstop at Schipol.
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
3454 posts
As jules m said, prepare yourself ahead and I suggest using the Schiphol travel planner to find out just how busy the airport will be that day https://www.schiphol.nl/en/my-travel-day/today/departures/ Successful short layover will depend on how quickly you can deplane, plus the time of year, time of day, and passport control efficiency. If you miss your connection, it's true the airline must get you on the next available flight home, but it might not be that day if there is not more than one flight a day to your home destination - in my case from AMS the next direct flight would not be until two days later.
Your outgoing flight may be in the security and boarding process before your flight from Florence even gets to a gate. You will have to move with purpose, no delays, no bathroom stops, and if you have checked luggage make sure it's tagged correctly so if it misses your connection it will eventually find its way to you. If it were me, I would see if I could change to an earlier flight from Florence to give myself more time, especially if you are traveling with young children and checked bags. If you can't, do some prep work and develop a plan B if things don't go well (research alternative flight options, overnight hotel options, etc.). Best of luck!
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
5347 posts
If it is tight, you can inform the people monitoring the line that you
have a connection in under 30 minutes and get moved up if there is a
big line.
We connected through Amsterdam last Friday morning and there was a separate line at Passport Control for people with tight connections. I think the monitor said to use that line if your connection was 30 minutes or less. We were in the other line and it said wait time was 35-45 minutes, but we were through in 15.