British Airways tries to fix its Heathrow problems by increasing Minimum Connection Times
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
From January, British Airways will increase its minimum connection times at Heathrow by 25%.
Minimum Connection Times (often referred to as MCTs) govern the shortest time available for bookable flight connections. These are set by airlines and airports to ensure you have the best chances of making it from one flight to the next and to prevent you from booking flights where you (and your baggage!) would not have enough time to transfer to the next flight.
Minimum connection times can vary by airport and airline, with ticketing websites taking into account any MCTs as part of your itinerary.
The MCT is calculated as the period between the scheduled arrival of your first flight and the scheduled departure of your second.
At most airports, it is between 30 and 90 minutes, depending on whether you are connecting to a domestic or international flight, as well as the size of the terminal. At Munich, for example, German effiiciency means that they can offer a Minimum Connection Time of 30 minutes.
British Airways increases Minimum Connection Time to 75 minutes
At present, British Airways operates an MCT of 60 minutes for connections at its hub in London Heathrow. This increases to 90 minutes if you need to change terminal.
This is changing in early January. British Airways has already started emailing passengers whose flights no longer meet the MCT guidelines:
“From 9th January 2024 we are changing our connection times at London Heathrow. Due to this change, your upcoming British Airways connection at London Heathrow will no longer be possible. We are in the process of reviewing your booking to ensure you can make your connection and if required we will look to rebook your connection/s free of charge on your behalf.”
The change is likely due to an increasing number of passengers failing to make their connections due to delays at security, immigration or simply delayed arriving aircraft
The change only applies to passengers connecting from:
- a long haul flight to another long haul, short haul or domestic flight
- a domestic flight to a short haul or long haul flight
Minimum Connection Times from one domestic flight to another remain unchanged at 60 minutes. Inter-terminal MCTs remain at 90 minutes.
How this affects existing bookings
As noted in BA’s email, it is currently reviewing existing bookings to ensure that you have enough time to make it to your second flight.
British Airways has confirmed to us that anyone with a minimum connection of less than 75 minutes from the 9th January will be rebooked onto another flight. This will be free of charge.
BA was unable to tell us how many passengers would be affected, although it is likely to be a relatively small figure as most people prefer to book flights with slightly longer connection times when they can.
What about new bookings?
Any flights now bookable will take into account the new minimum connection times and you will only be offered flights at Heathrow with at least 75 minutes between arrival and departure.
You won’t be able to book a flight with an MCT of less than 75 minutes, even if there is an earlier flight departing.
In the medium term it is likely that timetable adjustments will be required to ensure that the most popular connecting routes are not forcing passengers into multi-hour waits – something that is likely to ensure they book elsewhere.
This won’t be straightforward, given that British Airways does not operate a ‘bank’ structure like Emirates or Qatar Airways with long haul arrivals landing (and later departing) back to back in short bursts.
Conclusion
British Airways clearly feels that more customers than it would like are missing their connections and – with the underlying problems seemingly unfixable – is increasing Minimum Connection Times in order to reduce misconnects.
It does mean that British Airways now has one of the longest minimum connection times at its hub at Heathrow versus its competitors. Paris Charles de Gaulle has a 60 minute connection time, whilst at Schiphol it is 50 minutes. Things are even better in Zurich (40 minutes) and Munich (30 minutes).
A 75-minute same-terminal minimum connection time suggests that Heathrow and British Airways are still struggling to ramp up services in the post-pandemic environment. At least passengers in the future should have a better chance of making their flight.
If your booking has been affected you may wish to join the discussion on our forums.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (October 2024)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
Run your own business?
We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
10,000 points bonus – plus an extra 500 points for our readers Read our full review
There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:
British Airways American Express Accelerating Business
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Avios. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.
American Express Business Platinum
Up to 80,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
Get up to 40,000 points as a sign-up offer and FREE for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
Matthias 
Rhys 
Richie 
SamG 
Richard Peters 
Harry T 
Andrew 
Alex Sm 
Bagoly 
NFH 
Aston100 
Phillip 
Gareth Oakley 
Fraser 
SammyJ 
Qrfan 
BA Flyer IHG Stayer 
Alan 
Peter K 
John 
Jordan D 
No Longer Entitled 
Marcin 
Comments (154)