Is 1hr10min transfer time enough at Washington DC airport coming from Europe?
I am flying from Frankfurt in Germany to Orlando via Washington DC. I have only 1hr10min to board my flight between DC and Orlando. Someone told me that the this is not enough and I might miss my plane due to the long lines at customs. Anyone working at an American airport that can throw some light? I am flying with a Lufthansa/ UA ticket all the way.
Air Travel - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
one hour ten would be plenty of time in LA or JFK .. from what I heard DC is pretty fast . providing you dont have to much to declare... peace
2 :
This is really not enough time! Customs and immigration can take 1 hour if they are busy. In fact, the minimum connecting time WITHOUT going through Customs is 45 minutes.... BTW...did you know that you can fly non-stop from Frankfurt to Orlando on Condor Flugdeinst?
3 :
Agreed that this may not be enough time with customs. Talk with the airline about your concern and see what they recommend.
4 :
If you are a US citizen, then I would say you are just fine. If you are not a citizen then you may not make it. Queues for foreigners going into any country can be very long and take some time to get you through. When I go to Japan, it sometimes takes as long as two hours just to get to customs, since the immigration line is so long. I see similar issues here when I come home to SFO. I walk through in like 10 minutes, but when my fiance visits from Japan it sometimes takes up to 90 minutes (she's a Japanese citizen, not American, yet), though it's normally around 35-50 minutes. I don't know if I want to take the risk. Maybe let you pass through because you are still going to an American airport and then you can go through immigration and customs there. I would check with the airline and Dulles to see what they say.
5 :
I would recommend giving yourself more time. The customs lines & security lines arent the only thing to consider. At this time of year, you need to think about weather too. Pilots may have to go a bit out of the way to fly out of the path of a lightning storm. Or the airport you're flying into or out of may be experiencing weather delays themselves... Good luck & happy traveling...
