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Is your Houston layover actually long enough?
Houston is the most precisely documented of the big US–Latin America hubs and the most forgiving. IAH publishes the whole airside train run to the second, which means the arithmetic below rests on a real figure rather than an estimate. Every line shows its source.
18 minutes to spare — tight
You have 50 minutes after the delay. This connection needs about 32. Possible, with nothing going wrong. A gate change or a slow bag removes the margin.
| 5m | Skyway people mover between terminals | Houston Airport System, IAH Connecting Passengers |
| 12m | Walk to and from the platform | our allowance |
| 15m | Gate closes before departure | typical published gate cutoff |
| 32m | needed in total | |
Arithmetic, not a prediction — we hold no data that would let us put a probability on your flight, so we do not pretend to. The gate cutoff is a typical published figure; confirm your airline’s. Your airline’s app knows your actual gates, which we do not.
What IAH publishes, and what we assume
IAH gives us something no other hub on this site does: an exact number. The Skyway run from the Terminal A station to the Terminal D/E station — the full width of the airport — is published as 4 minutes 15 seconds, with trains every two minutes, entirely inside security. That is the whole airport, not a neighbouring pair, which makes a terminal change at Houston close to free in time terms. Compare it with LAX, where crossing the horseshoe on foot costs three quarters of an hour.
The trap is the other train. IAH runs a Subway below ground as well as the Skyway above it, and the Subway is pre-security. Take it while connecting and you have left the secure area and must queue for screening again, converting a five-minute transfer into a thirty-minute one. It also shuts overnight, roughly 12:15am to 3:15am, so it is no use on exactly the late-night misconnection where you would most want a way across the airport.
One honest caveat about Terminal B. IAH's interterminal transport page lists Skyway stations in Terminals A, B, C and D/E; its connecting passengers page lists only A, C and D/E. We cannot resolve which is current from outside, so if Terminal B is either end of your connection, confirm it at the airport rather than trusting either page — this one included.
- IAH publishes the whole Skyway run — Terminal A to Terminal D/E — as 4 minutes 15 seconds, inside security, with trains every two minutes. That is the entire airport end to end, which makes IAH the most forgiving of the four for a domestic connection.
- The Subway is the pre-security equivalent and the one to avoid while connecting, because using it means clearing security again. It also closes overnight, roughly 12:15am to 3:15am, so it is not a fallback on a late misconnection.
- IAH's own pages disagree about Terminal B: the interterminal transport page lists Skyway stations in A, B, C and D/E, while the connecting passengers page lists only A, C and D/E. If Terminal B is either end of your connection, confirm at the airport rather than trusting either page — including this one.
- Terminals D and E share the international arrivals facility, so an inbound international flight clears CBP there whatever the onward gate.
Every terminal pair at IAH, and what the transfer costs
IAH publishes one end-to-end figure that already covers its worst case, so every one of the 10 pairs below costs the same 17 minutes. That is what the airport states, and inventing a shorter number for neighbouring terminals to make the table look busier would be a guess dressed as a measurement.
Each figure is the published skyway people mover time, plus a 12-minute allowance for reaching it and walking to the far gate — an allowance, because the airport does not publish that part and we do not pretend it does. Border formalities and your airline’s gate cutoff are added on top by the calculator above, since those belong to an itinerary rather than to a walk.
| Transfer | Allow | Re-screening |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal A to Terminal B | 17 min | No — stays airside |
| Terminal A to Terminal C | 17 min | No — stays airside |
| Terminal A to Terminal D | 17 min | No — stays airside |
| Terminal A to Terminal E | 17 min | No — stays airside |
| Terminal B to Terminal C | 17 min | No — stays airside |
| Terminal B to Terminal D | 17 min | No — stays airside |
| Terminal B to Terminal E | 17 min | No — stays airside |
| Terminal C to Terminal D | 17 min | No — stays airside |
| Terminal C to Terminal E | 17 min | No — stays airside |
| Terminal D to Terminal E | 17 min | No — stays airside |
Houston Airport System, IAH Connecting Passengers · verified 2026-07-29
If you do misconnect, what your airline owes you
Start with the thing most articles get wrong: no US regulation requires an airline to give anyone a hotel. Searching for one in the rules turns up nothing, because it is not there.
What is there is better. 14 CFR § 259.5(a) requires every covered carrier to “adopt a Customer Service Plan … and adhere to the plan’s terms”, and § 259.5(b)(14) requires that plan to identify “the services it provides to mitigate passenger inconveniences resulting from flight cancellations and misconnections” — the word is in the regulation. So the demand is never “the law says you owe me a hotel”. It is “your own published plan says this, and the law requires you to keep to it”, which is narrower and much harder to refuse.
It applies only where the disruption was within the airline’s control — crew, maintenance, scheduling. Weather and air traffic control are outside it, and every plan below is scoped accordingly.
Read 14 CFR § 259.5| Airline | Hotel | Transport | Meals (3h+) | Rebook on another airline | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlinesonly on request | Their plan | ||||
| Delta Air Lines | Their plan | ||||
| United Airlines | DOT dashboard | ||||
| Southwest Airlines | DOT dashboard |
Two ticks worth reading closely. American commits to these only on request, so nobody hands them to you — the letter below is that request. And Southwest is the one carrier here with no commitment to rebook you onto a different airline, because it holds no interline agreements; on a Southwest misconnection the next Southwest seat is the only seat, which makes its overnight commitments matter more rather than less. Verified 2026-07-29; we re-read these plans by 2027-01-29.
Hotel, meals and transport after a American Airlines misconnection
American Airlines delayed your inbound flight for a reason within its control, you missed your connection, and you are stuck overnight away from home.
Subject: 14 CFR § 259.5(a) — services due after a misconnection on [FLIGHT NUMBER], [CONFIRMATION CODE]
To whom it may concern,
On [FLIGHT DATE] I travelled on American Airlines flight [FLIGHT NUMBER], [ROUTE], under confirmation code [CONFIRMATION CODE] in the name [YOUR NAME]. That flight arrived late and I missed my connection on flight [MISSED FLIGHT NUMBER]. The reason given for the delay was: [REASON GIVEN]. On that reason the disruption was within your control rather than caused by weather or air traffic control.
14 CFR § 259.5(a) provides that each covered carrier "must adopt a Customer Service Plan ... and adhere to the plan's terms". 14 CFR § 259.5(b)(14) requires that plan to identify "the services it provides to mitigate passenger inconveniences resulting from flight cancellations and misconnections".
Your published Customer Service Plan states:
"A voucher for an approved hotel with available rooms if you are delayed overnight if you're away from your city of residence."
"Transportation to a hotel and back to the airport by hotel shuttle / third-party transportation service, or a transportation voucher."
"Meal vouchers if your delay is 3 or more hours after your scheduled departure."
I am requesting those services now. Specifically: hotel accommodation for the night I was delayed, ground transportation to and from that hotel, and the meal provision your plan describes. Your plan conditions these on a request being made. This letter is that request.
I note your plan excludes events beyond your control: "If the delay or cancellation is caused by events beyond our control (like weather), you are responsible for your own overnight accommodations, meals and incidental expenses." That exclusion does not reach this disruption, for the reason stated above.
Where I have already paid these costs myself, they are: [COSTS INCURRED]. I am requesting reimbursement of those amounts.
Please confirm in writing what you will provide, or your reason for declining. If you decline, I will file a complaint with the US Department of Transportation Aviation Consumer Protection Division, which enforces § 259.5(a).
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]Hotel, meals and transport after a Delta Air Lines misconnection
Delta Air Lines delayed your inbound flight for a reason within its control, you missed your connection, and you are stuck overnight away from home.
Subject: 14 CFR § 259.5(a) — services due after a misconnection on [FLIGHT NUMBER], [CONFIRMATION CODE]
To whom it may concern,
On [FLIGHT DATE] I travelled on Delta Air Lines flight [FLIGHT NUMBER], [ROUTE], under confirmation code [CONFIRMATION CODE] in the name [YOUR NAME]. That flight arrived late and I missed my connection on flight [MISSED FLIGHT NUMBER]. The reason given for the delay was: [REASON GIVEN]. On that reason the disruption was within your control rather than caused by weather or air traffic control.
14 CFR § 259.5(a) provides that each covered carrier "must adopt a Customer Service Plan ... and adhere to the plan's terms". 14 CFR § 259.5(b)(14) requires that plan to identify "the services it provides to mitigate passenger inconveniences resulting from flight cancellations and misconnections".
Your published Customer Commitment states:
"Provide complimentary hotel accommodations at Delta-contracted facilities, based on availability, as well as complimentary ground transportation to and from the hotel, if you are inconvenienced overnight while away from your home or destination."
"Provide a meal or meal vouchers, if a cancellation or delay results in waiting 3 or more hours beyond the scheduled departure time."
I am requesting those services now. Specifically: hotel accommodation for the night I was delayed, ground transportation to and from that hotel, and the meal provision your plan describes.
Where I have already paid these costs myself, they are: [COSTS INCURRED]. I am requesting reimbursement of those amounts.
Please confirm in writing what you will provide, or your reason for declining. If you decline, I will file a complaint with the US Department of Transportation Aviation Consumer Protection Division, which enforces § 259.5(a).
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]Hotel, meals and transport after a United Airlines misconnection
United Airlines delayed your inbound flight for a reason within its control, you missed your connection, and you are stuck overnight away from home.
We hold United Airlines’s commitments through DOT’s dashboard rather than from United Airlines’s own published wording, so this letter attributes them to the Department of Transportation. Quoting a paraphrase as the airline’s own sentence would give them a fair reason to dismiss it.
Subject: 14 CFR § 259.5(a) — services due after a misconnection on [FLIGHT NUMBER], [CONFIRMATION CODE]
To whom it may concern,
On [FLIGHT DATE] I travelled on United Airlines flight [FLIGHT NUMBER], [ROUTE], under confirmation code [CONFIRMATION CODE] in the name [YOUR NAME]. That flight arrived late and I missed my connection on flight [MISSED FLIGHT NUMBER]. The reason given for the delay was: [REASON GIVEN]. On that reason the disruption was within your control rather than caused by weather or air traffic control.
14 CFR § 259.5(a) provides that each covered carrier "must adopt a Customer Service Plan ... and adhere to the plan's terms". 14 CFR § 259.5(b)(14) requires that plan to identify "the services it provides to mitigate passenger inconveniences resulting from flight cancellations and misconnections".
The commitments United Airlines has recorded with the US Department of Transportation include:
"Complimentary hotel accommodations for any passenger affected by an overnight delay"
"Complimentary ground transportation to and from hotel for any passenger affected by an overnight delay"
"Meal or meal cash/voucher when flight delay results in passenger waiting for 3 hours or more"
I am requesting those services now. Specifically: hotel accommodation for the night I was delayed, ground transportation to and from that hotel, and the meal provision your plan describes.
Where I have already paid these costs myself, they are: [COSTS INCURRED]. I am requesting reimbursement of those amounts.
Please confirm in writing what you will provide, or your reason for declining. If you decline, I will file a complaint with the US Department of Transportation Aviation Consumer Protection Division, which enforces § 259.5(a).
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]Hotel, meals and transport after a Southwest Airlines misconnection
Southwest Airlines delayed your inbound flight for a reason within its control, you missed your connection, and you are stuck overnight away from home.
We hold Southwest Airlines’s commitments through DOT’s dashboard rather than from Southwest Airlines’s own published wording, so this letter attributes them to the Department of Transportation. Quoting a paraphrase as the airline’s own sentence would give them a fair reason to dismiss it.
Subject: 14 CFR § 259.5(a) — services due after a misconnection on [FLIGHT NUMBER], [CONFIRMATION CODE]
To whom it may concern,
On [FLIGHT DATE] I travelled on Southwest Airlines flight [FLIGHT NUMBER], [ROUTE], under confirmation code [CONFIRMATION CODE] in the name [YOUR NAME]. That flight arrived late and I missed my connection on flight [MISSED FLIGHT NUMBER]. The reason given for the delay was: [REASON GIVEN]. On that reason the disruption was within your control rather than caused by weather or air traffic control.
14 CFR § 259.5(a) provides that each covered carrier "must adopt a Customer Service Plan ... and adhere to the plan's terms". 14 CFR § 259.5(b)(14) requires that plan to identify "the services it provides to mitigate passenger inconveniences resulting from flight cancellations and misconnections".
The commitments Southwest Airlines has recorded with the US Department of Transportation include:
"Complimentary hotel accommodations for any passenger affected by an overnight delay"
"Complimentary ground transportation to and from hotel for any passenger affected by an overnight delay"
"Meal or meal cash/voucher when flight delay results in passenger waiting three hours or more"
I am requesting those services now. Specifically: hotel accommodation for the night I was delayed, ground transportation to and from that hotel, and the meal provision your plan describes.
Where I have already paid these costs myself, they are: [COSTS INCURRED]. I am requesting reimbursement of those amounts.
Please confirm in writing what you will provide, or your reason for declining. If you decline, I will file a complaint with the US Department of Transportation Aviation Consumer Protection Division, which enforces § 259.5(a).
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]FAQ
IAH connections — common questions
Answers from what IAH and the carriers publish, with the source named so you can check it. This is not legal advice.
Is a 45-minute connection enough at IAH?
For a domestic-to-domestic connection with a terminal change, comfortably: five minutes for the Skyway at its published end-to-end time, a twelve-minute walking allowance, and fifteen minutes for the gate closing comes to about 32 minutes, leaving roughly a quarter of an hour spare. Houston is the easiest of the four hubs on this site for a tight domestic connection, purely because the Skyway is fast and airside.
What is the difference between the Skyway and the Subway at IAH?
The Skyway is above ground and inside security, so connecting passengers use it and stay airside. The Subway is below ground and outside security, meant for people arriving at or leaving the airport, and connects the terminals plus the airport Marriott. If you are connecting and you end up on the Subway you will have to clear screening again. The Subway also closes overnight, roughly 12:15am to 3:15am, while the Skyway runs daily.
How long does immigration take at IAH for a connection to a US flight?
Longer than the transfer, and it is the part that decides whether an international connection works. Arriving from abroad you clear CBP, collect your checked bag, recheck it and pass security again before the Skyway is any use to you. Our figures allow 30 minutes for immigration on a normal arrival and 75 on a busy one, plus 20 each for the bag and the rescreen. CBP publishes its own measured wait times by airport and hour, which is a better number than ours for your specific arrival time.
Which IAH terminals handle international arrivals?
Terminals D and E share the international arrivals facility, so an inbound international flight clears customs there regardless of which terminal your onward flight leaves from. If your connecting gate is in Terminal A or C, the Skyway ride comes after the whole CBP process, not instead of it.
Stuck on hold?
Talk to an independent agent instead
Airline phone queues and chatbots are where a rebooking stalls. Our agents work these routes daily and will look at what is actually available, walk through the letter you are about to send, and tell you what a desk agent will and will not do. We are not the airline and we do not file claims for you — the templates above are yours to send.
Other layover hubs
The arithmetic is the same everywhere; the airports are not. Each of these publishes different figures and hides a different trap.
Already disrupted rather than planning? Check what a delay entitles you to, or see how often your route actually runs late.