Connecting at Detroit airport

Connection time calculator, immigration and security, and how to move between terminals at DTW.

How connections work at DTW

At Detroit airport, as at every airport in the United States, passengers arriving on an international flight must clear immigration (CBP) and customs, collect their checked bags and re-check them, and go through TSA security again before their connecting flight, even when both flights are on the same ticket.

The airport has 2 terminals or concourses (McNamara Terminal, Evans Terminal). They are not connected after security: changing means going through security again.

Connecting passengers go through a transfer security screening.

Connection time calculator

Is your layover at DTW long enough? Pick your connection and get an estimate with the times of this airport.

Terminals / concourses: McNamara Terminal, Evans Terminal

Getting between them: ExpressTram (airside along McNamara Concourse A), underground tunnel with moving walkways (airside between McNamara Concourse A and Concourses B/C), and complimentary Terminal to Terminal Shuttle buses (landside from Ground Transportation Centers, running approximately every 10 minutes).

McNamara Terminal (Concourses A, B, C) and Evans Terminal (Concourse D) are not connected airside. Moving between terminals requires exiting to the ground transportation area and clearing TSA security screening.

  • Use the airside ExpressTram in McNamara Concourse A to quickly travel between the South, Center, and North stations.
  • Transferring between McNamara and Evans terminals requires taking a landside shuttle bus and reclearing TSA security screening.
  • Follow signs for the underground tunnel with moving walkways to connect between Concourse A and Concourses B/C in McNamara Terminal.

Estimate based on typical times at this airport, not your airline's official minimum connection time. Immigration and security lines change with the time of day and season. On a single ticket, the airline must rebook you if you miss the connection; on separate tickets, it does not.

Data checked on October 18, 2026. Times are estimates: always check with your airline.

TSA security wait times

Estimated wait at the security checkpoints of DTW right now. When live data is not available, it shows historical averages.

More about DTW

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