Connecting at St. Louis airport

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

How connections work at STL

At St. Louis 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 (Terminal 1 (Concourses A and C), Terminal 2 (Concourse E, Southwest)). 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 STL long enough? Pick your connection and get an estimate with the times of this airport.

Terminals / concourses: Terminal 1 (Concourses A and C), Terminal 2 (Concourse E, Southwest)

Getting between them: Free landside shuttle 24 hours a day, every 8 to 15 minutes (ride about 10 minutes), from exit 12 at Terminal 1 and exit 10 at Terminal 2; MetroLink also stops at both terminals

Terminal 1 (Concourses A and C) is used by most airlines, including American, Delta and United; Southwest operates from Terminal 2 (Concourse E). The terminals are not connected airside: changing terminal means leaving security and being screened again.

Official transfer times:

  • Terminal 1 → Terminal 2: up to 10 min by bus
  • A full terminal change takes 45 to 60 minutes on a normal day: budget at least 45 minutes.

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.

Sources: layoverindex.pages.dev.

Times are estimates: always check with your airline.

TSA security wait times

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

More about STL

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