Is 2 hours too risky?

[Tsar]

Is 2 hours enough time or too risky for exiting one flight, going through customs, retrieving luggage, probably going to a new airport terminal, go through the check-in line, then go through new security, then find the flight. If there's a delay, holdup in the line or customs then I miss the other part of the flight.

[onethousandknives]

I think it depends on the flight. When I did China Eastern to Taiwan, my layover in Shanghai everything was pretty much handled by the airline, luggage was forwarded to the US plane home, etc. Only thing you needed to do from TW to Shanghai was scan your carry on bags and walk through metal detectors/etc again. There was the passport kiosk machines, too. My layover was 3-4 hours, but I spent an entire 2 hours or so sitting and waiting and doing nothing.

https://rebellioustourist.com/shanghai- ... g-flights/

That explained how it worked with China Eastern. Best bet would be to call the airline and/or the booking site you used and see if the itinerary actually works. Depending on the airlines and customs agreements, it could work perfectly fine.

[gsjackson]

Cutting it pretty close, but keep in mind that the security lines are much smaller now, especially on international flights, because not so many people are flying. I had the security line at O'Hare's international terminal all to myself at around noon on a Wednesday.

[Contrarian Expatriate]

It depends on the airport. 2 hours at Charles de Gaulle (Paris) would be a non starter for me. But at a single terminal airport, you’d be more than fine.

[gsjackson]

But sometimes the smaller airports are undermanned and passport control can jam up. Two international flights came into Salt Lake City at the same time and it took over an hour and a half to go through passport control. I had to sprint to make the connecting flight.

Heathrow right now is a piece of cake. There are no people to go through. You fill out an online form before going -- I believe they call it a declaration of health -- scan your passport and you're in within a couple of minutes.

[Tsar]

It depends on the airport. 2 hours at Charles de Gaulle (Paris) would be a non starter for me. But at a single terminal airport, you’d be more than fine.

Here's my desired flights

Boston to Amsterdam
Lands in Amsterdam at 8:20 am Amsterdam Time

Amsterdam to Sofia
Flight takes off at 10:20am Amsterdam Time

It's not a layover. It's two separate flights. I know Marcos might have some experience with that airport but I'm not sure if anyone else does. Is it doable or do I need to modify it?

November 12 is the last non-stop flight with Bulgarian Air out of Amsterdam for a few weeks. Ideally I would leave on November 11 and then it arrives November 12 in Amsterdam and I get the Bulgarian Air flight.

I spend some time in Sofia at an AirBnB while finalizing a lease in Plovdiv. After I get the lease in Plovdiv, I get residency in Bulgaria. I then do my best to get a certificate to teach English and hopefully get an English teaching job 20-40 hours a week, ideally 20 to see how I do in that work. I can save most of my income to either invest or buy a flat in Sofia or Varna.

[Contrarian Expatriate]

It depends on the airport. 2 hours at Charles de Gaulle (Paris) would be a non starter for me. But at a single terminal airport, you’d be more than fine.

Here's my desired flights

Boston to Amsterdam
Lands in Amsterdam at 8:20 am Amsterdam Time

Amsterdam to Sofia
Flight takes off at 10:20am Amsterdam Time

It's not a layover. It's two separate flights. I know Marcos might have some experience with that airport but I'm not sure if anyone else does. Is it doable or do I need to modify it?

November 12 is the last non-stop flight with Bulgarian Air out of Amsterdam for a few weeks. Ideally I would leave on November 11 and then it arrives November 12 in Amsterdam and I get the Bulgarian Air flight.

I spend some time in Sofia at an AirBnB while finalizing a lease in Plovdiv. After I get the lease in Plovdiv, I get residency in Bulgaria. I then do my best to get a certificate to teach English and hopefully get an English teaching job 20-40 hours a week, ideally 20 to see how I do in that work. I can save most of my income to either invest or buy a flat in Sofia or Varna.

I personally would do it and have done it in he past. I think it is quite doable get thru immigration, to get your checked bags, clear customs, then return the bags for the onward in an hour.

When the bags go thru automatically, the minimum time needed is only 40 minutes, but you have 2 hours for the extra steps of getting and rechecking your bags.

The biggest risk is if that initial flight departs late and arrives late. You should also see if you can get your Sofia boarding pass ahead of time electronically. Even if you can’t, I think you are alright if you skip the glass of wine and the small breakfast.

90 minutes would give me pause, but 2 hours seems fine, especially at an efficient airport like Amsterdam.

[gsjackson]

Amsterdam made me go through passport control to get a connecting flight (the one to Salt Lake City) and it was pretty time consuming, or at least it seemed that way since I had a tight connection. But I think you'll be able to do it, especially since your transatlantic flight is liable to be far from full. Mine two weeks ago was no more than 15-20 percent full. And there's far less of a problem now with late flights right now, simply because there aren't as many flights.

Tsar are you Light? Or do we have two posters confident of getting residency in Bulgaria in the immediate future? Americans aren't allowed in now, last I saw.