Occasionally a search result is suspiciously cheap — and the fine print reveals why: the connection requires changing airports, or re-checking bags on a self-transfer.
What an airport change actually involves
Landing at one airport and departing from another (or sometimes a distant terminal treated as separate) means: clearing immigration, collecting checked bags, arranging ground transport across a city, re-checking in — usually with a visa question mark on top. Budget 4–5 hours minimum, plus local transport cost, plus the stress.
Self-transfer: the riskier cousin
A self-transfer itinerary combines two separate tickets. Even in the same airport, you must collect and re-check bags, and — critically — no airline is responsible if the first flight lands late. Miss the second flight and you buy a new ticket at same-day prices. Aggregator sites sell these because they look cheap; the risk is priced into someone else's inconvenience, namely yours.
How to spot them
- The itinerary shows different airport codes for arrival and next departure.
- "Self-transfer", "protected by [platform]" or "separate tickets" labels.
- A connection time that seems far too long for one airport (5+ hours) on a bargain fare.
- Two different booking references after purchase.
When they can make sense
Experienced travellers on hand-luggage-only trips, with long buffers and travel insurance that covers missed connections, occasionally use self-transfers to save real money. Families with 60kg of checked baggage should not.
Our policy
Search results here flag airport changes and self-transfers with explicit warnings, they are heavily penalised in the AI ranking, and a travel expert re-checks the itinerary with you before any payment. Cheap should never be a surprise.
Ready to put this into practice? Search your route and let our AI + experts do the comparison.
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