Bogota El Dorado (BOG) Minimum Connection Time in 2026: One Terminal Now

Fees, policies, and figures in this guide reflect what we verified as of Aug 2026 and can change afterward. Our live tools and the data behind them are re-verified more often than the written guide.

Bogotá’s El Dorado is a story of a hub that got simpler. The OAG standard minimum connection time at BOG is 30 minutes domestic, 60 minutes domestic-to-international, and 90 minutes for both international sectors (OAG MCT database via ExpertFlyer, verified June 12, 2026). Those floors read like any large Latin American hub, but the detail that makes BOG connect well is that Avianca, the Star Alliance hub carrier, consolidated all of its flights into Terminal 1 in 2018.

Before that, an Avianca connection could mean a shuttle ride to the Puente Aereo terminal about a kilometre away. Now everything Avianca does, domestic and international, happens in Terminal 1, so a connection stays inside one building, moving only between the domestic concourses to the south and the international ones to the north.

Quick reference: published minimums vs realistic padding

Published values are the airport-standard OAG minimums and the Avianca same-airline figures (ExpertFlyer, verified 2026-06-12). The right-hand column is our editorial padding recommendation, not an official figure.

One terminal does the work now

El Dorado’s connection map is simpler than most Latin American hubs:

1. Terminal 1 is the main building, shaped like an “h,” with international concourses to the north and domestic to the south. Since 2018 Avianca operates all of its flights here, so its connections stay in one building.
2. Puente Aereo (Terminal 2) is about a kilometre away, now used by Satena and Clic, linked to Terminal 1 by a free shuttle.

For most connecting passengers, Terminal 1 is the whole airport. The Puente Aereo shuttle only matters if one of your flights is on Satena or Clic.

How the layout shapes each connection

Domestic to domestic, or Avianca same-terminal. Within Terminal 1. The 30-minute floor holds; Avianca files about 60 for its own bank, and we pad to 60 to 75.

Domestic to international. A walk from the southern domestic concourses to the northern international ones, in one building. The 60-minute floor is workable; we pad to 55 to 70.

International to domestic. You clear Colombian immigration and customs before re-entering the domestic system. This is the 90-minute floor; pad beyond it at peak.

Anything touching Puente Aereo. A Satena or Clic flight means the kilometre shuttle and a separate check-in. Treat it as a cross-terminal transfer at 90 minutes or more.

How Bogota compares to other major hubs

The honest comparison: El Dorado now connects more like Panama than like São Paulo, because Avianca’s consolidation keeps its hub traffic in a single terminal. The remaining friction is the immigration step on international-to-domestic connections, which every Latin American hub shares, and the rare itinerary that uses the Puente Aereo terminal.

When to add more padding

• International arrivals continuing onward. Immigration and customs make 90 minutes a floor; add time during the morning and evening international banks.
• Puente Aereo itineraries. A Satena or Clic flight means the shuttle and a separate check-in; plan generously.
• Separate tickets. Without a single through-ticket, you clear and recheck bags yourself and lose any airside shortcut.
• Bogota traffic if leaving. If you go into the city on a layover, the famous congestion can stretch the return; do not cut it close.

The verdict

El Dorado is a hub that became easier to connect through when Avianca pulled all of its flights into Terminal 1 in 2018. The published floors, 30 domestic and 90 international, hold, but an Avianca connection now stays in one building and the airline files around 60 to 70 minutes for its own bank. The 90-minute international floor still applies whenever an international arrival continues to a domestic flight, because immigration sits in the middle, and the Puente Aereo terminal only matters for Satena and Clic. Keep your connection on Avianca or an international carrier in Terminal 1 and BOG is one of the smoother Latin American hubs; touch Puente Aereo or cross the border mid-itinerary and give it 90 minutes or more.

How BOG connections compare to other airports

• Panama Tocumen minimum connection time guide for the other big Americas connecting hub
• São Paulo Guarulhos minimum connection time guide for South America’s busiest, multi-terminal hub
• Lisbon minimum connection time guide for a transatlantic Star Alliance comparison
• Check any layover with the connection time calculator, or see the El Dorado (BOG) profile
• Flying Avianca? See the Avianca carry-on size guide