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Universal Airport Transfer by Universal Airport Assistance

Service · Terminal to terminal

Terminal to terminal transfer your connection protected.

For connections that take you out of one terminal or airport and into another, usually because the two flights were bought separately. Send both flights: the arriving one is tracked, the onward one is taken with the booking and watched so the connection window is protected, and a private chauffeur takes you and every bag across.

Get a quote Email the booking team

Nothing is charged until you accept the quote.

At a glance

What the service covers on a connection

  • Built for self-transfer connections between terminals, or between nearby airports.
  • Your arriving flight tracked, and the pickup moved with it if it lands early or late.
  • Your chauffeur waits 30 minutes from your flight’s actual arrival time, not from the timetable.
  • Your onward flight taken with the booking and watched, so the connection window is protected.
  • Luggage handled from one terminal or airport to the next, in a private vehicle that is never a shared ride.
  • A full quote, usually within two hours, with any late-night, public holiday or short-notice charge already in it.
  • Changes and cancellations accepted up to 48 hours before your flight under the standard policy; a few airports and services differ.

Start here

One ticket or two: when you need a car

What a connection asks of you depends less on the airport than on how the flights were bought. Find your row, then read across.

Connections between terminals and airports, by how the flights were booked
Your connectionWhere you goYour bagsDo you need a car?
One ticket, a different terminalUsually airside: follow the Connections or transfer signs, and the airline and the airport move you to the next gate by train, bus or on foot.Normally checked through to your last flight. Some countries, the United States among them, have you collect them and clear customs at the first airport where you land in that country, so read your airline’s instructions.Usually not. The airline and the airport handle the move, so there is normally no car journey to book.
Two tickets, the same terminalOut through passport control if you flew in from abroad, then back in through departures and security.Collected from the belt and checked in again.Rarely, as there is no road to cross. A car only helps if a long gap takes you away from the airport.
Two tickets, a different terminalLandside, from the arrivals hall of one terminal to the departures hall of the other.Collected, taken across with you and checked in again.Often, where the terminals are far apart, or with children, heavy bags or a late arrival. An airport shuttle may be enough if you travel light.
Another airport in or near the same city, on one ticket or twoOut of the first airport, across by road or rail, and in through departures at the second.Collected at the first airport and checked in at the second, unless your airline tells you it moves them.Usually the practical choice with luggage, though coaches, trains or buses link many pairs, including Heathrow and Gatwick, JFK and LaGuardia or Newark, and Istanbul’s two airports.

General guidance, checked against airport and airline pages on 23 September 2026. Your airline’s rules for your own booking come first. After most international flights, a landside connection takes you through passport control (flights within a passport-free area such as Schengen are the exception), so check the entry rules for that country before you book the second flight.

Worked examples

Nine connections, and what each one involves

01

Dubai: Terminal 1 or 3 to Terminal 2

Terminal 2 stands apart, north of Terminal 1 with its own entrance from Al Twar Road and Rashidiya, and the metro serves only Terminals 1 and 3. On one ticket, shuttle buses run airside from the Terminal 3 concourses to Terminal 2’s F gates, Emirates says. On separate tickets you normally clear immigration, collect your bags, pass customs and go there by road, though Emirates lists a paid baggage transfer service for separately booked flights at least three hours apart, and Dubai Airports lists one at its transfer desk for separate-ticket passengers without a Dubai visa.

02

Dubai International to Al Maktoum (DWC)

Dubai Airports puts Al Maktoum about 60 km from Dubai International. Its advice for a connection between the two is to clear passport control, collect your baggage and take a taxi, or the metro to Ibn Battuta station and then the dedicated bus. A car keeps the party and every bag together across the city.

03

Sharjah to Dubai International

Sharjah International, Air Arabia’s home hub, is in the neighbouring emirate. Land there and fly on from Dubai International on another ticket, and you leave with your bags, drive into Dubai and check in again. Tell the desk the DXB terminal on your onward booking, since Terminal 2 has an entrance of its own.

04

Heathrow to Gatwick

Heathrow gives the road distance as about 42 miles (68 km) and says no train runs direct: rail means a change in central London, while coaches go straight through. Changing airports on one ticket or two, you reclaim every bag and, if you flew in from outside the UK and Ireland, clear UK border control first, so check GOV.UK for whether you need a visa or an electronic travel authorisation (ETA).

05

JFK to LaGuardia or Newark

JFK and LaGuardia are both in Queens; Newark is across the Hudson in New Jersey. JFK’s own guide puts a taxi at about 30 to 60 minutes to LaGuardia and 60 to 100 minutes to Newark. Changing airports means collecting your checked bags, checking them in again with the departing airline and passing TSA security once more.

06

Paris: Charles de Gaulle to Orly

Charles de Gaulle lies north-east of Paris and Orly to the south. By rail, Paris Aéroport sends you on the RER B to Châtelet and then metro line 14 to Orly, one change with your bags on both trains. On one ticket or two, you normally collect your bags at CDG, cross the Paris region and check in again at Orly.

07

Istanbul: IST to Sabiha Gökçen

Istanbul Airport is at Arnavutköy on the European side; Sabiha Gökçen is at Pendik and Kurtköy on the Asian side. A connection between them crosses the Bosphorus, and any bridge or tunnel toll is either included in the quote or shown in it as an extra. Arriving from abroad, on one ticket or two, you pass Turkish passport control and collect your bags before you reach the car.

08

Mumbai: BOM to Navi Mumbai (NMI)

Mumbai has had a second airport since Navi Mumbai International began commercial flights on 25 December 2025. In September 2026 Mumbai airport’s operator was reported to be planning to move some of BOM’s international flights to NMI from 1 October 2026, so check the three-letter code on each ticket. On two tickets you collect your bags at one airport, cross by road and check in again at the other.

09

Delhi: T3 to T1

T1 is a domestic terminal about 8 km from T3, by the airport’s own figure, so landing at T3 from abroad and flying on from T1 means a road trip. The airport shuttle runs round the clock from near Pillar 10 at T3; show your boarding pass at the kiosk for a transit coupon. Book a car instead with heavy bags, small children or little time before T1 check-in closes.

How it works

How a terminal to terminal transfer works

Four steps, from the request to the kerb outside your next departures hall.

  1. 01

    Send both flights

    Put the terminal or airport you land at as the pickup and the one you fly from as the drop-off. Enter your arriving flight number, and add the onward flight in the notes so the desk has your departure.

  2. 02

    Receive and accept your quote

    A full quote follows, usually within two hours. It reflects distance, vehicle class, add-ons and any late-night, public holiday or short-notice charges, and nothing is charged until you accept it.

  3. 03

    Confirm your service and receive your voucher

    We send a quote. Once you pay online, by payment link or bank transfer, we will confirm the service and share your voucher.

  4. 04

    Across, and check in again

    The desk tells you where to meet. Your chauffeur takes you and your bags to departures at the other terminal or airport, where your onward airline’s check-in deadline takes over.

Questions

Terminal to terminal transfer questions

What is a terminal to terminal transfer?

A private car, booked ahead, that takes you and your bags from one terminal or airport to another when a connection makes you leave the building. Its most common use is a connecting flight that leaves from a different terminal. The chauffeur tracks your arriving flight and adjusts the pickup, and the desk watches your onward flight.

Do I need a transfer if both flights are on one ticket?

Usually not. On one booking you normally stay airside, follow the transfer signs and let the airline and the airport take you to the next gate. The exception is a change of airport, which always takes you out of the first one. Some countries also make you collect your bags and clear customs where you first land before you check them in again inside the airport, so read your airline’s connection instructions.

What counts as a self-transfer?

Two flights bought as separate bookings, with you in charge of getting from one to the other. Heathrow puts it plainly: on separate tickets you are not technically a connecting passenger. You pass immigration, collect your bags, then check in and go through security again, and the minimum connection times airlines use for single bookings do not apply to you.

Will my second flight wait if the first one is late?

Do not count on it when the flights are on separate tickets, because the onward airline’s check-in deadline applies to you as it would to anyone. What the desk can do is track your arriving flight, move the pickup with it and watch your onward flight. If the connection starts to look tight, call or message the booking desk, which answers 24/7, and your onward airline.

How much time should I leave for a self-transfer?

No single figure fits every connection. Add up the border and the baggage belt at the first airport, the journey across, the check-in deadline your onward airline sets, and a margin for queues. Heathrow tells self-connecting passengers to allow plenty of extra time for exactly these steps. If the plan only works when everything runs to time, change a flight before you travel.

Which details does the desk need for a connection?

Both flight numbers, the terminal or airport printed on each booking, and how many passengers and bags are travelling. Put the arriving flight in the flight field and the onward one in the notes, so the connection window is protected. Oversized or specialist luggage should be declared when you book.

Can you take me between two airports rather than two terminals?

Yes. Nearby airports are covered as well as terminals, whether that is Heathrow to Gatwick, JFK to Newark or Sharjah to Dubai International. Give both airports and both flights, and the whole crossing goes in one quote, with any toll on the way either included or shown in it as an extra charge.

What if I cannot enter the country where I change flights?

Then no car can help, because after most international flights a landside transfer starts on the far side of passport control. Check the entry rules on that country’s official government pages before you book the second flight. Some airports offer help airside instead: Dubai International, for example, lists a baggage transfer service at its transfer desk for separate-ticket passengers without a Dubai visa.

Waiting time, changes, cancellations and refunds are set out in full in our Terms & Conditions.

Also on this site

DXB terminal to terminal Every terminal change at Dubai International, on one ticket or two. Al Maktoum (DWC) transfer Dubai’s second airport, and the drive to it from Dubai International. Sharjah airport to Dubai Landing at SHJ and heading into Dubai, including to DXB for an onward flight. London airport transfer Heathrow and Gatwick, with a chauffeur, the coach, the train and a taxi compared for changing between them on two tickets. New York airport transfer JFK, LaGuardia and Newark, and the drives between the three. Paris airport transfer Charles de Gaulle and Orly, their terminals and the roads into the city. Istanbul airport transfer Istanbul Airport on the European side, and connections across to Sabiha Gökçen. Mumbai airport transfer BOM, its two terminals, and the second airport at Navi Mumbai. Delhi airport transfer Changing between T3 and T1 on separate tickets, and the shuttle that also makes the trip. Airport transfers worldwide A connection somewhere else: any commercial airport can be quoted.

Request a transfer

Tell us the flight. We hold the car.

Under five minutes to complete. We come back with a full quote, usually within two hours. Nothing is charged until you accept the quote.

Journey

Airport arrival Airport → your address

Your chauffeur tracks the inbound flight and waits 30 minutes from its actual arrival time.

  • Flight tracked live
  • Waits 30 min after arrival
  • Meet and greet option
Needed for your quote: the price depends on your flight.
Local time at the pick-up location
Travellers
Your details
Extras

No payment now. We quote your journey first, then you pay online by secure payment link or bank transfer. Your booking is confirmed once payment is received. Card details never reach this website. By sending this request you agree to our Terms & Conditions.

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