1. Google Flights: see the layover duration and terminal before you book.
  2. Flightradar24: live tracking when connections get tight.
  3. Airline apps: rebooking options appear here first during disruptions.
  4. LoungeBuddy / Priority Pass: find a lounge when the layover stretches past three hours.
  5. PassportPower: checks whether the layover country needs a transit visa, $9.99 one-time per destination.

Sources: U.S. State Department, IATA Travel Centre

Top 5 Apps for Transit and Layover Planning
Image via Wikimedia Commons

A layover planning app that flags transit visa rules saves more trips than any lounge pass.

A layover calculator that only counts hours is half the job. The transit visa check is the one people skip, and it is the one that denies boarding. The US has no sterile transit, the UK wants transit visas for some nationalities at Heathrow, and Schengen has its own airport transit list. A five-minute check per layover is the cheapest insurance on the itinerary.