Boston Logan (BOS): The Complete Layover Guide

Logan wraps its four terminals around a single road loop on a peninsula in Boston Harbor, which makes it compact by US hub standards and absurdly close to the city it serves.

Terminal A belongs to Delta. Terminal B houses American and United along with several other domestic carriers. Terminal C is JetBlue territory. Terminal E takes the international long haul airlines, and it is the part of the airport that changed most recently: a $640 million extension opened in November 2024, adding four gates, a tall light filled departures hall under a prismatic painted roof, and a new flagship Delta Sky Club.

The connection picture splits the airport in two. Terminals B, C and E link up behind security through climate controlled corridors, so a connection between any of those three is a walk of roughly 3 to 15 minutes with no new screening, as long as you are on one reservation and your bags are checked through. Terminal A is the odd one out. It has no airside link to anything, so reaching or leaving it means exiting to the public side, walking the pedestrian bridge to Terminal B or riding the free shuttle bus that loops all terminals every 5 to 6 minutes, then clearing security from scratch. Massport is building an airside connector between A and B; the completion date is to be confirmed, so plan as if it does not exist yet.

Timing honesty: a same terminal or B to C to E connection at Logan is genuinely relaxed, and 60 minutes on one ticket is normally fine. A connection involving Terminal A deserves 90 minutes or more, because you are betting on the security queue twice. On separate tickets, treat any BOS connection as a fresh check in and give it 2.5 to 3 hours.

Going downtown is where Logan beats almost every airport in the country. The Silver Line SL1 bus is free in the airport to city direction, stops at every terminal, and reaches South Station in about 15 to 20 minutes, where it includes a free transfer to the Red Line. The Blue Line is the alternative: ride the free Massport shuttle to Airport station and the train puts you in the downtown core in about 10 minutes of riding. A taxi through the Ted Williams Tunnel can do the trip in 10 to 15 minutes off peak and far longer at rush hour. With a 5 hour layover and carry on bags only, a real Boston visit is on the table.

The terminals stay open around the clock, but that is less generous than it sounds. Security checkpoints close overnight once the last departures are gone and reopen around 4 in the morning, and staff move anyone sleeping in the gate areas out to the public side for the night. Landside seating is mostly fixed armrest rows, leavened by the rocking chairs scattered through the terminals, which are pleasant for an hour and a poor bed for six.

The realistic overnight options are two. Pay for the Hilton Boston Logan, which connects to Terminals A and E by covered walkway, so you can roll out of bed and into a morning Terminal E departure without going outside. Or accept a rough night landside, set an alarm for checkpoint opening, and claim a rocking chair early. There are no sleep pods or paid rest cabins inside the terminals as of this review. Our sleeping at BOS guide maps the quietest corners terminal by terminal.