Airline Stopover Programs — Reference
A deliberate break of more than 24 hours, at no extra airfare. Which carriers still allow it, and on what terms.
Compiled August 2026. Programs change quietly and terms vary by market, fare family, and cabin — always confirm on the airline's own stopover page before booking.
A stopover is a deliberate break of more than 24 hours in an international itinerary, at no extra airfare. Distinct from a layover (under 24h, just a connection) and from a free-hotel transit program (airline puts you up during a long connection — listed here too, marked as such).
Multi-day stopovers, no airfare penalty
These are the ones that genuinely turn one trip into two.
| Airline | Hub | Max stay | What's included | How to book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turkish Airlines | Istanbul | 2 nights (economy), 3 nights (business) | Free 4-star hotel in economy, 5-star or boutique in business. Requires a 20h+ connection; award tickets qualify | Apply on turkishairlines.com, at least 72h before departure |
| TAP Air Portugal | Lisbon or Porto | Up to 10 nights | No free hotel; 500+ partner discounts up to 50% off, plus a 25% code for a domestic TAP flight during the stopover | Built into the booking flow on flytap.com |
| Icelandair | Reykjavik | Up to 7 nights (some fares state up to 21) | No free hotel; partner discounts | Built into booking flow on icelandair.com |
| Copa Airlines | Panama City | Up to 7 nights | Partner hotel and activity discounts | Select at purchase, copa.com |
| Iberia | Madrid | 1–9 nights | Partner discounts (museums, hotels) | Built into booking flow, iberia.com |
| Qatar Airways (+Qatar) | Doha | Up to 4 nights per direction | Hotel from roughly $14–24/night, 4-star; transfers available | Discover Qatar portal, after flight purchase |
| Etihad | Abu Dhabi | Up to 2 nights | Hotel for a nominal fee (~$10 plus tourism levy) on eligible fares | Etihad stopover portal / Manage Booking |
| Emirates (Dubai Stopover) | Dubai | Multi-night packages | Paid hotel packages at negotiated rates | Manage Booking or Emirates Holidays |
| Saudia / flynas | Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Medina | Up to 96 hours | Free 96-hour transit eVisa; hotel offers, sometimes complimentary | Direct booking; visa issued with ticket |
| Fiji Airways | Nadi | Varies | Bundled hotel and transfer packages | Direct booking, fijiairways.com |
| Air Astana | Almaty or Astana | Varies | Hotel packages at token prices | Direct booking |
| Japan Airlines / ANA | Tokyo | Per fare rules | Routing flexibility only, no hotel | Direct booking |
| Air Canada | Toronto (and other hubs) | Varies by fare | Partner city offers | Direct booking |
| Hawaiian Airlines | Honolulu | Via multi-city construction | None — but the routing is free | Multi-city search |
Free hotel on a long connection (under 24h)
Not multi-day, but free accommodation and often a guided tour. Worth structuring a connection around.
| Airline | Hub | Trigger | What's included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkish Airlines (Touristanbul) | Istanbul | 6–24h connection for tours; 9h+ business / 12h+ economy for the layover hotel (max 2 nights) | Free guided Istanbul tours with meals; hotel on longer connections. For 20h+ see the multi-day stopover above |
| Ethiopian Airlines | Addis Ababa | 8–24h connection | 5-star hotel, meals, shuttle. Notably accepts award and codeshare tickets |
| Emirates (Dubai Connect) | Dubai | 6–26h connection, base fare above ~$450 | 4-star hotel, meals, transfers |
| Gulf Air | Bahrain | 6–24h connection | Hotel, optional city tour; fare minimum applies for the hotel |
| Qatar Airways (STPC) | Doha | 8–24h connection | Free hotel, meals, transfers on qualifying fares |
| Singapore Airlines | Singapore | Long transit | Free city tour; free hotel for Business/First on qualifying connections |
| Korean Air / Asiana | Seoul Incheon | Long transit | Free transit tours, terminal spa and rest facilities |
| China Airlines / EVA | Taipei | 7–24h | Free half-day city tours |
Booking rules that actually matter
The hub must be the carrier's home. A stopover program only works at the airline's own base — you can't stop in Rome on Turkish. Both legs generally need to be on that carrier or a close partner.
Book direct. Google Flights, Expedia, Kayak and most OTAs cannot construct a stopover itinerary. Use the airline's own site, and use the multi-city search rather than round-trip.
Multi-city is the universal fallback. Even airlines with no formal program usually permit one free stopover per international round trip under their fare rules. Price the multi-city version before assuming you need a program.
Award tickets are the cheapest path. Alaska Mileage Plan and Air Canada Aeroplan still allow a free stopover on award redemptions — an extra city at zero additional miles. Most cash-fare stopover programs, by contrast, exclude award tickets (Ethiopian is the notable exception).
Checked bags. A stopover over 24 hours usually means collecting and rechecking your bags. Plan for it, especially if you are travelling with one bag and expecting a straight-through tag.
Fare minimums and cabin gates. Several of the free-hotel programs require a base fare above roughly $400–450, or Business/First. Deep-discount and non-refundable fare buckets are commonly excluded.
Visas. The stopover is only free if entry is. Check the transit visa rules for the hub — Saudi bundles a 96-hour eVisa with the ticket, Turkey and Portugal are straightforward for US passports, Qatar and UAE grant visa-on-arrival for most Western passports.
Worked example: splitting a long-haul to Southeast Asia
Flying from North America to Southeast Asia — say, from a US Midwest hub — means 12+ time zones in one go. Breaking the trip roughly in the middle turns the worst of the jetlag into a holiday. How the main programs compare for that kind of routing:
- Istanbul (Turkish) — the strongest option. It splits the time-zone offset almost perfectly, is worth a full week on its own merits, and Turkish covers 2 nights in economy (3 in business) at a 4-star hotel. Uniquely among the free-hotel programs, it works on award tickets. Conditions: 20h+ connection, book 72h ahead, once per round trip, and the whole ticket must be Turkish-operated.
- Doha (Qatar) — +Qatar gives up to 4 nights at $14–24/night, and Doha connects to every major Southeast Asian city.
- Tokyo (JAL/ANA) — free routing only, no hotel perk, but excellent jetlag math and the best onward network for travellers coming across the Pacific.
- Singapore (SQ) — visa-free for most passports and effortless for a week, but the hotel perk is premium-cabin only.
- Lisbon (TAP) — 10 nights is the most generous window of any program, though it is the long way round to Asia. Better suited to a Europe-focused trip.