Mellanlandar

Mellanlandar is a Swedish term used primarily in aviation to describe the act of making an intermediate landing en route to a final destination. The corresponding noun is mellanlandning. The word combines mellan (between) and landa (to land). In practice, a mellanlandning occurs when a flight lands at an intermediate airport before continuing to its final destination.

In commercial air travel, mellandelningar can serve operational purposes such as refueling, crew changes, or carrying passengers onward to a different hub. The arrangement may involve staying on the same aircraft for a connection or transferring to a different flight. The term is often distinguished from nonstop travel, which has no intermediate landing, and from longer stops.

The English equivalents are layover and stopover, with nuanced usage. A layover typically refers to a shorter interim stop where passengers transfer between flights, often without exiting the transit area. A stopover generally denotes a longer stay at an intermediate city, sometimes allowing the traveler to leave the airport and explore. In Swedish, mellanlandning is a neutral term that covers any intermediate landing, regardless of duration or whether passengers leave the aircraft.

Transit considerations can vary by country and airport. Some countries require a transit visa if travelers leave the airport, while many routes keep passengers within the international transit zone. Airlines and airports design networks around hubs to maximize connecting mellandelningar, enabling long-distance travel that would be impractical with direct flights.

Example: a flight from Stockholm to Tokyo via Helsinki would involve a mellanlandning in Helsinki.