Förare
Events & seasonsAll travellers

The Clock Change and Early Flights: Don't Get Caught Out

Updated 3 min read

Sweden moves its clocks twice a year, in spring and autumn, on the same general schedule as the rest of the EU — and the exact weekend it happens shifts slightly year to year. That's rarely a problem for a booking made and used within the same few days, but it can genuinely trip up an early-morning flyer who books a transfer weeks in advance and doesn't notice their travel date falls right around the change.

This guide is a short, practical warning: how the clock change actually affects a booked pickup time, and what to check if your flight is close to one of the change weekends.

How the clock change actually works

Clocks go forward an hour in spring and back an hour in autumn, on a set weekend each year. Everything that runs on local time — flight schedules, airport operations, a booked pickup time — moves with it. The confusion isn't that anything goes wrong on the day; it's that a booking made weeks ahead, using local time, can be easy to misjudge if you're not thinking in the time zone that will actually be in effect on your travel date.

Where this actually bites

The most common way it catches people out is booking a pickup time from a different country's clock without adjusting, or simply forgetting which direction the Swedish clocks moved relative to when the booking was made. An early flight is the worst case: if you're already setting an alarm for an unusually early pickup, a clock-change mix-up compounds an already tight morning.

A transfer booked with your flight number attached largely sidesteps this — your pickup time is set from your actual flight, tracked in real time, rather than a fixed clock time you calculated by hand weeks in advance.

What to check if your travel falls near a change weekend

If your flight is scheduled within a week or two of a clock-change weekend, double-check the local time your flight departs or lands against the airline's own confirmation, not just what you originally noted down — airlines update their local times automatically, but a note you made yourself before the change might not reflect it.

  • Trust the airline's confirmed local departure or arrival time, checked close to your travel date
  • Attach your flight number to the transfer booking so the pickup follows the flight, not a clock time you set in advance
  • For an early flight around a change weekend, double-check your own alarm and any pre-airport plans against the correct local time

What every Förare booking includes

The fixed price you see before booking is the price on your receipt — 6% VAT included, whole car, not per person.

  • Flight tracked — pickup follows your live arrival
  • 45 minutes free waiting on every pickup, from your driver's confirmed arrival
  • No terminal fee
  • No surge pricing, ever
  • Free cancellation up to 12 hours

Questions people ask before booking

When do the clocks change in Sweden?

On a set weekend each spring and autumn, in line with the rest of the EU — the exact date shifts slightly year to year, so it's worth checking the current year's date if your travel is close to it.

Does a booked transfer pickup time adjust automatically for the clock change?

When your flight number is attached, the pickup time follows your actual flight in real time rather than a fixed clock time set weeks in advance, which avoids most clock-change confusion.

How can I avoid mixing up the time when booking weeks ahead?

Attach your flight number to the booking so the pickup tracks the flight itself, and double-check the airline's confirmed local time close to your travel date rather than relying on a note made earlier.

Is an early-morning flight more affected by the clock change than others?

It's not affected differently in principle, but an already tight, early pickup leaves less room for a clock-related mix-up to cause stress, so it's worth being extra careful around a change weekend.

Does the clock change affect the transfer price?

No — the fixed price is based on the route and vehicle category, not the time of day or the date, and there's no surcharge for early or late pickups.

Book your ride to Arlanda

Enter the address and you will see the price for the whole car before anything is paid. No account needed.

  • One fixed price for the whole car, 6% VAT included, shown before you pay.
  • Your driver's name, number and registration plate arrive before pickup.
  • Cancel free of charge more than 12 hours before pickup, refunded in full.
See your fixed priceSee the price list

Read next

All guides in Events & seasons