Certainly doesn't sound normal. Bar one instance with my Mac causing dropout for about 2 seconds, the Bluetooth connection on my AirPods has been rock solid. I've had a couple of brief pauses, but those were Apple Music rather than the AirPods.
In fact as I mentioned in a long and boring review
my AirPods have managed to maintain a solid connection to my iPhone when it was in the office and I was downstairs in the pantry. No other Bluetooth headphones that I have/do own have ever managed that.
So I think your AirPods aren't operating normally and I'd certainly consider replacements.