Good Morning A.net,

Question says it all, really. Clearing customs just to make a connection back out of the country again is a hassle, and eats up time when one has to make a tight connection. IIRC, US airports don't allow this, and I think most European hubs don't either, while ME3 hubs do after a quick ticket and security check, before reentering the departure area. I am particularly interested to see if any Euro or ME airports are exceptions, all contributations appreciated, thank you.

I would think that most larger European hubs allow this. A whole bunch of smaller airports do as well.

You can connect without clearing customs/immigration at PTY.

Most Asian airports (except for China airports), such as HKG, SIN, TPE, NRT, HND, BKK, KUL, ICN, list goes on...

Any Major world Airport outside the US provides facilities for international travellers to make cnnections without entering the Country. Transit from third countries to third countries is daily Business. However, if the Destination Airport is in the Schengen area, the traveller must enter the Schengen area at the first port of entry.

But the "hubs" do not allow that, customs gives it's OK and customs reserves the right to check Transit baggage for narcotics, items lised in the SITES list, currency and whatever else is not allowed to take along.

In DXB you are not required to clear customs if you are connecting. Customs are in a different place, only for arrivals to DXB.

Not sure many people connect from one international flight to another at an airport in the US. But I would think outside of the US this is pretty much common place, especially in Europe and Asia.

lavalampluva wrote:

Not sure many people connect from one international flight to another at an airport in the US.

Hundreds of thousands, if not a few million do it every year. Mostly at the southern hubs like IAH, MIA, DFW, ATL, LAX. Last time I was at IAH they even have special lanes dedicated to intl2intl passengers in order to speed up this process.

airbazar wrote:

lavalampluva wrote:

Not sure many people connect from one international flight to another at an airport in the US.

Hundreds of thousands, if not a few million do it every year. Mostly at the southern hubs like IAH, MIA, DFW, ATL, LAX. Last time I was at IAH they even have special lanes dedicated to intl2intl passengers in order to speed up this process.

I wouldn't have guessed that. I figured that there would probably be some Canadian flyers who may have made connections in the US to other international flights.

hvusslax wrote:

I would think that most larger European hubs allow this. A whole bunch of smaller airports do as well.

Yep. The mechanics are carefully controlled to prevent mixing of passengers. Most of the European hubs have entire concourses or multiple concourses dedicated to international (non-Schengen) arrivals and departures. Arriving international passengers exit the aircraft directly into the concourse. If they have an international connection, they can proceed directly to the gate for the connecting flight. If they have a domestic or within-Schengen connection, then they need to proceed through immigration control and usually a security screen to access the domestic/Schengen gate areas.

My most recent example was flying MSP-AMS-EDI and return. The UK is not part of the Schengen zone, so it was a simple connection with no immigration control at AMS, although there was a security screen at the boarding gate.

lavalampluva wrote:

airbazar wrote:

lavalampluva wrote:

Not sure many people connect from one international flight to another at an airport in the US.

Hundreds of thousands, if not a few million do it every year. Mostly at the southern hubs like IAH, MIA, DFW, ATL, LAX. Last time I was at IAH they even have special lanes dedicated to intl2intl passengers in order to speed up this process.

I wouldn't have guessed that. I figured that there would probably be some Canadian flyers who may have made connections in the US to other international flights.

(I'm not going to list all possible connection points via the USA) However if you are travelling from Europe to the Caribbean or Central America then MIA makes a possible good connection point.

AKL is really smooth for Intl. connections. I flew SYD-AKL-LAX-DEN and it was a breeze. I got off my flight from SYD, went through a very quick security screening, and then had a beer in the terminal. Lovely.

I don't know if it has changed, and I wouldn't surprised if so, but I flew DEN-LHR-FCO in 2006, and didn't go through customs at Heathrow. We just got shuttled between terminals, and then went through security. Has that changed since?

The ability to de-plane and not go through immigration and customs for an international connection is now available at POS. Prior to entering the immigration halls, there is a new security screening area for passengers to be re-screened and go directly airside upstairs in the departure area. it is a useful enhancement at the airport and facilitates connecting passengers from GEO, GND and CCS conveniently.

Cheers,
AA1818

airbazar wrote:

Hundreds of thousands, if not a few million do it every year. Mostly at the southern hubs like IAH, MIA, DFW, ATL, LAX. Last time I was at IAH they even have special lanes dedicated to intl2intl passengers in order to speed up this process.

I think ATL and IAH have a system where if you are connecting international-to-international on DL and UA, respectively, you do have to go through immigration but there is no need to claim your bag and re-check it.

lavalampluva wrote:

I wouldn't have guessed that. I figured that there would probably be some Canadian flyers who may have made connections in the US to other international flights.

Many Latin Americans connect at MIA to Europe and Canada. Many Mexicans connect to Europe, Canada, Asia and Oceania all over the U.S. By the same token, many Asians and Europeans connect to Latin America in the U.S.

It happens every day, everywhere, but in America. It's one of America's oddities.

I've done a couple of USA-Schengen-Schengen itineraries through LH's hubs - In MUC this year I was asked to show proof of return flight and airbnb reservations in the EU. Still quicker that a USA transfer

lavalampluva wrote:

I wouldn't have guessed that. I figured that there would probably be some Canadian flyers who may have made connections in the US to other international flights.

Think East Asia to Latin America. The shortest route is via N.America. The ME carriers have been stealing this traffic but last time I checked the U.S. was still the primary connecting point for this market mainly because Latin America is still very under-served by the ME carriers and connecting via the ME is a longer route. Even the ME carriers are using U.S. hubs to connect passengers to/from Latin America. There's also a fair share of connections between Europe and Latin America. Prior to 9/11 IB had its own hub at MIA for this exact purpose, now replaced by AA code-shares.

oldannyboy wrote:

It happens every day, everywhere, but in America. It's one of America's oddities.

Mainland China is also an another exception. You still need to clear immigration and in most cases customs to connect to an international flight. Hence the convenience of the 24/72h visa-free transit in China.

As everyone has said, most airports do not have customs for transit pax. I would like to know of an airport that doesn't security screen transit passengers though?

At the ME3 hubs, transit passengers pass through security again, but this is the most lax security in the world. The security staff are not paying attention - usually on their phones or talking amongst themselves. Doesn't make you feel very safe, especially because there are people from all corners of the world in the same place!

As pointed out above, in most places (outside the USA) it is possible. It is really simple if you have the same carrier (or code share) and have your checked bags booked through to the destination.

If your itinerary has a change of airline (e.g. BA to HKG then Cebu Pacific from HKG to Manila) and you have checked bags, then the story becomes much more tricky. In this case, you must pass through HK immigration, pick up your luggage, pass through customs and enter Hong Kong. Then go to the departure area and start all over. And the only organisation responsible for missed connections in this case is you! If this is the case, it is wise to plan on a generous time between flights, to cope with quite usual long haul delays

I can, from experience, that customs and immigration procedures are not required for international to international connections at BOG, SJO, PTY, and LIM.

I've always loved Singapore's transit system, I can't think of how you could make the experience better, in terms of how easy and efficient it is. Stepping off the flight takes you straight into the departure lounge, and you can easily get between the 3 terminals. Security is done at each gate. There's a slight difference in that every flight is an international flight as the country is so small, but they deserve credit for their setup. I'll have a chance to experience HKG for the 1st time this week, I'm looking forward to the comparison.

fry530 wrote:

AKL is really smooth for Intl. connections. I flew SYD-AKL-LAX-DEN and it was a breeze. I got off my flight from SYD, went through a very quick security screening, and then had a beer in the terminal. Lovely.

I don't know if it has changed, and I wouldn't surprised if so, but I flew DEN-LHR-FCO in 2006, and didn't go through customs at Heathrow. We just got shuttled between terminals, and then went through security. Has that changed since?

Be very careful in the terminology. There's Immigration (checking people) and Customs (checking goods). People in the US tend to lump them together, probably because the same organisation is responsible for both, but elsewhere in the world they are two quite different things and there are lots of possible journeys where you have immigration but no customs, customs but no immigration, both,neither, or both but at different airports along the way.
The DEN-LHR-FCO journey still requires no immigration or customs check at LHR, just security. If you connected at FRA instead, you'd go through Schengen Area immigration (no customs) at FRA, and customs (no immigration) at FCO.
Connecting at LHR you'd only ever go through immigration if you were catching a domestic flight or one to the Irish Republic, and only through customs if you were going to a domestic airport without any international facilities (but none of these currently have service from LHR, so not operative).

fry530 wrote:

AKL is really smooth for Intl. connections. I flew SYD-AKL-LAX-DEN and it was a breeze. I got off my flight from SYD, went through a very quick security screening, and then had a beer in the terminal. Lovely.

I don't know if it has changed, and I wouldn't surprised if so, but I flew DEN-LHR-FCO in 2006, and didn't go through customs at Heathrow. We just got shuttled between terminals, and then went through security. Has that changed since?

It must have. I flew IAH-LHR-DUB (UA then EI) and had to clear UK customs and then security. Which is odd because I thought since UK isn't Schengen that we wouldn't have to do that. We then cleared customs again in DUB.

On the way back, we considered DUB-LHR-ORD to get true F on UA, but we'd have to wake up too early (not a problem for me and my mom, but it is for my grandmother) to get the LHR flight. So I talked my mom into the preclearance IAD flight.

Last summer, my partner and I flew PHL-CDG-TXL. Had to go through passport control (don't remember if it was still in 2E hall M or if it was already in 2F) but it was a specialized area primarily for connection passengers (CDG passengers went a different way) and right on out to the 2F departures hall after a quick security check. The return was even simpler- just a quick passport check at the gate in 2E hall K.

PerfectGriffin wrote:

As everyone has said, most airports do not have customs for transit pax. I would like to know of an airport that doesn't security screen transit passengers though?

Plenty of places, basically all countries participating in the Schengen area, both EU members and non-EU members. Also, flights arriving from the UK in most (all?) Schengen airports, passengers would need through immigration but not security if connecting to a Schengen-area flight, or neither when staying non-Schengen. The same does not apply in the opposite direction, when connecting from a Schengen/EU country to any other destination, go through security. At some airports like FRA and ZRH arrivals from the USA are also considered "One stop security", i.e. passengers arriving from the US do not have to go rhough security again. Only immigration if continuing within Schengen area, or nothing at all if staying non-Schengen.

The US is really an odd one out, probably due to utter paranoia. Even people continuing on the same plane - for instance CDG-LAX-PPT - have to go through US immigration, customs and security. Ridiculous. But that's the way it is.

KTPAFlyer wrote:

Good Morning A.net,

Question says it all, really. Clearing customs just to make a connection back out of the country again is a hassle, and eats up time when one has to make a tight connection. IIRC, US airports don't allow this, and I think most European hubs don't either, while ME3 hubs do after a quick ticket and security check, before reentering the departure area. I am particularly interested to see if any Euro or ME airports are exceptions, all contributations appreciated, thank you.

All european hubs like LHR, FRA, MUC, CDG, AMD, ZRH allow it if you are making onward Intl to Intl connections and not entering or exiting the shenzen zone (US to Africa/Middle East/South Asia for example). SIN, KUL, HKG, NRT, AUH, DXB, DOH all allow it. Doesn't make sense to go through customs for Intl to Intl connections if you are not entering the country. US is perhaps one of the very few if not the only weird exception. Not sure about Canada though if for example one were doing a routing Mexico City - Toronto - Tokyo for whatever weird reason there may be.

airbazar wrote:

lavalampluva wrote:

Not sure many people connect from one international flight to another at an airport in the US.

Hundreds of thousands, if not a few million do it every year. Mostly at the southern hubs like IAH, MIA, DFW, ATL, LAX. Last time I was at IAH they even have special lanes dedicated to intl2intl passengers in order to speed up this process.

I thought not long after 9/11, the us required all passengers to clear. That would also require a visa. There was something I read , maybe in international business traveler about Air NZ complaining about the transit time of pax going on to LHR.. Might have changed recently. I guess if you clear in a foreign country on with pre clearance you wouldn't have to clear in the domestic US airport.. Hope the rules changed, but don't think they have.

TWA772LR wrote:

fry530 wrote:

AKL is really smooth for Intl. connections. I flew SYD-AKL-LAX-DEN and it was a breeze. I got off my flight from SYD, went through a very quick security screening, and then had a beer in the terminal. Lovely.

I don't know if it has changed, and I wouldn't surprised if so, but I flew DEN-LHR-FCO in 2006, and didn't go through customs at Heathrow. We just got shuttled between terminals, and then went through security. Has that changed since?

It must have. I flew IAH-LHR-DUB (UA then EI) and had to clear UK customs and then security. Which is odd because I thought since UK isn't Schengen that we wouldn't have to do that. We then cleared customs again in DUB.

On the way back, we considered DUB-LHR-ORD to get true F on UA, but we'd have to wake up too early (not a problem for me and my mom, but it is for my grandmother) to get the LHR flight. So I talked my mom into the preclearance IAD flight.

Truly absolutely nothing has changed.
The UK and the Republic of Ireland have had a Common Travel Area for their own Citizens dating back to the precursor of the Republic in the 1920s.
Before that flights trains, and ferries were truly domestic as the whole of the island of Ireland was included in the UK, and the idea is that UK and ROI citizens can continue to move freely between the two countries. The 310 mile land border has never had any immigration posts along it, you've always been able to walk across, and there are farms and even buildings that cross the border. There were customs (in the sense of checking the movement of goods) checkpoints on significant road and rail crossings up until the 1990s and even these have now disappeared. The harmonisation of trade arrangements within the EU did this and also extended the freedom of movement to the other 26 EU member states.
So the UK regards flights to the Irish Republic as domestic. As a result you have to legally enter the UK in order to catch one. It has always been that way since the first flight across the Irish Sea. When you arrive at Dublin (or SNN, or ORK, or NOC etc) UK and other EU citizens wave their passports or national ID cards at Irish border control to show they are exempt from formal passport inspection. Other nationalities do get inspected, but since there's a very high degree of trust and information sharing between the UK and ROI immigration services, it is a pretty cursory inspection. There's theoretically a customs (baggage) inspection if your bag originated from outside the EU (and the bag tags are colour coded to show this), but the chances are your bag went through a scanner somewhere underneath LHR and if anything interesting was spotted, Dublin already knew about it before you even landed there, so if you are "clean" you won't see anyone.
Coming the other way from the ROI to the UK, it is even easier. No outbound passport or ID control other than the airline reconciling boarding passes to real people. no UK immigration on arrival for anybody. Bags are delivered to the international belts if you're ending your journey in the UK or to the onbound flight if you're connecting. No customs (baggage) examination unless you connected in Ireland from somewhere outside the EU (those colour coded bag tags again).

Almost everywhere except the United States.

Andy33 wrote:

. There were customs (in the sense of checking the movement of goods) checkpoints on significant road and rail crossings up until the 1990s and even these have now disappeared. The harmonisation of trade arrangements within the EU did this and also extended the freedom of movement to the other 26 EU member states.

The removal of the border checkpoints was more to do with the reduction in the terrorist threat, rather than EU trade agreements.

Tartarus wrote:

Andy33 wrote:

. There were customs (in the sense of checking the movement of goods) checkpoints on significant road and rail crossings up until the 1990s and even these have now disappeared. The harmonisation of trade arrangements within the EU did this and also extended the freedom of movement to the other 26 EU member states.

The removal of the border checkpoints was more to do with the reduction in the terrorist threat, rather than EU trade agreements.

Two entirely different types of checkpoints, we're not talking about the same thing. For example until the EU harmonisation, if you travelled by train from Dublin to Belfast you'd go through UK customs at either Portadown or Belfast itself, depending on whether the train was booked to stop anywhere in NI before Belfast. In earlier days the customs point was at Goraghwood but that station closed in the 1960s. In the other direction ROI had customs examinations at Dundalk for stopping trains or Dublin for non-stops. Note these were customs inspections - looking for smuggling of dutiable goods, and had no security or immigration purpose.
Now along the road routes there were also customs points on the 15 main border crossings dating back to the Irish Free State in the 1920s, and again these had nothing to do with security or immigration and everything to do with smuggling and documenting legitimately traded goods.

At the height of the terrorism, there were security checks all over Northern Ireland, and in the border areas of the Republic, but the intensity went up and down according to the perceived threat level. There were fixed checkpoints which inspected vehicles looking for bombs and guns, and the proceeds of crimes committed on both sides of the border to fund the terror campaigns, along with suspected persons wanted either side of the border, and mobile checkpoints too.
You could be asked to produce ID if stopped, but a UK or ROI citizen didn't need a passport to cross the border, and apart from the Second World War, neither country has every issued compulsory national identity cards.

But the customs regulations changed with EU directives which were implemented in 1993, and the terrorist situation didn't change until the Unionist terrorist groups, and then the IRA declared ceasefires in the second half of 1994.

PerfectGriffin wrote:

As everyone has said, most airports do not have customs for transit pax. I would like to know of an airport that doesn't security screen transit passengers though?

This can happen in European airports that are set up correctly if you are arriving from a country that has had its security protocols vetted by the EU for One Stop Security (OSS). This applies most notably to arriving passengers from the USA and Canada. KEF is an example of a small airport that allows non-Schengen to non-Schengen connections without checks of any sort. Going between UK/Ireland and USA/Canada via KEF just involves walking from gate to gate.

PanHAM wrote:

Any Major world Airport outside the US provides facilities for international travellers to make cnnections without entering the Country. Transit from third countries to third countries is daily Business. However, if the Destination Airport is in the Schengen area, the traveller must enter the Schengen area at the first port of entry.

But the "hubs" do not allow that, customs gives it's OK and customs reserves the right to check Transit baggage for narcotics, items lised in the SITES list, currency and whatever else is not allowed to take along.

Okay, that's got me thinking, i've been traveling through ZHR (connecting to Italy) a few times this year from the US, i've gone through border control, but for the life of me I cannot remember passing through customs, I can't see me missing it and i'm guessing this would be a rather obvious gap they would know about.

Edit: [quote="Andy33"

The DEN-LHR-FCO journey still requires no immigration or customs check at LHR, just security. If you connected at FRA instead, you'd go through Schengen Area immigration (no customs) at FRA, and customs (no immigration) at FCO.
[/quote]

Okay, that jogged my memory, i've been flying into Venice and I walked through the green channel there, okay, let's blame old age and jet lag.

PerfectGriffin wrote:

At the ME3 hubs, transit passengers pass through security again, but this is the most lax security in the world.

In DXB it varies, perhaps by route. On arrival bags get put through a scanner and passengers walk trough a metal detector. Then as you board your next flight there is often a secondary check with a physical search of cabin bags in the departure gate lounge. This secondary search on boarding has happened on all my flights to PER in the past two years but oddly not on flights to HAM.

I made a transfer in LHR in May. I came in on UA from IAH, cleared UK customs and security, then went on to an EI flight to DUB. Never left terminal 2.

If you flew FCO-AMS-FRA (for whatever reason), would that be a situation where you would have no immigration at FCO or FRA, only security @ AMS and only customs in FRA?

Ro

RohanDXB wrote:

If you flew FCO-AMS-FRA (for whatever reason), would that be a situation where you would have no immigration at FCO or FRA, only security @ AMS and only customs in FRA?

Ro

Negative. FCO (Italy), AMS (Netherlands) and FRA (Germany) are all Schengen countries. There would not be any customs to speak of and it would all be the same as flying domestically.

So you might have to go through security when connecting in AMS, but other than that you should never have to go through passport control or customs at any of the airports.

As mentioned above KEF allows connections without security checks or customs provided your origin and destinations are both either Schengen or non-Schengen. Given the usual added security that typically comes with flights to the States I was very surprised at this last time I flew with Wow Air to Baltimore.

The only other one I can think of is LHR if flying in from Dublin and out to another international destination.

On a mention of the States is it not technically possible to transit through Anchorage? I always thought they had some sort of exception?

One of my favourite cities to transit through is always Moscow, it's quick and easy, and the ability to look out at some interesting aircraft is always nice.

DAL763ER wrote:

RohanDXB wrote:

If you flew FCO-AMS-FRA (for whatever reason), would that be a situation where you would have no immigration at FCO or FRA, only security @ AMS and only customs in FRA?

Ro

Negative. FCO (Italy), AMS (Netherlands) and FRA (Germany) are all Schengen countries. There would not be any customs to speak of and it would all be the same as flying domestically.

So you might have to go through security when connecting in AMS, but other than that you should never have to go through passport control or customs at any of the airports.

Technically not entirely correct, you would still have to go through customs in FRA as German airports are set up in a lay-out where all flights' baggage claim is mixed (after some have had to clear non-Schengen immigration; non-EU/EEA arrivals are discriminated from EU/EEA arrivals by white and green-edged bag tags) and speaking from a legal point of view there might be situations in which you would actually have to declare commercial quantities of cigarettes or related goods within the EU. I always have to go through customs flying domestically within Germany. The difference, though, is that I have never talked to any customs official or filled out any customs form ever when arriving in Germany dozens of times.

DAL763ER wrote:

RohanDXB wrote:

If you flew FCO-AMS-FRA (for whatever reason), would that be a situation where you would have no immigration at FCO or FRA, only security @ AMS and only customs in FRA?

Ro

Negative. FCO (Italy), AMS (Netherlands) and FRA (Germany) are all Schengen countries. There would not be any customs to speak of and it would all be the same as flying domestically.

So you might have to go through security when connecting in AMS, but other than that you should never have to go through passport control or customs at any of the airports.

There would be no security check at AMS either. On Schengen-Schengen connections you just go to your next gate with no other formalities. They don't even want to see your passport or any other ID at the gate when boarding. I've made many connections via AMS from Geneva within Schengen where I've never had to take my passport out of my pocket for the entire trip (except sometimes when checking in at a hotel at my destination). At some airports they still ask for it at the security checkpoint and at the gate when boarding but in my experience that's the minority for Schengen flights.

HGL wrote:

PerfectGriffin wrote:

At the ME3 hubs, transit passengers pass through security again, but this is the most lax security in the world.

In DXB it varies, perhaps by route. On arrival bags get put through a scanner and passengers walk trough a metal detector. Then as you board your next flight there is often a secondary check with a physical search of cabin bags in the departure gate lounge. This secondary search on boarding has happened on all my flights to PER in the past two years but oddly not on flights to HAM.

That secondary check varies by destination. USA and Australia require higher security checks (might be other destinations as well). You see this is DOH as well. Australia and US flights use the C concourse gates there, because those gates have security screening points at the gate as well (which can be bypassed for other destinations).

-CXfirst

747megatop wrote:

KTPAFlyer wrote:

Good Morning A.net,

Question says it all, really. Clearing customs just to make a connection back out of the country again is a hassle, and eats up time when one has to make a tight connection. IIRC, US airports don't allow this, and I think most European hubs don't either, while ME3 hubs do after a quick ticket and security check, before reentering the departure area. I am particularly interested to see if any Euro or ME airports are exceptions, all contributations appreciated, thank you.

All european hubs like LHR, FRA, MUC, CDG, AMD, ZRH allow it if you are making onward Intl to Intl connections and not entering or exiting the shenzen zone (US to Africa/Middle East/South Asia for example). SIN, KUL, HKG, NRT, AUH, DXB, DOH all allow it. Doesn't make sense to go through customs for Intl to Intl connections if you are not entering the country. US is perhaps one of the very few if not the only weird exception. Not sure about Canada though if for example one were doing a routing Mexico City - Toronto - Tokyo for whatever weird reason there may be.

There are two airports in Canada that offer connections without clearing customs. It can be done at YVR and and YYZ T1. So your hypothetical traveler could do MEX - YYZ - HND on AC and bypass customs. However, if he or she would wish to combine AM with AC, he or she would need to clear Canadian customs, as there is no transfer between T3 and T1 on the air side.
There is another problem. If the traveler needs eTA, he will need eTA to connect as well. If the passenger needs visa to enter Canada, he will need transit visa to connect in Canada. Transit without visa is offered to citizens of few select countries for connections to the USA. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department ... ellers.asp

notconcerned wrote:

oldannyboy wrote:

It happens every day, everywhere, but in America. It's one of America's oddities.

Mainland China is also an another exception. You still need to clear immigration and in most cases customs to connect to an international flight. Hence the convenience of the 24/72h visa-free transit in China.

Not necessarily true. PEK's Terminal 3 allows for int'l-int'l connections without entry into China. I think transfer-without-visa was meant for short stay tourism or for transferring between terminals, but you can connect without entering China. Yes, you must show your passport with connecting boarding pass several times, but upon arrival you go through a side booth by the immigration counters that is different from the TWOV and visa entry lines. You then you go down an escalator that deposits you into the security screening area beyond departure passport control. You never have your passport stamped, nor do you pick up your luggage, and you never enter China.

Also, identical to the USA, Mexico requires all int'l-int'l connecting pax to officially clear immigration, pick up luggage, and pass through customs before dropping luggage off and passing through departure security.

lavalampluva wrote:

airbazar wrote:

lavalampluva wrote:

Not sure many people connect from one international flight to another at an airport in the US.

Hundreds of thousands, if not a few million do it every year. Mostly at the southern hubs like IAH, MIA, DFW, ATL, LAX. Last time I was at IAH they even have special lanes dedicated to intl2intl passengers in order to speed up this process.

I wouldn't have guessed that. I figured that there would probably be some Canadian flyers who may have made connections in the US to other international flights.

Except that travellers coming from Canada would have cleared US Immigration at the point of departure in Canada, so would technically be making a Domestic -> International connection in the States.

Saudi Arabia allows it.

Maybe I got some mis-information in BKK last weekend. I'd assumed I could stay airside (like I've done at SIN twice in the past few months) and I did so until 3 hours before my flight. I went to the KE "transfer" desk and requested my boarding card for my flight. The lady stated I needed to clear immigration, go upstairs to check-in at island N for my boarding cards and proceed through security and such. Indeed the process only took about an hour on the Sunday night and in the end my flight to ICN was delayed nearly two hours, from 2240 until sometime after midnight. So in the end it was all good. Upside is I got my passport stamped for Thailand...something I can't say about Singapore.

This trip was simply an Avgeek weekend trip routing LAX-ICN-BKK-ICN-SFO to fly the KE 747-8 ICN-SFO in this my 40th anniversary year of my first 747 flight in 1977. The other planes were A380, A333, 773 and then the 747-8i flight.

I did what I was told without fussing about it but was it really necessary? It wasn't really a "transit" because I was returning to the same airport I'd flown in from...was that the reason? I never left the terminal for nearly 24 hours...like I'd done at SIN. I took advantage of the Pay-as-you-go Transit Lounge and got a shower, used the internet to check in for my flight...but didn't print any boarding cards. Had a couple drinks and some of the munchies. Rested a bit. Enjoyed plane watching at BKK from inside. the terminal windows suck by the way for photos for the most part but the quality and variety of the airliners is awesome for a first-time visitor.


Moe