Clearing Customs Questions when arriving

[MSEm]

I will be flying into Venice, Italy by a connecting flight from Rome, Italy.

Do I claim my luggage and clear customs before going to my connecting flight?

 

I arrive in Rome on Delta. My connections into Venice is on Alitalia.

Thanks for any information on the airports or customs.

 

MSEm

[orchestrapal]

I will be flying into Venice, Italy by a connecting flight from Rome, Italy.

Do I claim my luggage and clear customs before going to my connecting flight?

 

I arrive in Rome on Delta. My connections into Venice is on Alitalia.

Thanks for any information on the airports or customs.

 

MSEm

 

Your baggage will be sent to your final destination

where you will go through passport clearance followed by baggage claim.

[pacheco18]

Your baggage will be sent to your final destination

where you will go through passport clearance followed by baggage claim.

 

UNLESS your final destination does not have a Customs Office/Immigration (such as Tucson or Phoenix)

[WaterView2]

There may be some confusion here. In most countries you clear customs at your first port of entry. In this instance the Rome-Venice flight is a domestic flight on a different airline so most likely clearing customs would take place on arrival in Rome on the Delta flight. Note, I haven't taken this connection but I don't see how they could put unscreened international passengers on a domestic flight.

 

If the Delta flight continued on to Venice that would be a different situation and you probably would clear Customs in Venice.

 

By the way Phoenix has customs and immigration, many international flights.

[pacheco18]

By the way Phoenix has customs and immigration, many international flights.

 

I was not aware (we live in Tucson and usually fly backk to Tucson) - but if we fly via Atlanta we go through customs in Atlanta.

[LHT28]

I will be flying into Venice, Italy by a connecting flight from Rome, Italy.

Do I claim my luggage and clear customs before going to my connecting flight?

 

I arrive in Rome on Delta. My connections into Venice is on Alitalia.

Thanks for any information on the airports or customs.

 

MSEm

Best thing to do is ask when you check in if your bags are through checked to VCE

Maybe Delta & Alitalia have an agreement

[rallydave]

Best thing to do is ask when you check in if your bags are through checked to VCE

Maybe Delta & Alitalia have an agreement

 

Sorry but, that check won't help as bags will be checked thru to VCE even if you clear customs in Rome then you simply re-check after customs.

 

As far as the US is concerned, you ALWAYS clear customs at your first stop as the US doesn't have "transit" areas as other areas for the world do. Would think if you are transferring to a true domestic flight in Italy, you will clear customs in Rome. Going from International to International in most countries (except the US) your bags are transferred to the next international flight and you go thru the transit area to the international departure area. Probable reason this can't happen in the US is that we don't have transit areas or international flights arriving and departing closed terminals.

 

There are other situations but, the above covers most situations.

[boooomer]

We're flying from Europe through Newark to Miami. Does anyone know if we will we need to take our baggage through Customs in Newark? And then recheck it in for our connection to Miami?:eek:

 

FWIW, 2 years ago, when we flew to Venice connecting through DeGaulle, our luggage went straight through, and we went through Customs Control in DeGaulle. When we arrived in Venice, we picked up our luggage, walked out & grabbed the Vaporetto. No Customs Control in Venice. I was told that's because France & Italy are both Schengen countries. Simple & efficient.

[rallydave]

We're flying from Europe through Newark to Miami. Does anyone know if we will we need to take our baggage through Customs in Newark? And then recheck it in for our connection to Miami?:eek:

 

FWIW, 2 years ago, when we flew to Venice connecting through DeGaulle, our luggage went straight through, and we went through Customs Control in DeGaulle. When we arrived in Venice, we picked up our luggage, walked out & grabbed the Vaporetto. No Customs Control in Venice. I was told that's because France & Italy are both Schengen countries. Simple & efficient.

 

Yes, in Newark you will have to clear customs and immigration so make sure your connection is long enough. Also, you will need to go back thru security and most probably change terminals. As I said, no way to avoid this in the US. In the US ALWAYS clear customs/immigration at your first stop in the US even if your plane continues to another city, everyone has to get off the plane at the first stop along with all the luggage.

 

Your experience in DeGaulle was one of the other issues I didn't mention and should work in most Shengen countries.

[WaterView2]

Boooomer, I think you will have to clear Customs in Newark. As rallydave pointed out, in the USA you clear at the first port of entry. That is a good general rule because of the immigration, customs and security issues involved with mixing international and domestic passengers and their bags. There are some exceptions, the intra-European flights are one depending on the countries and the layout of the airport terminals involved.

 

Back to the Rome airport question, it was recently expanded and Delta now uses the new terminal 5 (they used to be in C, now called 3). Alitalia flights are scattered around mostly in terminal 1 (the old A) and 2 (B). I'm pretty sure that you have to clear customs from the Delta flight in Rome before rechecking in with Alitalia for the Venice flight. I would ask Delta to be sure as LHT28 suggested.

[boooomer]

Yes, in Newark you will have to clear customs and immigration so make sure your connection is long enough. Also, you will need to go back thru security and most probably change terminals. As I said, no way to avoid this in the US. In the US ALWAYS clear customs/immigration at your first stop in the US even if your plane continues to another city, everyone has to get off the plane at the first stop along with all the luggage.

 

Your experience in DeGaulle was one of the other issues I didn't mention and should work in most Shengen countries.

 

Boooomer, I think you will have to clear Customs in Newark. As rallydave pointed out, in the USA you clear at the first port of entry. That is a good general rule because of the immigration, customs and security issues involved with mixing international and domestic passengers and their bags. There are some exceptions, the intra-European flights are one depending on the countries and the layout of the airport terminals involved.

 

Back to the Rome airport question, it was recently expanded and Delta now uses the new terminal 5 (they used to be in C, now called 3). Alitalia flights are scattered around mostly in terminal 1 (the old A) and 2 (B). I'm pretty sure that you have to clear customs from the Delta flight in Rome before rechecking in with Alitalia for the Venice flight. I would ask Delta to be sure as LHT28 suggested.

 

Thank you Rallyedave & Waterview. and to the OP for a great question!

Not the answer I was hoping for but extremely valuable.

 

So, to make a connection, you have wait for your baggage, wait in line for customs, then find your way to a different terminal check your baggage and wait in line to go through security and then make your way to the gate a half hour before departure.

 

I'm surprised that airlines will book inbound international flights through Newark (or any other US city for that matter) with as little as 85 minutes for connecting flights. I think 2 hours would be tight.

[neepawa]

Delta has a code share agreement with Alitalia. When you check in at the airport in the USA, your luggage should be tagged through to Venice. Give Delta a call at 800-241-4141 to confirm.

Cheers,

Don

[LHT28]

Sorry but, that check won't help as bags will be checked thru to VCE even if you clear customs in Rome then you simply re-check after customs.

 

I always ask in Toronto at the check in if my bags will be through checked if I have a connection...just to confirm

I do not want them sitting in the transiting airport while I am at my destination without them

 

I am sure the desk check in person in the USA could tell them what tag is going on the bag :rolleyes:

 

Lyn

[Jancruz]

I will be flying into Venice, Italy by a connecting flight from Rome, Italy.

Do I claim my luggage and clear customs before going to my connecting flight?

 

I arrive in Rome on Delta. My connections into Venice is on Alitalia.

Thanks for any information on the airports or customs.

 

MSEm

 

You are considered in transit and your bags will arrive with you in Venice..

Jancruz1

[rallydave]

Thank you Rallyedave & Waterview. and to the OP for a great question!

Not the answer I was hoping for but extremely valuable.

 

So, to make a connection, you have wait for your baggage, wait in line for customs, then find your way to a different terminal check your baggage and wait in line to go through security and then make your way to the gate a half hour before departure.

 

 

 

I'm surprised that airlines will book inbound international flights through Newark (or any other US city for that matter) with as little as 85 minutes for connecting flights. I think 2 hours would be tight.

 

One small correction to your statement above; once you clear customs you immediately come to the baggage recheck area where you simply drop off you baggage as it was originally tagged to your final destination. You do not have to go to the check-in area in the other terminal to check your baggage; you go straight thru the security line and head for your gate.

 

Your comment about too little connect times is absolutely valid. Our last international connection thru Newark was way too tight for what was called a legal connection so we had Regent change the connecting flight to a later one and all went well.

 

Delta has a code share agreement with Alitalia. When you check in at the airport in the USA, your luggage should be tagged through to Venice. Give Delta a call at 800-241-4141 to confirm.

 

Cheers,

 

Don

 

Code share agreements have absolutely nothing to do with how your luggage will be checked in. Almost every airline in the world except a few low cost airlines such as but, not limited to Southwest or Easy Jet have agreements in place to what is called "interline baggage". Interline agreements are totally different than Code Share Agreements.

 

For instance, if you have flights on United, American, and Delta; all three airlines in different Alliances and with different Code Share agreements the interline baggage agreement will allow you to check in with United and pick up your baggage after you get off the Delta flight. This works as well for International flights as long as one of them doesn't interline baggage.

 

Sure Delta and Alitalia have baggage agreements as well as code share agreements but, want to make sure people understand the differences and ask the right question for the situation.

[boooomer]

One small correction to your statement above; once you clear customs you immediately come to the baggage recheck area where you simply drop off you baggage as it was originally tagged to your final destination. You do not have to go to the check-in area in the other terminal to check your baggage; you go straight thru the security line and head for your gate.

 

Your comment about too little connect times is absolutely valid. Our last international connection thru Newark was way too tight for what was called a legal connection so we had Regent change the connecting flight to a later one and all went well.

 

My take away from this invaluable discussion is that it's better to do a connection in Europe (if you have the choice) rather than the US. That way you don't have to WAIT for, and handle the baggage going through customs control. For instance on our return flight from Amsterdam to Miami next summer - it's better to do the connection in Paris or Frankfurt rather than say Newark, JFK or Atlanta.

 

Good information here Thank You!!

[Floridiana]

For instance on our return flight from Amsterdam to Miami next summer - it's better to do the connection in Paris or Frankfurt rather than say Newark, JFK or Atlanta.

 

Good information here Thank You!!

 

Sounds good BUT some European airports can give you a headache. I would avoid Paris DeGaulle airport. I don't really like the Frankfurt airport either. Newark is ok, haven't been in JFK for a decade and never in Atlanta. Maybe someone with recent experience in these airports can chime in.

[pacheco18]

Sounds good BUT some European airports can give you a headache. I would avoid Paris DeGaulle airport. I don't really like the Frankfurt airport either. Newark is ok, haven't been in JFK for a decade and never in Atlanta. Maybe someone with recent experience in these airports can chime in.

 

Atlanta is a breeze -- you go through immigration, get your bags, go through customs and put your bags right back on the conveyor belt. I have never been stopped there.

[neepawa]

In mid-September, we went through Frankfurt on our trip to Moscow, returning from Saint Petersburg. Since we were changing planes, we stayed on the air side so there was no customs or immigration check; a very smooth experience except for the 5 hour connection time.

Cheer

Don

[rubysue]

We were forced to go out of security at Frankfurt in September between our flight from Barcelona and our continuing flight on Lufthansa to the US.

 

The security at Frankfurt (concourse C) was a horrible experience, far worse than anything I had from TSA, at a dozen ports or in Barcelona. I have two new artificial knees. The woman who screened me hit me on the front of both knees with the wand and made me kneel on a cushion and bend my knees as far as possible while wanding them (very uncomfortable). She screamed at me for having a small tissue in my pocket. She put her hand up my blouse and down my pants. They ripped apart our carry on bags and we had to explain every item. They took one camera and did an additional test that we were not allowed to witness. They were doing this level of scrutiny on about 50% of the travelers. I complained about the treatment, which left my newer knee (left one) hurting for several hours.

 

I hate that airport - you are certainly NOT guaranteed a transit passage because we had no choice but to leave security and re-enter again. We will look at any option in the future that avoids Frankfurt.

 

Our final flight was a non-stop to Denver from Frankfurt. The customs and immigration here took less than fifteen minutes (most of that was waiting for the bags). If you live in the western US, this may be an option with more international non-stops being added all the time.

[Jancruz]

In mid-September, we went through Frankfurt on our trip to Moscow, returning from Saint Petersburg. Since we were changing planes, we stayed on the air side so there was no customs or immigration check; a very smooth experience except for the 5 hour connection time.

Cheer

Don

 

In transit..

Jancruz1

[Jancruz]

We were forced to go out of security at Frankfurt in September between our flight from Barcelona and our continuing flight on Lufthansa to the US.

 

The security at Frankfurt (concourse C) was a horrible experience, far worse than anything I had from TSA, at a dozen ports or in Barcelona. I have two new artificial knees. The woman who screened me hit me on the front of both knees with the wand and made me kneel on a cushion and bend my knees as far as possible while wanding them (very uncomfortable). She screamed at me for having a small tissue in my pocket. She put her hand up my blouse and down my pants. They ripped apart our carry on bags and we had to explain every item. They took one camera and did an additional test that we were not allowed to witness. They were doing this level of scrutiny on about 50% of the travelers. I complained about the treatment, which left my newer knee (left one) hurting for several hours.

 

I hate that airport - you are certainly NOT guaranteed a transit passage because we had no choice but to leave security and re-enter again. We will look at any option in the future that avoids Frankfurt.

 

Our final flight was a non-stop to Denver from Frankfurt. The customs and immigration here took less than fifteen minutes (most of that was waiting for the bags). If you live in the western US, this may be an option with more international non-stops being added all the time.

 

IMHO Frankfurt is the worst airport to connect in because you are correctt..you are forced thrpugh security again..tho not with your luggage..

Jamcruz1

[jpalbny]

In mid-September, we went through Frankfurt on our trip to Moscow, returning from Saint Petersburg. Since we were changing planes, we stayed on the air side so there was no customs or immigration check; a very smooth experience except for the 5 hour connection time.

 

Cheer

 

Don

 

We were forced to go out of security at Frankfurt in September between our flight from Barcelona and our continuing flight on Lufthansa to the US.

 

...nightmare...

 

Rubysue, I feel for you. Sounded painful.

 

There is a perfectly good reason that these two experiences were different, though. European airports have two distinct zones - once you pass through passport control, for all practical purposes you have exited the country - that part of the airport is treated as a foreign country. The rest of the airport is part of Europe, and handles only domestic flights.

 

If you arrive in Europe via an international (non-Schengen) flight, you arrive in the foreign part of the airport, and have to pass through immigration/customs to enter the European part. If you're connecting to another international flight, you never leave the foreign part of the airport, never pass through customs, never have your passport stamped.

 

The confusing part is when you arrive from an inter-European (Schengen) flight and connect to somewhere international like the US. You have to go through passport control and have to be rescreened to enter the "foreign" (non-Schengen) part of the airport.

 

Neepawa arrived in FRA via an international (non-Schengen) flight from Moscow, and stayed in the "in-transit" area because he was boarding a flight to another non-Schengen destination - USA. Neepawa never had to ENTER the secure area for international departures, because his flight arrived there, and he simply never left it.

 

Rubysue, you arrived in the Schengen part of FRA and had to pass through passport control, then security so that you could get into the non-Schengen part of the airport to catch your international flight. Thus, your painful experience with security there. Since you arrived from a Schengen destination (BCN), you had not cleared INTERNATIONAL security, nor passport control in BCN. You had to do it in FRA.

 

The SCHENGEN agreement is between most European countries; they are treated as a single entity for immigration purposes. So flying from say, Italy to France you DO NOT go through passport control, akin to flying from New York to Florida. Here is an article on Schengen if you are interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area

 

I'll illustrate with two of our personal experiences - we fly through AMS frequently enough to have done it both ways. When we went Oslo-AMS-JFK, we passed through security in OSL, then upon arrival in AMS we passed through passport control and security again to get into the international part of the airport so we could get on the plane to JFK.

 

When we flew from Cape Town-AMS-USA last year, we went through passport control and security screening in CPT, but DID NOT go through passport control or additional airport security screening in AMS. Reason - we never ENTERED the Schengen zone! Because we arrived via an international flight, and left by another one, we stayed "in-transit" for our entire time in AMS, never legally entering the Netherlands.

 

Make sense? It's confusing...

[rubysue]

It is very confusing! I do appreciate the great explanation, however. It makes sense.

 

A number of years ago (2002) we flew through Munich to Naples. We had a perfunctory check of our passports in Munich as we went through the guinea pig maze and were considered in transit, so no security rescreening. When we arrived in Naples, we had no checks whatsoever (passports, customs). In fact, the smiling immigration officials opened the door for us to waltz right out of the airport! Pretty funny!

[neepawa]

jpalbny

Your explanation is bang on except for one minor point; we were flying back to Canada not the USA.

Cheers,

Don