Overseas Flight Question

[will work to cruise]

To all of you seasoned overseas fliers out there, I have a question.

 

We are booked for our first Med cruise June 2012. This will be our first time flying out of the US. We will be leaving Denver and changing planes in Philadelphia, then on to Barcelona. My question is, will we go through Customs in Denver before we board or in Philly? If it's Philly, how much time should we allow between flights to go through Customs?

 

Thanks for any and all responses!

 

Mike

[CleoPat]

You do not go through customs going out of the country. Only entering into a country. So you go through immigration at the first international airport you land in. Coming home you go through U.S. Customs in the first state you arrive in.

[kbmeow]

I have done international flights. You do not go threw customs until you get off the plane. So you will go threw customs in Barcelona and on the way back you will go threw customs at your fist US stop and from there I would give a good hour from getting off plane to getting into next security line. We came into NY and had a flight change over and it took a good hour to get to our next flight area. Just make sure you carry a pen on the planes for the customs forms you need to fill out on both sides. Also have the address of something you are going to in Spain. They often ask a address of where you are going on customs forms

[Scotsnomad]

In the UK, if going on an international flight you enter C&E (Customs) Security point at your start point and when you arrive at your next airport you pass through the in-transit channels so that there is no need to pass through customs agains. The security point is for ensuring that you are not taking any prohibited goods onboard the aircraft. This is the only time you are likely to encounter any formalities between your departure point and your arrival in Barcelona. That is your first point for declaring goods at C&E. The only C&E that you are likely to encounter is at your point of arrival, as long as you remain within the transit areas and do not leave the airport

 

Your bags for example will only be check in at your departure point and you wont see them again until you arrive in Barcelona (One less thing to worry about) Hope that this applies state side for you also :)

[bus man]

On your outbound flight, you won't go through customs until you arrive in Barcelona. They will check your passport before boarding in Philadelphia, and there's a remote chance they'll check it in Denver as well (since you'll be booked on a thru-flight to an international destination), so be sure and have it handy.

 

On your return flight, you will go through customs in Philadelphia. Then, PHL to DEN is a domestic flight, same as any other you've been on. International flights arrive at Terminal A in Philadelphia, and domestic flights depart from other terminals (most of them do, at any rate), so be prepared to switch terminals. Unless they have some kind of shuttle from the customs hall to the other terminals (no idea if they do or not), you'll have to go through security again.

[KreiderCarter]

You could be subject to a Customs examination leaving the country as well, in this case Philadelphia. It doesn't happen often but it is possible, don't worry about allowing for time as the airline will be made aware of the exams by CBP and the plane won't leave.

[peteukmcr]

As you are travelling to Spain you will also have to provide 'Advance Passenger Information' to your airline before you check in. This is often referred to 'APIS' and is similar to that information requested by the US before non-US citizens leave their country of origin and fly to the US.

 

The information required is:

• First Name (as on passport)
  
• Family Name (as on passport)
  
• Gender
  
• Date of Birth
  
• Nationality
  
• Passport Number
  
• Expiry Date of Passport
  

Airlines must have this information before passengers can be checked in. Passengers who refuse to supply this information may be restricted from entering the country by the Spanish immigration department.

 

Once you have booked your flights it would a good idea to check how to provide this information in advance of your arrival at the airport to check in, or before checking in online.

[SamInWa]

I once had a harrowing time going from SEA – SFO – SYD. We has about a 1 hour 50 minute layover.

Long story short, there were air traffic control delays and a screw up in baggage. We only made out connecting flight because there was a fuel spill on the tarmac.

Moral of the story is that although the usual guideline is to allow 2 hours for an international connection (minimum) you might want to have a longer layover just in case.

In our case Quantas only had one flight a day from SFO – SYD, so we would have had to wait overnight.

[orchidj5]

Have you already purchased tickets? if you have not be sure you allow adequate time to clear customs when returning to the US-it can be quiet time consuming. We flew Colorado Springs-Atlanta-Venice and returned Rome-Detriot-Salt Lake-Colorado Springs last summer and a 5 and a half hour lay over in Detriot left us barely time to use the restroom and grab a quick bite before boarding our SLC flight. there were two international flights arriving in Detriot at the same time-everyone must collect luggage(stand in line), have your passport and declaraitions reviewed by a US customs agent(stand in line), pay duty if required (stand in line), check you bags back in for your domestic flight (stand in line) and pass thru the standard TSA security check ( Stand in line) before leaving the international arrivals area to board your domestic flight. I would NOT attempt to make an international return to ANY US airport with less than a 4 hour layover and longer in busier ones where there are alot of incoming international flights ( Boston, JFK,Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, LAX, or SEATAC).

[tulsacubfan]

Have you already purchased tickets? if you have not be sure you allow adequate time to clear customs when returning to the US-it can be quiet time consuming. We flew Colorado Springs-Atlanta-Venice and returned Rome-Detriot-Salt Lake-Colorado Springs last summer and a 5 and a half hour lay over in Detriot left us barely time to use the restroom and grab a quick bite before boarding our SLC flight. there were two international flights arriving in Detriot at the same time-everyone must collect luggage(stand in line), have your passport and declaraitions reviewed by a US customs agent(stand in line), pay duty if required (stand in line), check you bags back in for your domestic flight (stand in line) and pass thru the standard TSA security check ( Stand in line) before leaving the international arrivals area to board your domestic flight. I would NOT attempt to make an international return to ANY US airport with less than a 4 hour layover and longer in busier ones where there are alot of incoming international flights ( Boston, JFK,Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, LAX, or SEATAC).

 

Just got back from Canada and had allowed time to take care of this in Denver (first US city). However, I was surprised we did this in Canada instead of Denver.... I am assuming there is something different about coming in through Canada? They had US customs there.....seemed odd being in Canadian airport and seeing banners "Welcome to United States"!

[cruzgryphon]

Just got back from Canada and had allowed time to take care of this in Denver (first US city). However, I was surprised we did this in Canada instead of Denver.... I am assuming there is something different about coming in through Canada? They had US customs there.....seemed odd being in Canadian airport and seeing banners "Welcome to United States"!

 

The major Canadian Airports have US customs on site - been like that for awhile. A lot of Canadians vacation/ spend winters in the US so it actually helps logistics up on the arrivals side ( i.e. flights from Canada can arrive/use at domestic terminals in the US since passengers have cleared US customs already). Also applies to passengers flying via Canada to the US - they have to clear Canadian and US customs.

[uksimonusa]

They also have US customs and immigration in Ireland, although that wont apply to the op.