Customs with Connecting Flights

Jeannine12

So I have been out of the US to Europe but always on a direct flight.  We are looking at flights to Spain and many of the flights have a layover somewhere.  Now do you need to go through that countries customs?  So if we have to stop we should have a bigger block of time correct?  I just dont want to miss a connecting flight because we were stuck in customs.

Maggie0829

I am assuming that both flights are on the same ticket?  If so, then no you should not have to go through customs at your layover location.  Your bags will be checked through to your final destination. The only thing that you may have to do again is go through security to re-enter the main international terminal area.

daria24

If both flights are on the same ticket/same airline (or a code-sharing partner) you don't usually have to go through immigration, but it depends on where your layover is. For instance, I flew from JFK>Frankfurt>Munich and didn't have to go through passport control. 

i would look at how many flights they have from City 2 to City 3 throughout the day-on the above mentioned flight, we had about an hour layover and ended up landing with less than 15 minutes to go before the connecting flight. But the airline at flights from Frankfurt to Berlin every hour, it was no big deal to just bump us to the next flight. 

Just remember when you re-enter the US, you have to go through customs & border patrol on your first flight that arrives in the US. So if you have a connection within the US, make sure you give yourself time. 

delujm0

Generally, you wil go through customs in your first stop in the country of your final destination.  So if you connect from the US to Munich and then your final destination is Paris, you don't go through customs until you get to Paris.  But if you are coming back and your flight is Paris to Atlanta to New York, you'll go through customs in Atlanta.

 

Depending on the country, you will sometimes go through a quick passort check at your connction site, even if you have an international connection.  we flew from New York to Johannesburg and then to Mauritius (separate country) and had to do a quickie passport check in Jo'Burg and then full customs in Mauritius.  Depends on the country really.

Jeannine12

Yeah I know about the US customs because that happened once to use coming in from Mexico to Austin...and us missing our flight but luckly for us they go to Newark all the time.  But this is going from JFK to Dublin to Barcelona...so I wanted to make sure we had time.

Thank you for the feedback

climbingsingle

When we flew to Florence we changed planes in Paris. We had to go through security and customs before boarding the plane to Italy.

500days

Yes, it definitely depends on the country and it's worth asking before you book. I have only had one experience with this. On my flight to Bogota I had a layover in Panama and had to go through a similar passport and security check that @delujm0 described.

CMGragain

No customs as long as you don't leave the passenger waiting area in the airport.  If you decide to leave the building to take in some sights, then you will have to go through customs.

majesty318

I have traveled to Madrid via Lisbon and Catania via Dusseldorf, so all stops were EU countries, like your trip. I had to go through passport control at the first stop. Not customs - I did not have to collect my luggage or declare anything - but I did have to wait in (long) lines to get my passport stamped.

Jeannine12

@majesty318 thank you that is what i figured...so I am going to make sure if we need a layover that there is a good span of time between it.

Thank you all!  Getting so excited for Spain!

delujm0

majesty318 said:

I have traveled to Madrid via Lisbon and Catania via Dusseldorf, so all stops were EU countries, like your trip. I had to go through passport control at the first stop. Not customs - I did not have to collect my luggage or declare anything - but I did have to wait in (long) lines to get my passport stamped.

I think this also depends on the airport and whether there is the ability to get to your connecting flight without leaving the secure area.  I went to London from the US via Paris, and in Paris i did NOT have to go through passport control.  I followed the signs for International Transfers, and there was a bus to take between terminals that i got on without leaving the secure area.  when i got to the second terminal i did have to go through security again, but no passport control.  i did full customs and passport control in London.  a lot of the time, if you do some research on tripadvisor forums, you can get specific information about your connecting airport and how to avoid having to go through passport control if that is an available option.  a lot of people don't realize that this is an option in Paris (CDG airport) so they just leave the secure area without realizing that there is a way around it.

haleyk620

Jeannine12 said:

Yeah I know about the US customs because that happened once to use coming in from Mexico to Austin...and us missing our flight but luckly for us they go to Newark all the time.  But this is going from JFK to Dublin to Barcelona...so I wanted to make sure we had time.

Thank you for the feedback

I know your question was in regards to your departure for your honeymoon, but I have a little insight if you are flying back through Dublin on your way to the US. You will be able to go through US customs in Dublin's airport ( which is super nice and saves time upon your arrival in the US)!

lyndausvi

delujm0 said:

majesty318 said:

I have traveled to Madrid via Lisbon and Catania via Dusseldorf, so all stops were EU countries, like your trip. I had to go through passport control at the first stop. Not customs - I did not have to collect my luggage or declare anything - but I did have to wait in (long) lines to get my passport stamped.

I think this also depends on the airport and whether there is the ability to get to your connecting flight without leaving the secure area.  I went to London from the US via Paris, and in Paris i did NOT have to go through passport control.  I followed the signs for International Transfers, and there was a bus to take between terminals that i got on without leaving the secure area.  when i got to the second terminal i did have to go through security again, but no passport control.  i did full customs and passport control in London.  a lot of the time, if you do some research on tripadvisor forums, you can get specific information about your connecting airport and how to avoid having to go through passport control if that is an available option.  a lot of people don't realize that this is an option in Paris (CDG airport) so they just leave the secure area without realizing that there is a way around it.

 We went to Vienna via London.  No immigration/customs, but we had a fairly long bus ride to the  connecting flight terminal (via secured buses).   We  then had to go through security again.  That took about as long as immigration.

So no immigration/customs doesn't always mean fast transfers.

climbingsingle

When we were in CDG, we had no choice but to go through passport control. I actually almost walked right through it because I didn't realize, and they stopped me and yelled at me in French. 

lovemesomemonster

What every one else is saying.. I did two trips to Asia this year and on the way back it looked like this.. Go through Security in Singapore, fly to Tokyo.. go through security again in Tokyo, fly to Seattle.. go through customs in Seattle, pick up my check bag, drop it back off, go through security and catch my last flight. Give yourself some time if you don't know the airport well or how long things usually take, Tokyo was super fast, and so was South Korea but the second time coming into Seattle their computers were broken and it held things up to the point I almost missed my last flight. Another thing to note, most other countries do not require you to take off your shoes, I started going this the first flight through Tokyo and realized I was the only one taking them off

500days

lovemesomemonster said:

What every one else is saying.. I did two trips to Asia this year and on the way back it looked like this.. Go through Security in Singapore, fly to Tokyo.. go through security again in Tokyo, fly to Seattle.. go through customs in Seattle, pick up my check bag, drop it back off, go through security and catch my last flight. Give yourself some time if you don't know the airport well or how long things usually take, Tokyo was super fast, and so was South Korea but the second time coming into Seattle their computers were broken and it held things up to the point I almost missed my last flight. Another thing to note, most other countries do not require you to take off your shoes, I started going this the first flight through Tokyo and realized I was the only one taking them off

I took my shoes off too and then realized that the 3 people in front of me did not....I guess that's another dead giveaway that I'm American haha

WinstonsGirl

Normally, you wouldn't need to, but much of Europe is part of the Schengen Agreement which allows for movement between European borders (those who are a part of it).  If you enter a Schengen country before Spain, you'll be cleared there and then be given customs free entrance to all other Schengen countries.  

climbingsingle

I've found that every airport seems to be different now. I flew out of Newark 2 weeks ago, and they let everyone keep on their shoes, along with coats and scarves. When I flew back home out of West Palm, I had to take my shoes and coat off. 

Newark as also using these testing strips on everyone's hands to test for bomb materials. 

JoanE2012

climbingwife said:

I've found that every airport seems to be different now. I flew out of Newark 2 weeks ago, and they let everyone keep on their shoes, along with coats and scarves. When I flew back home out of West Palm, I had to take my shoes and coat off. 

Newark as also using these testing strips on everyone's hands to test for bomb materials. 

When we flew out of Newark a few months ago, they were using dogs in the security line.  It was so nice not to have to take everything off.

climbingsingle

JoanE2012 said:

climbingwife said:

I've found that every airport seems to be different now. I flew out of Newark 2 weeks ago, and they let everyone keep on their shoes, along with coats and scarves. When I flew back home out of West Palm, I had to take my shoes and coat off. 

Newark as also using these testing strips on everyone's hands to test for bomb materials. 

When we flew out of Newark a few months ago, they were using dogs in the security line.  It was so nice not to have to take everything off.

It really was so nice to keep everything on. And we got through security pretty quickly. 

thisismynickname2

On a related note, I believe that most travel sites are fairly good about throwing up a warning on the website when selecting flights-- it says if your connection is too tight. 

Honestly I'd be safe and budget 2-3 hour layover. It's not worth the stress, especially if anything causes your first flight to depart late. 

My mom and I did Chicago-London-Paris and had a very long trek between our connecting flights. When my husband and I did Chicago-Dusseldorf-Milan, we went through a passport check in a tiny terminal and it took no time at all.

Jeannine12

Again thank you all!!! I am making sure we have a nice space between layovers when looking at these flights before we book them.  In the meantime 3 out of 4 of our hotels are booked!!!!