Customs and connecting flight (hypothetical)

[supersnoop]

So, back to my original question... if you book a flight (single ticket) but don't have enough time to get through passport control and customs (despite it being a "legal connection time"), what happens when your connecting flight is the last one of the night?

You sleep at the airport or put yourself up in a hotel, you get rebooked on the next available flight, and you get on the standby list for any earlier full flights.

If you have elite status or were traveling first class (or the gate agent is in a really good mood and empowered), you might get a hotel, taxi, or meal voucher.

If you paid for travel insurance or booked with a credit card that covers "trip interruption," you might get reimbursed for the extra expenses after you get home.

 

[betterbutter]

<snip>

You sleep at the airport or put yourself up in a hotel, you get rebooked on the next available flight, and you get on the standby list for any earlier full flights.

If you have elite status or were traveling first class (or the gate agent is in a really good mood and empowered), you might get a hotel, taxi, or meal voucher.

If you paid for travel insurance or booked with a credit card that covers "trip interruption," you might get reimbursed for the extra expenses after you get home.

This is not a scenario that trip interruption will cover. It is travel delay. There is a big difference. For example, most airline affinity cards do not cover travel delay. Those that do (including CSR) typically provide secondary coverage. Interesting to note, different cards have different coverage levels for travel delay. CSR and Hilton Aspire AmEx are $500 per covered traveler. AmEx Platinum only covers $250, and doesn't include lodging, only "alternate travel, restaurant meals or refreshments." The details are very important when discussing insurance.

 

[gmi3804]

You sleep at the airport or put yourself up in a hotel, you get rebooked on the next available flight, and you get on the standby list for any earlier full flights.

If you have elite status or were traveling first class (or the gate agent is in a really good mood and empowered), you might get a hotel, taxi, or meal voucher.

If you paid for travel insurance or booked with a credit card that covers "trip interruption," you might get reimbursed for the extra expenses after you get home.

End of thread?

 

[TLSnell1981]

Do not ever plan on going to the front of the line at passport control. In many countries they will laugh and send you to the back of the line.

Your husband was almost definitely “in transit” which only requires a cursory passport check. It is not the same process a passport control for entering the country and is much, much quicker.

Yes he was in transit. There were agents asking regarding flight departures and prioritizing passengers. The 70 minutes was considered a legal connection time but CDG is quite large and not always easy to navigate. IMO It's why I chose Schipol. (I flew in a few days earlier) I was concerned with the short connect but he was willing to chance it. He ALWAYS gets lost so I was surprised he made it. LOL.

 

[TLSnell1981]

CBP is now integrating new kiosks with facial recognition for Global Entry holders. Nothing to do except have your face scanned. You don’t even have to show your passport.

They are integrating something similar for all US passport holders, but it isn’t in place except at one or two test airports—I believe ATL is one. It’s definitely not MIA or CLT, I have come through both in the past few months and they were mayhem if you didn’t have Global Entry*.

The UK has been monkeying with this for a few years now. Currently, US passport holders need to place the passport on a scanner, look at a camera, and the gates open. It has sped up the process to be less than a quarter of the time it used to take. You won’t get a passport stamp, but there is a desk to go to if you need one because you are entering on a Visa other than tourist. (Student, fiancé, employment, etc.)

Citizens of countries which require a visa to enter for any reason such as China and Venezuela are sent to a different line for processing. It really is incredible as to how fast they have made the process at LHR. Hopefully the US will catch up soon.

*The wait to be approved for Global Entry is a couple of weeks to over six months. The wait for an interview can be up to a year. You can do your interview on arrival at most international US airports. You just have to ask to be directed to the office once you land.

We have had facescan on some our last few trips. I'm short and don't always get a good scan. So I still need to insert passport, fingerprint, answer questions and it spits out a "receipt". Either procedure is quick and easy. I'm definitely a fan.

 

[betterbutter]

Yes he was in transit. There were agents asking regarding flight departures and prioritizing passengers. The 70 minutes was considered a legal connection time but CDG is quite large and not always easy to navigate. IMO It's why I chose Schipol. (I flew in a few days earlier) I was concerned with the short connect but he was willing to chance it. He ALWAYS gets lost so I was surprised he made it. LOL.

Schipol has been far worse than CDG lately.
The important thing to understand is what happens in one airport might not happen in another. Take TSA. In CLT everything needs to go into a bin. At MCO, nothing goes into a bin except electronics and other small items. If you don't fly a LOT (including international) you probably don't have good benchmarks. In the past 13 months I've been in around 20 airports on three continents. Some like AMS, LHR, DFW, OKC, LIM, and MCO I've traveled to and from multiple times.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Schipol has been far worse than CDG lately.
The important thing to understand is what happens in one airport might not happen in another. Take TSA. In CLT everything needs to go into a bin. At MCO, nothing goes into a bin except electronics and other small items. If you don't fly a LOT (including international) you probably don't have good benchmarks. In the past 13 months I've been in around 20 airports on three continents. Some like AMS, LHR, DFW, OKC, LIM, and MCO I've traveled to and from multiple times.

I've only flown through Schipol three times, CDG, FRA, MUC and VIE once, another seven airports in the states plus the Bahamas in the last year. We've had no issue with airports. Airlines are another story entirely. And yeah security requirements vary. I always ask what I need to take out or off when entering security. Maybe I DON't fly enough?