Help with flight to BCN

[bavaria]

Immigration and Customs

• When you land at your first destination in Europe, you will need to clear Immigration
  
• If you are connecting to another flight, you may or may not need to do it again; it depends if the countries are part of the Schengen agreement or not. If flying Schengen to Schengen then it is like from flying state to state in America. If flying Schengen to non-Schengen or vv then it requires another check. If flying non-Schengen to non-Schengen then you will be kept in a 'sterile' area. Don't worry too much about any of this; you will just follow the signs to your next gate and if you need to clear immigration, you will have no other path but to do so!
  
• When you land at your final destination, you will pick up your bags at baggage claim. Then you will clear Customs. This is as simple as leaving via the green channel for 'nothing to declare', or the red channel if you have something to declare (doubtful) Note that you may be approached by plain clothes Customs officials in the baggage area who may ask to see your watch, or about your laptop, but they are mostly looking for returning travellers and can usually spot the tourists easily. If you DO have something to declare, however, do not try and cheat.

 

[bavaria]

Carry on luggage restrictions

• If you are connecting to an intra-Europe flight, or leaving Europe for America again, check the airline carry on restrictions
  
• Most European carriers (not including Low Cost carriers, which have lower limits) have an 8-10kg weight limit (about 18-22lbs) AND a size limit which is smaller than the 22 inches rollaboard many Americans take on board
  
• If you have larger carry on, you CAN be denied. I see this very often in Paris at the Lufthansa counter, where Canadians and Americans are refused to take their 22 inch rollaboard. They then have to check it, and this may result in extra baggage charges
  
• If you are connecting from America to intra-Europe, you may get lucky and not have an agent stop you at the gate. Sometimes however you will get unlucky, and an agent may send you all the way back to check in. Getting stopped at the gate is less likely on a connection, but it can happen, so better to just follow the rules
  
• Boarding for intra-Europe flights often begins at 20 min prior to takeoff, not 30 min like in America. You may be amazed at how quickly a flight can 'turn' at the gate with so little carry on!

 

[bavaria]

Airport security

• In Europe as in much of the rest of the world, security tends to be less about the show (or 'theatre' - or 'theater' as pr surfer likes to call it ) and more about the substance
  
• We don't play the shoe game - the shoe carnival is an American invention, so you don't have to take off your shoes except in unusual cases (much to the chagrin of a French woman who was in front of me at IAD last week and who forgot as she put it 'the silliness' and had to remove her fashionable boots)
  
• 100-1-1 is similar to 3-1-1 rules in America - 100ml or less, no liquids or gels unless in your 1 litre bag. However some items which are permitted in America may be restricted in the rest of the world, so check the local airport site.
  
• Don't be surprised if you don't need to remove your belt, or take your laptop out of the bag. It doesn't mean that we aren't safe - those machines are there for a reason. And don't be surprised if something which was allowed to pass numerous times in America doesn't make it through in Europe - an agent at CDG found a piece of fruit leather from the last century in my laptop bag once (thankfully!) and my M&S Butter Mintoes caused so much interest in Germany on recent trips that I finally just ate them all to avoid the extra check
  
• If flying to America, you may find yourself going through extra security. This can involve a WTMD at the gate, another check of hand luggage at the gate, another check of passport at the gate, a personal interview, and maybe even a physical check. Note that the physical check is not the tender 'pat down' of America, but a physical check of your body.
  
• The rules are the rules are the rules. We apply them to everyone. Yes, I know that is an unpopular sentiment here, but it is how we do things when it comes to security. Don't expect anyone to bend or break rules for you.
  
• Medical items: be aware that EU permits medical liquids if property labelled. As crashbb learned, that means that an over the counter bottle of Boots cough medicine may not be permitted, and an epipen for instance should be accompanied by a letter like this http://anapen.de/AttestFlughafen.pdf
  
• Military presence: don't be surprised to see military in some airports and train stations, including the one outside Disneyland Paris. We have had a long experience with terrorism and have a variety of different types of security. Different countries have different departments managing airport security

 

[pr surfer]

If flying to America, you may find yourself going through extra security. This can involve a WTMD at the gate, another check of hand luggage at the gate, another check of passport at the gate, a personal interview, and maybe even a physical check. Note that the physical check is not the tender 'pat down' of America, but a physical check of your body.

Bear in mind that when outside of the US you are subject to the laws of the country you are in. That means that while in the US, where you can refuse to answer TSA questions, in other countries you may not be able to.

A good friend of mine who is ultra libertarian (and an idiot) was denied boarding at CDG for refusing to cooperate with their questions, citing US laws that were irrelevant there, and getting snippy. He was removed from the airport and ended up flying home from ORY via MAD, as opposed to the convenient nonstop from CDG he could have boarded.

 

[Minnie]

Airport security

[*]If flying to America, you may find yourself going through extra security. This can involve a WTMD at the gate, another check of hand luggage at the gate, another check of passport at the gate, a personal interview, and maybe even a physical check. Note that the physical check is not the tender 'pat down' of America, but a physical check of your body.

What is this if not a 'pat down' as in the US? I'm always worried about doing the wrong thing outside the US and want to make sure I get on my flight home!

 

[bavaria]

A massage!

At least they aren't as thorough as in India.... there the security ladies may become one of your more intimate friends.

Seriously, though, remember when TSA had very strict rules about only using the back of the hand to touch below the neck and above the belt, and still people complained? Sort of a useless way to feel for any contraband, isn't it? So it will just be a little more thorough if you do get pulled for an extra screening.

 

[bavaria]

Bear in mind that when outside of the US you are subject to the laws of the country you are in. That means that while in the US, where you can refuse to answer TSA questions, in other countries you may not be able to.

A good friend of mine who is ultra libertarian (and an idiot) was denied boarding at CDG for refusing to cooperate with their questions, citing US laws that were irrelevant there, and getting snippy. He was removed from the airport and ended up flying home from ORY via MAD, as opposed to the convenient nonstop from CDG he could have boarded.

HEY! I think that I met your friend in FRA a few weeks ago checking into the Sheraton in the terminal. He was very angry that he was asked to write down his wife's date of birth as part of the Hessen state law for data collection and pitched quite the fit. That violated his American rights!

And again, MOOOOOOOOOOM, pr surfer made me do it!