If booking indirect flight do you do immigration at first stop ?

**Bee happy** · 23 Sep 20, 05:17 PM

Looking at indirect flights with BA for first time.
I've been looking for ones with shortest travel time but then worried there wasnt enough time to get through immigration before connecting flight to Orlando,one was only 1hr 20mins in Philadelphia.
DH says we would do immigration at final stop (Orlando) not Philli ?
I'm guessing we dont collect luggage and it gets sent throught to final flight for us ?
Thanks

DisneyCupcake · 23 Sep 20, 05:31 PM

Originally Posted by Bee happy

Looking at indirect flights with BA for first time.
I've been looking for ones with shortest travel time but then worried there wasnt enough time to get through immigration before connecting flight to Orlando,one was only 1hr 20mins in Philadelphia.
DH says we would do immigration at final stop (Orlando) not Philli ?
I'm guessing we dont collect luggage and it gets sent throught to final flight for us ?
Thanks

Sorry your DH is wrong - on arrival at PHL you clear immigration then enter the baggage hall you pick up your bags, clear customs and then drop them off at a transfer point before making your way to the next departure gate. To me 1hr 20 mins would be too tight a connection even if on a through ticket they should put you on the next "available" flight to MCO. Bear in mind the next "available" flight to MCO may not be the next flight if that is already full. On arrival at MCO you walk off the flight as a domestic passenger so makes it much quicker.

munmun · 23 Sep 20, 05:37 PM

You will def. do immigration and customs at your first stop. Your second flight will be an internal flight with neither immigration or customs.

You turnaround is very tight, personally I would not risk less than two hours though of course airports may be very quiet for a while.

soraia · 23 Sep 20, 05:43 PM

You clear immigration at your first stop within the United States. So in your example above, you would clear in Philadelphia, get your baggage and put them on the transfer belt, then head to the next gate. When you arrive in Orlando you would go through as a domestic passenger so just pick up bags again and walk straight out.

If you were to transfer somewhere else though, say within Europe, you would clear immigration in Orlando (or wherever your first point of entry in the US is). Usually if you transfer through somewhere in Europe your bags are sent through and you don't get them until you arrive in the US.

The only thing to note is that there are certain points in Ireland (Dublin and Shannon come to mind) where you clear immigration there and then when you arrive in Orlando you just go straight through. No need to pick your bags up in Ireland, when you clear customs they show you a picture of your bag and ask you to confirm, then you pick up in Orlando.

Thorpy · 23 Sep 20, 09:45 PM

Originally Posted by soraia

You clear immigration at your first stop within the United States. So in your example above, you would clear in Philadelphia, get your baggage and put them on the transfer belt, then head to the next gate. When you arrive in Orlando you would go through as a domestic passenger so just pick up bags again and walk straight out.

If you were to transfer somewhere else though, say within Europe, you would clear immigration in Orlando (or wherever your first point of entry in the US is). Usually if you transfer through somewhere in Europe your bags are sent through and you don't get them until you arrive in the US.

The only thing to note is that there are certain points in Ireland (Dublin and Shannon come to mind) where you clear immigration there and then when you arrive in Orlando you just go straight through. No need to pick your bags up in Ireland, when you clear customs they show you a picture of your bag and ask you to confirm, then you pick up in Orlando.

That's the comprehensive response. I've bolded the bit that explains why you're right and OH is wrong. It should always be in your mind when you consider any bookings as it is the key when trying to perform the balancing act of how long to layover. There are plenty of threads that go along the lines of "Is x time long enough at Y airport", both with and without a need to clear immigration, each with a multitude of opinions in response, which between them will give you some idea.

As you clear immigration before Orlando, rather than the layover time being dead time between flights, it includes waiting that you'd otherwise be doing in the hall at Orlando. The door to door may not actually be that much longer, but if you get focused on the times the flight comparison sites give (wheels up to wheels down), it seems much longer.

**Bee happy** · 23 Sep 20, 10:41 PM

Thank you all, I knew I was right 👍
Now to work out how long we need between connecting flights 🤷

WiltshireBen · 23 Sep 20, 10:47 PM

The last time we flew, we arrived in Newark on the way out. Naievely had only a 1hr 30 min layover and standing in the long immigration queues watching the time ticking by was not the relaxing start I was hoping for! I'd say you need 2hr minimum, ideally 2hr 30?

Mikeandrach · 23 Sep 20, 10:58 PM

Bear in mind airlines won�t sell the tickets unless they�re very confident you�ll make it.

I think the typical success rate is still 95%+

The flight times are padded somewhat too, they seem to have some time built in on the landing time to allow for delays.

A while ago I took a flight from Sri Lanka to the Maldives, should have been just over an hour, we took off 15/20 mins late but landed 15/20 mins early.

I used to work at Heathrow many years ago, I didn�t often hear of anyone missing their connections, it can happen, yes, but in my experiences it�s rare (and yes I�ve done it just not in the US)

Also if it�s the last viable flight, and you are 10/15 mins late, it�s common for airlines to delay the flight, as delaying for you is often cheaper than accommodating/feeding you, and it�s rare you�d be the only one on both flights connecting

I took a flight from Belgrade to Heathrow via Vienna last year, I reckon at least half the passengers from Belgrade to Vienna we�re also on the Vienna to Heathrow flight as an example. Has the Belgrade to Vienna flight been running late, I don�t doubt the Vienna to Heathrow one would have been delayed rather than them having to deal with so many passengers

23 Sep 20, 05:37 PM	#3
	23 Sep 20, 05:37 PM munmun Imagineer
munmun Imagineer Join Date: May 10	You will def. do immigration and customs at your first stop. Your second flight will be an internal flight with neither immigration or customs. You turnaround is very tight, personally I would not risk less than two hours though of course airports may be very quiet for a while.

23 Sep 20, 10:58 PM	#8
	23 Sep 20, 10:58 PM Mikeandrach Getting Excited
Mikeandrach Getting Excited Join Date: Aug 20	Bear in mind airlines won�t sell the tickets unless they�re very confident you�ll make it. I think the typical success rate is still 95%+ The flight times are padded somewhat too, they seem to have some time built in on the landing time to allow for delays. A while ago I took a flight from Sri Lanka to the Maldives, should have been just over an hour, we took off 15/20 mins late but landed 15/20 mins early. I used to work at Heathrow many years ago, I didn�t often hear of anyone missing their connections, it can happen, yes, but in my experiences it�s rare (and yes I�ve done it just not in the US) Also if it�s the last viable flight, and you are 10/15 mins late, it�s common for airlines to delay the flight, as delaying for you is often cheaper than accommodating/feeding you, and it�s rare you�d be the only one on both flights connecting I took a flight from Belgrade to Heathrow via Vienna last year, I reckon at least half the passengers from Belgrade to Vienna we�re also on the Vienna to Heathrow flight as an example. Has the Belgrade to Vienna flight been running late, I don�t doubt the Vienna to Heathrow one would have been delayed rather than them having to deal with so many passengers