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NFT: Do you have to go thru customs for connecting flight

Payasdaddy : 11/29/2022 11:09 pm
Thru heathrow UK?
Doing a San Francisco to Italy trip with a connection thru heathrow.

I have a 40 yr old felony that gives me zero issues going most places but I hear UK can be a bitch
I would only be changing terminals
Don’t know if that consigning thru customs and if they would give a crap since it’s a connection only
TIA
I’ve never had to go through customs on a connecting flight.  
Mike in Long Beach : 11/29/2022 11:45 pm : link
Most recently connected in Paris from Barcelona to get back to the states. That was in April.
Maybe  
monstercoo : 11/30/2022 1:28 am : link
It depends on the airports youre flying thru. Ive had to go thru customs on connecting flights before. It depends on the airport and country. The most likely scenario that would send you thru customs twice is that theres a delay that causes you to miss your connecting flight and have to wait for another.

If customs is just going question you for a bit and let you go, I wouldn't worry about it.
No, but I believe you will need to go through customs  
PatersonPlank : 11/30/2022 1:42 am : link
in Italy. Heathrow is just a pass through, and you still aren't on "England" proper. IN fact they shuttle you in a different line, going to a different terminal. I believe you will land in #3, but they will send you to #5 (if you were staying in England you'd go through customs/immigration in #3).

Also once you are in the EU (Italy for example), there is no more customs. Its like going from NY to FL in the US. So coming back you should be ok too, unless an airline checks something funny in advance
No  
Optimus-NY : 11/30/2022 5:55 am : link
I hate Heathrow tough because o the amount of time it takes to switch terminals on those damned buses they've got. I've been through there twice and hate it both times. One time I got delayed and got help from the stewardesses about getting another flight rescheduled. I hope you've got at least 3 hours between flights.
We just came back from Spain a few days ago  
CheddarPlax : 11/30/2022 6:20 am : link
And had to switch through Heathrow. Other than the fact that their security is stupid and annoying with little liquids being in clear plastic bags, no we did not have to go through customs there. But they did make my wife open up her toiletry bag and put all of her makeup cases and stuff into those clear plastic bags. Didn’t have to do that in Spain or the US.

This was also the day of the US-England match, so maybe it was targeted because they were pissed at us ;)
definitly No  
stoneman : 11/30/2022 7:04 am : link
you only go through customs leaving the airport at your final destination country. I flew home from Australia and had different connections/airlines in Singapore, Tokyo, and LA. I finally went through customs in LA, changing my final airline to United to get back to the east coast. As long as you do not try to leave the connecting airport, they are set up to just move you to the next airline without customs.

I have also connected in Heathrow for China and had no issues moving to the next airline/flight in UK. They do check carry on luggage as you move through Heathrow to another airline, but not customs.
RE: No, but I believe you will need to go through customs  
jvm52106 : 11/30/2022 7:16 am : link
In comment 15926919 PatersonPlank said:
Quote:
in Italy. Heathrow is just a pass through, and you still aren't on "England" proper. IN fact they shuttle you in a different line, going to a different terminal. I believe you will land in #3, but they will send you to #5 (if you were staying in England you'd go through customs/immigration in #3).

Also once you are in the EU (Italy for example), there is no more customs. Its like going from NY to FL in the US. So coming back you should be ok too, unless an airline checks something funny in advance


We didn't go through customs in Italy but we did in Germany on our way to Italy.
RE: RE: No, but I believe you will need to go through customs  
section125 : 11/30/2022 7:30 am : link
In comment 15926941 jvm52106 said:
Quote:
In comment 15926919 PatersonPlank said:


Quote:


in Italy. Heathrow is just a pass through, and you still aren't on "England" proper. IN fact they shuttle you in a different line, going to a different terminal. I believe you will land in #3, but they will send you to #5 (if you were staying in England you'd go through customs/immigration in #3).

Also once you are in the EU (Italy for example), there is no more customs. Its like going from NY to FL in the US. So coming back you should be ok too, unless an airline checks something funny in advance



We didn't go through customs in Italy but we did in Germany on our way to Italy.


That was because you entered the EU in Germany, so going to any EU country after that was covered.
RE: RE: RE: No, but I believe you will need to go through customs  
stoneman : 11/30/2022 7:43 am : link
In comment 15926945 section125 said:
Quote:
In comment 15926941 jvm52106 said:


Quote:


In comment 15926919 PatersonPlank said:


Quote:


in Italy. Heathrow is just a pass through, and you still aren't on "England" proper. IN fact they shuttle you in a different line, going to a different terminal. I believe you will land in #3, but they will send you to #5 (if you were staying in England you'd go through customs/immigration in #3).

Also once you are in the EU (Italy for example), there is no more customs. Its like going from NY to FL in the US. So coming back you should be ok too, unless an airline checks something funny in advance



We didn't go through customs in Italy but we did in Germany on our way to Italy.



That was because you entered the EU in Germany, so going to any EU country after that was covered.


Yes, I went through customs in LA (passing through 2 countries), even though I had one more flight to JFK. Not sure if I would go through customs in LA if my Japan airline went to JFK - it did not and I had to leave the airport and reenter to change airlines.
No  
Spider43 : 11/30/2022 11:04 am : link
But if you have to pick up your luggage after you arrive and check it back into the next flight, then maybe. Otherwise, your luggage just gets automatically sent through the next flight. In that case, at most, you just personally go through another security check, WITHOUT your luggage. The 'customs' you are referring to is an inspection of luggage, if you have something to declare (duties).
Had to go thru Passport control in Germany on the way it Italy too  
Go Giants : 11/30/2022 11:15 am : link
You will be required to go thru passport control when you arrive. You may need to go thru again at your final destination because England left the EU.
We had to go through customs in Spain on our way to Portugal  
Rick in Dallas : 11/30/2022 11:19 am : link
Did not go through customs again in Portugal
Thanks all  
Payasdaddy : 11/30/2022 12:00 pm : link
Will make sure I have time between connecting flight
RE: We had to go through customs in Spain on our way to Portugal  
Beer Man : 11/30/2022 1:52 pm : link
In comment 15927156 Rick in Dallas said:
Quote:
Did not go through customs again in Portugal
I believe that is because you go through when you enter the EU, but don't have to go through for each EU country you visit afterwards.
The first time you "enter" the EU you will have to go through  
PatersonPlank : 11/30/2022 2:09 pm : link
Customs. After that its like being in the USA, you can go state to state without anymore checks. When you connect through Heathrow they don't have you legally "enter" England, you are just connecting through to another plane. It would be a madhouse if every connecting flight had to clear Customs there, too much of a huge volume of daily passengers.
RE: The first time you  
Payasdaddy : 11/30/2022 2:35 pm : link
In comment 15927346 PatersonPlank said:
Quote:
Customs. After that its like being in the USA, you can go state to state without anymore checks. When you connect through Heathrow they don't have you legally "enter" England, you are just connecting through to another plane. It would be a madhouse if every connecting flight had to clear Customs there, too much of a huge volume of daily passengers.


Much appreciated. I was thinking that but didn’t want to be stuck because of my bad decisions nearly 40 yrs ago. Especially after real long flight from sfo
Some misinformation here...  
BC Eagles94 : 11/30/2022 3:18 pm : link
On my way back to NY from Italy this summer, we connected through Amsterdam. And we had to go through customs. And that was from one EU country to another. So apparently it depends on the country? Not sure.
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