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> immigration and customs are simplified If you're eligible, there are plenty of us who aren't. I waited well over two hours at JFK last month. > security is

> immigration and customs are simplified If you're eligible, there are plenty of us who aren't. I waited well over two hours at JFK last month. > security is a breeze I never did work out why it's OK for aircraft to fly in to US airspace with non-PreCheck passengers who've not had to remove their shoes at security.

adastra22 3y ago
It’s not OK to just fly in. Coming to the US you have to go through the special US pre-clearance zone that has extra security. You may not have to take off your shoes, but you often don’t have to in the US either. Really depends on local screening requirements which are wildly inconsistent.
- ghaff 3y ago
  That is not true in general. You pre-clear at certain airports but you typically just go through standard airport security.
  - adastra22 3y ago
    Yes, it depends on if the standard airport security meets US regulations for security. Many European and all Canadian airports do.
    - logifail 3y ago
      > Many European and all Canadian airports do Despite shoes not needing to be routinely removed at most (all?) European airports' security checkpoints?
      - ghaff 3y ago
        That's the main discrepancy which the US basically overlooks for non-US security procedures. (Though there's some seemingly arbitrary variance in electronics screening as well.)
      - adastra22 3y ago
        Shoes being removed isn’t required in the US either. I haven’t had to do that in years. It’s a per-airport thing.
        ghaff 3y ago
        I thought that was still pretty normal. But I have pre-check so don't actually know.
        logifail 3y ago
        > I thought that was still pretty normal I had to remove shoes at security at both JFK and SFO recently.
        ghaff 3y ago
        It wouldn't shock me if there were a few things that aren't technically requirements that are still near-universal (for non pre-check) in the US--which give some leeway for travelers coming in from overseas airports that don't have the same equipment or requirements.
        adastra22 3y ago
        It is normal. But the point is that it is not required that an airport perform that check, in the same way there are requirements about x-ray and metal detectors, for example. Some airports just don't do the shoe thing.
        ghaff 3y ago
        Perhaps that's the loophole. Although my anecdotal observation at the generally major airports I fly in and out of in the US is that people are pretty much universally taking off shoes if they're not in the pre-check line.
- logifail 3y ago
  > Coming to the US you have to go through the special US pre-clearance zone that has extra security This may once have been true but I don't believe it's the case any more, at least not at the major European hubs I've been to. There is no additional security screening if you fly British Airways to the USA out of LHR. This was no additional security at Frankfurt last month either.
  - adastra22 3y ago
    It was the case just a year ago when I flew out of LHR. US flights were out of terminal 5 and a special pre clearance zone. I’ve been through Frankfurt’s pre clearance as well. Maybe things have changed very recently? It flew under the radar if that’s the case.
    - ghaff 3y ago
      Maybe? I've flown out of Europe to the US many many times and never encountered any special security measures. Certainly not LHR (Terminal 2 usually I think) and not Frankfurt just a few months ago.

adastra22 3y ago

It’s not OK to just fly in. Coming to the US you have to go through the special US pre-clearance zone that has extra security. You may not have to take off your shoes, but you often don’t have to in the US either. Really depends on local screening requirements which are wildly inconsistent.

ghaff 3y ago
That is not true in general. You pre-clear at certain airports but you typically just go through standard airport security.
- adastra22 3y ago
  Yes, it depends on if the standard airport security meets US regulations for security. Many European and all Canadian airports do.
  - logifail 3y ago
    > Many European and all Canadian airports do Despite shoes not needing to be routinely removed at most (all?) European airports' security checkpoints?
    - ghaff 3y ago
      That's the main discrepancy which the US basically overlooks for non-US security procedures. (Though there's some seemingly arbitrary variance in electronics screening as well.)
    - adastra22 3y ago
      Shoes being removed isn’t required in the US either. I haven’t had to do that in years. It’s a per-airport thing.
      - ghaff 3y ago
        I thought that was still pretty normal. But I have pre-check so don't actually know.
        logifail 3y ago
        > I thought that was still pretty normal I had to remove shoes at security at both JFK and SFO recently.
        ghaff 3y ago
        It wouldn't shock me if there were a few things that aren't technically requirements that are still near-universal (for non pre-check) in the US--which give some leeway for travelers coming in from overseas airports that don't have the same equipment or requirements.
        adastra22 3y ago
        It is normal. But the point is that it is not required that an airport perform that check, in the same way there are requirements about x-ray and metal detectors, for example. Some airports just don't do the shoe thing.
        ghaff 3y ago
        Perhaps that's the loophole. Although my anecdotal observation at the generally major airports I fly in and out of in the US is that people are pretty much universally taking off shoes if they're not in the pre-check line.
logifail 3y ago
> Coming to the US you have to go through the special US pre-clearance zone that has extra security This may once have been true but I don't believe it's the case any more, at least not at the major European hubs I've been to. There is no additional security screening if you fly British Airways to the USA out of LHR. This was no additional security at Frankfurt last month either.
- adastra22 3y ago
  It was the case just a year ago when I flew out of LHR. US flights were out of terminal 5 and a special pre clearance zone. I’ve been through Frankfurt’s pre clearance as well. Maybe things have changed very recently? It flew under the radar if that’s the case.
  - ghaff 3y ago
    Maybe? I've flown out of Europe to the US many many times and never encountered any special security measures. Certainly not LHR (Terminal 2 usually I think) and not Frankfurt just a few months ago.