3 ms·

My understanding is that US airports are generally not configured to separate transit passengers from the rest of the airport (there is a term of art for this b

by patio11 13y ago

My understanding is that US airports are generally not configured to separate transit passengers from the rest of the airport (there is a term of art for this but it is eluding me at the moment). As a consequence, if you're in America even for a few minutes, you'll meet with our good friends at Customs and Border Patrol. CBP is not TSA.

chris_j 13y ago
The term that I've heard used for this is sterile transit. I'm not aware of any US airports having it.
- NickNameNick 13y ago
  LAX has it, I've been through on the London to Auckland route, both ways. Both times they didn't have enough staff to man the separate customs desk, and ran us through a general customs hall.
  - eitally 13y ago
    There are a few other airports that do, too, but it's uncommonly used.
  - nwp90 13y ago
    It's been and gone a few times over the years on that route. At times immigration but no baggage claim, at times transit lounge (actually I'm not sure I ever did go through when that was in force, I think it came and went in-between trips for me), at times full re-check-in... anyway, I think the setup was different every time. And every time they found a way to make it a PITA. I eventually got fed up with it, and don't travel that way any more. I prefer via Dubai, Hong Kong, or Shanghai. Border control officers there, while still clearly doing their job meticulously, manage to be polite as well.
- PeterisP 13y ago
  Interesting, as far as I seem to remember all the airports in Europe I've been to had this concept, except tiny regional airports. Probably because traditionally pretty much any connecting flight involved transit through a third country that you'd need a separate visa to visit. The idea is that you "enter the country" when going out from the main part of the airport, but you can go from any arriving flight to any departing flight without doing so, and most of the facilities - shops, waiting rooms, etc - are 'inside the zone' as well.
dominicgs 13y ago
Customs require you to reclaim any checked bags too, so you can be sure of meeting TSA before you get on another flight.
grecy 13y ago
Right. When I was living in South America I met hundreds of backpackers from all over the world that were forced to go through the US on their way South. Many of them had hilarious, stupid and scary stories of how customs treated them when they only had a ~2 hour layover and had no interest in the US what-so-ever. They all vowed to never fly through the US again, even though it will result in higher flight costs.

by patio11 13y ago

chris_j 13y ago

The term that I've heard used for this is sterile transit. I'm not aware of any US airports having it.

NickNameNick 13y ago
LAX has it, I've been through on the London to Auckland route, both ways. Both times they didn't have enough staff to man the separate customs desk, and ran us through a general customs hall.
- eitally 13y ago
  There are a few other airports that do, too, but it's uncommonly used.
- nwp90 13y ago
  It's been and gone a few times over the years on that route. At times immigration but no baggage claim, at times transit lounge (actually I'm not sure I ever did go through when that was in force, I think it came and went in-between trips for me), at times full re-check-in... anyway, I think the setup was different every time. And every time they found a way to make it a PITA. I eventually got fed up with it, and don't travel that way any more. I prefer via Dubai, Hong Kong, or Shanghai. Border control officers there, while still clearly doing their job meticulously, manage to be polite as well.
PeterisP 13y ago
Interesting, as far as I seem to remember all the airports in Europe I've been to had this concept, except tiny regional airports. Probably because traditionally pretty much any connecting flight involved transit through a third country that you'd need a separate visa to visit. The idea is that you "enter the country" when going out from the main part of the airport, but you can go from any arriving flight to any departing flight without doing so, and most of the facilities - shops, waiting rooms, etc - are 'inside the zone' as well.

dominicgs 13y ago

Customs require you to reclaim any checked bags too, so you can be sure of meeting TSA before you get on another flight.

grecy 13y ago

Right. When I was living in South America I met hundreds of backpackers from all over the world that were forced to go through the US on their way South. Many of them had hilarious, stupid and scary stories of how customs treated them when they only had a ~2 hour layover and had no interest in the US what-so-ever. They all vowed to never fly through the US again, even though it will result in higher flight costs.