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Hey everyone. This March I have an international flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to London Heathrow.
I'm flying Air Canada Jazz from DFW to Toronto Pearson, and then I'm flying Air Canada from YYZ to LHR. However, my layover in Toronto is only two hours or so.
Will I need to go through Customs and Immigration at YYZ after getting off my first flight?
Also, will I need to go through Passport Control and additional security screening before boarding my transatlantic connecting flight?
Last year, when I flew from DFW to Rome, I had a layover at LHR- where I went through Passport Control and a long security checkpoint. I don't know if my layover at YYZ will be the same.
This will be my first time transferring from one international flight to another. And with a two-hour layover, I can't afford to miss my flight to London.
So how does the transfer process work for connections between international flights?
Not usually. Generally you arrive at the "arrivals" section of the international terminal, go through a security checkpoint (but not immigration), and then you're let into the "departures" section to go find your gate.
You can take connecting flights through countries for which you do not have a visa. For instance, as a US citizen with a Russian visa, you can fly SF > Tokyo > Beijing > Moscow even if you don't have a Chinese entry visa because you won't leave (and you won't be allowed to leave) the international terminal in Beijing.
Yup, most likely you'll have the security line but not the immigration.
Hell in Heathrow we once transferred international flights by going outside and getting on a bus, driving for 15 minutes, then into a different terminal for our departure gate all without going thru immigration.
If I need to go through another security checkpoint at YYZ, will I need to worry about missing my connecting flight to LHR?
I'd imagine, though, that the security line for international connections shouldn't be as stressful as the checkpoint separating the secure area from the non-secure area.
Lots of "depends" for that one but you'll probably be fine, just not much margin for anything happening with first flight arrival.
We've made two hour connections international->domestic that included both the security line and immigrations/customs, although two hours is the absolute minimum I'd be comfortable with doing that since immigration line is such an x-factor can be 15 minutes can be over an hour. We've got a slightly less than two hour connection at JFK this spring for arriving in country and switching to a domestic flight, that has me a bit nervous but if you're going to miss something at least do it on the way in where there are so many other domestic flights to home they can put you on.
If I need to go through another security checkpoint at YYZ, will I need to worry about missing my connecting flight to LHR?
I'd imagine, though, that the security line for international connections shouldn't be as stressful as the checkpoint separating the secure area from the non-secure area.
Two hours is probably fine. You should be okay, but move fast. It CAN happen that 3-4 planes pull up to the gate at the same time and the international terminal security gets swamped by incoming passengers. Or you may have to catch a bus to another part of the airport (they will guide you to it) or something. Get your stuff down from the bin, put it in your seat, and get moving as soon as you can. Get to and through security as fast as possible, then worry about food, gates, bathrooms, etc.
If you have an option to take an earlier flight to YYZ and extend your layover, I would. You could be hit by delays getting to YYZ and miss the trans-atlantic connection to LHR. That would be a big headache.
Hey everyone. This March I have an international flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to London Heathrow.
I'm flying Air Canada Jazz from DFW to Toronto Pearson, and then I'm flying Air Canada from YYZ to LHR. However, my layover in Toronto is only two hours or so.
Will I need to go through Customs and Immigration at YYZ after getting off my first flight?
Also, will I need to go through Passport Control and additional security screening before boarding my transatlantic connecting flight?
Last year, when I flew from DFW to Rome, I had a layover at LHR- where I went through Passport Control and a long security checkpoint. I don't know if my layover at YYZ will be the same.
This will be my first time transferring from one international flight to another. And with a two-hour layover, I can't afford to miss my flight to London.
So how does the transfer process work for connections between international flights?
No you're in the secure area. As long as you stay in that area you don't need to be re-cleared.
Any WHY are you taking air Canada? That airline is our national disgrace. I would ride a donkey for 5,000 miles before flying that monstrosity. For a first world country AC is one the worst offenders out there. If you've never flown them before, be prepared for a rude, miserable experience.
I just changed my airline to Iberia. Anyone flown with them?
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