We are taking Rick's 8 days in Ireland next September and are trying to book airfare as soon as partible. It looks like US to London thence to Shannon is looking good but we want to minimize passport control as much as possible. Having done so in London can we just fly to Shannon without doing it again? Or do we just do passport control in Shannon and not London?
Thanks much,
Ed
Posted by
Royaume-Uni nul points, pas plus
2597 posts
You will go through passport control in London. At Shannon, you may be asked to show your passport, as there are selective checks on non-UK/Irish passengers coming from the UK.
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6713 posts
Don't know where you're flying from, but Aer Lingus has overnight nonstops from Boston or JFK to Shannon. You could fly into one of those cities first, minimizing passport control.
Posted by
Freedonia
16272 posts
If you are traveling on a U.S passport you will go through passport control in both London and Shannon. ( I have done this.)
People traveling on UK passports are usually exempt from Irish passport control. Americans are not. (The CTA only affects UK and Irish passport holders)
However, travelling from Ireland back to the UK is free from passport control.
Posted by
3123 posts
Is there a reason why you don't want to use either Boston or NYC/JFK as your USA departure point and go nonstop to Shannon? Having to change planes in London and catch another flight would be much more hassle than I'd want, not to mention the risk of delayed or misplaced luggage if you have any checked bags. The convenience of a nonstop from USA to Shannon would be worth paying more $$$ for the ticket, if this were my trip.
Posted by
OP
8 posts
We would be traveling from Grand Junction, Colorado. To date the connections are horrible, we would have to spend 13 hours at JFK or the Boston airport or endure many stops along the way. We can fly direct from Denver to London but still looking.
Posted by
Atlanta
5196 posts
We can fly direct from Denver to London but still looking.
Things do occaisoionly happen with connections, and the closer to the final destination if something does happen the better. Flying non stop to London will put you a lot closer to that final destination. There are many more options to get from London to Shannon (in the event something goes wrong with the connection) than having a connection in the US.