Customs in Dublin Airport

hi, i flew the same route but opposite direction. iirc, if your flights are on time, the 2 hours should be fine. happy trails.

Okay! Thanks!

We had no trouble making our connections. We were there in the off season (October) but had no trouble. The Boston airport was MUCH more difficult.

There are a number of factors which come into play here: - Do you need to change terminals or not? - Will you have checked bags - and will they be able to be checked through or not?
- Does your flight to the USA have pre-clearance of US Customs in Dublin or not? There is a check of passports into Dublin from the UK.

Our bags will not be checked through I think. We are flying aer Lingus from Edinburgh (I think the name of the airline is different, but we booked it under Aer Lingus) to Dublin, then Aer Lingus to Chicago. However, We booked them separately. So I'm not sure if our bags will be check through. I guess a call to the airline would probably be a good idea, huh? Thank you everyone... Lisa

Flights from Edinburgh to Dublin are handled by Aer Lingus Regional operated by Aer Arann and go into Terminal 1. Aer Lingus flights to the USA go from Terminal 2. Aer Lingus policy seems to indicate that they would not check bags through on two tickets, but it is worth checking.

Through checking of bags should be perfectly fine - during the CBP process you are shown a still screen of your bags and are required to confirm that they are yours. They can pull them out and examine them if they wish. A video of the process is on the Dublin website, although it is from the perspective of starting there: http://www.dublinairport.com/gns/at-the-airport/US-Preclearance.aspx

Remember Dublin to US flights have US Customs and Immigration BEFORE you board your flight (Ireland is the only country in Europe that offers this). You will need to have your luggage, and customs forms, with you (so bags can't be checked through). Allow as much time as possible, though I've heard it's pretty quick. If you're going to be close, ask your flight attendant (going into Dublin) if they can help you make your flight - I believe they have some options to get you to inspection quickly. The good news is when you arrive at LAX, you will have already been through Customs and Immigration. You can simply get your bag and walk to the parking lot (especially good if you carry on only) like a domestic flight.

I would contact Aer Lingus and ask what would happen if you missed the DUB/ORD/LAX flight. Unless they would be willing to put you on the next flight at no charge I would not take the chance. You could also get stuck in DUB or ORD waiting for seats to open up even if there was to charge to change tickets.

I've traveled back to BOS from the UK on several Aer Lingus flights. Sometimes the immigration was handled in Ireland and on my last flight it was in BOS. Customs has always been in BOS. But my trips have always been carry on only, so I recommend your thought of calling Aer Lingus to check on questions. Cheers.

It is a different facility at Dublin airport since 2011 that pre-clears both customs and immigration. Currently all Aer Lingus flights bar the later New York flights pre-clear.