I need your help. Last September we flew Delta from Orlando to Rome, via JFK. Return flight was Paris to Orlando, via JFK. We checked our luggage. When we arrived in JFK we had to collect our luggage, walked down a hallway and around a few corners, then drop our luggage off in an area marked for Delta passengers.
Not sure why we had to do that, but I am trying to recall if we did it outbound or inbound. Anyone out there that had to do this? Was it going or coming back?
Thank you
You did that upon return. All flights arriving in the US work this way—claim luggage after passport control, pass through customs, and then recheck for your domestic legs.
This is the CBP's chance to check your luggage in front of you for contraband or undeclared items. Works the same regardless of airline or airport.
Thanks. I appreciate it.
As Scudder and stan have said, this happens when you are on an international > US > US itinerary (e.g. CDG > Atlanta > Orlando).
There is however one exception, which is if your international flight is arriving from an airport with US preclearance facilities, which include most major Canadian airports, a couple of Caribbean airports, Dublin, and Abu Dhabi. At these airports you clear US immigration and customs before boarding the flight, so when you land in the US you are effectively treated as an arriving domestic passenger.
So for example if you fly Dublin > Atlanta > Orlando, you will clear US passport control and customs in Dublin. When you land in Atlanta there is no further passport control and it's as if you had arrived from New York or Los Angeles, and in most normal circumstances you shouldn't need to pick up your bags again.
