Air India - clearing customs on way to Dhaka
Apr 13, 2016, 7:51 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: LONDON
Programs: AA PLAT
Posts: 126
Air India - clearing customs on way to Dhaka
Hi - any expert know the answer why?
Last time I flew AI from London to Dhaka via DEL and CCU, I had to clear immigration and customs in Delhi. This allowed me to drop off my checked luggage in Delhi and continue to Dhaka with my hand luggage.
This time (slightly different flights but same route: LHR-DEL-CCU-DAC) I am told that I will clear immigration in CCU and won't need to clear customs in India at all, only in Dhaka. Can this be right? (flights A112,ai20,Ai230)
I thought India was like US, where immigration and customs are cleared ar first port of entry.
Have the rules changed?
Joe
Last time I flew AI from London to Dhaka via DEL and CCU, I had to clear immigration and customs in Delhi. This allowed me to drop off my checked luggage in Delhi and continue to Dhaka with my hand luggage.
This time (slightly different flights but same route: LHR-DEL-CCU-DAC) I am told that I will clear immigration in CCU and won't need to clear customs in India at all, only in Dhaka. Can this be right? (flights A112,ai20,Ai230)
I thought India was like US, where immigration and customs are cleared ar first port of entry.
Have the rules changed?
Joe
Apr 13, 2016, 8:23 pm
#2
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,632
Hi - any expert know the answer why?
Last time I flew AI from London to Dhaka via DEL and CCU, I had to clear immigration and customs in Delhi. This allowed me to drop off my checked luggage in Delhi and continue to Dhaka with my hand luggage.
This time (slightly different flights but same route: LHR-DEL-CCU-DAC) I am told that I will clear immigration in CCU and won't need to clear customs in India at all, only in Dhaka. Can this be right? (flights A112,ai20,Ai230)
I thought India was like US, where immigration and customs are cleared ar first port of entry.
Have the rules changed?
Joe
Last time I flew AI from London to Dhaka via DEL and CCU, I had to clear immigration and customs in Delhi. This allowed me to drop off my checked luggage in Delhi and continue to Dhaka with my hand luggage.
This time (slightly different flights but same route: LHR-DEL-CCU-DAC) I am told that I will clear immigration in CCU and won't need to clear customs in India at all, only in Dhaka. Can this be right? (flights A112,ai20,Ai230)
I thought India was like US, where immigration and customs are cleared ar first port of entry.
Have the rules changed?
Joe
Now what I don't understand is why you would need to clear immigration in CCU if you were going to DAC. Certainly CCU doesn't see much in the way of international transfers, but I would assume they can arrange it as needed, so you should pass immigration only in DAC.
In any case, if you need to dump your luggage in DEL, you are out of luck unless you can change your DEL-CCU flight to something other than AI20 or AI22.
Apr 13, 2016, 8:50 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: LONDON
Programs: AA PLAT
Posts: 126
Certain flights between domestic destinations (including yours, AI20) are flights in which domestic and international passengers are mixed. You transfer in DEL just like international-to-international. If CCU were your final destination, you would clear immigration and Customs there.
Apr 13, 2016, 8:57 pm
#4
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,632
The info is right here on FT. There is a wiki in
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/india...ngreturns.html
See first para of wiki. It only tells you which flights leave from international gates, but the consequence is that there are no border formalities in DEL.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/india...ngreturns.html
See first para of wiki. It only tells you which flights leave from international gates, but the consequence is that there are no border formalities in DEL.
Last edited by SeeBuyFly; Apr 13, 2016 at 11:53 pm
Apr 13, 2016, 9:25 pm
#5
Join Date: Apr 2010
Programs: AI Gold, TK Gold, QR Silver, 9W BluePlus
Posts: 394
I know for sure there is a transfer desk before immigration at the kolkata airport. I am pretty sure you would not need to clear immigration at all if your bags are tagged to Dhaka.
Hi - any expert know the answer why?
Last time I flew AI from London to Dhaka via DEL and CCU, I had to clear immigration and customs in Delhi. This allowed me to drop off my checked luggage in Delhi and continue to Dhaka with my hand luggage.
This time (slightly different flights but same route: LHR-DEL-CCU-DAC) I am told that I will clear immigration in CCU and won't need to clear customs in India at all, only in Dhaka. Can this be right? (flights A112,ai20,Ai230)
I thought India was like US, where immigration and customs are cleared ar first port of entry.
Have the rules changed?
Joe
Last time I flew AI from London to Dhaka via DEL and CCU, I had to clear immigration and customs in Delhi. This allowed me to drop off my checked luggage in Delhi and continue to Dhaka with my hand luggage.
This time (slightly different flights but same route: LHR-DEL-CCU-DAC) I am told that I will clear immigration in CCU and won't need to clear customs in India at all, only in Dhaka. Can this be right? (flights A112,ai20,Ai230)
I thought India was like US, where immigration and customs are cleared ar first port of entry.
Have the rules changed?
Joe
Apr 14, 2016, 3:52 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: LONDON
Programs: AA PLAT
Posts: 126
I got some stuff for folks in Delhi because last time I had to clear customs in Delhi, but looks like will have to leave it behind as the airline won't tag the bags to Delhi.
Apr 15, 2016, 10:00 am
#8
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Jun 15, 2016, 6:51 am
#9
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Do oyu know if this transfer desk handle all airlines operating at CCU or only certain ones?
Jun 15, 2016, 8:55 am
#10
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Jun 16, 2016, 12:20 am
#11
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Jun 16, 2016, 2:36 am
#12
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The transfer desk will help you get an agent from the handling agent of your carrier. The next carrier will see that pax are connecting and usually send someone to the desk to await you. If it is on one PNR.
Jun 16, 2016, 2:52 am
#13
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Jun 16, 2016, 8:03 pm
#14
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On 2 PNRs it can get complicated. Many things involved.
- Your airline may or may not do a thru check in of bags. If not you will have to do customs / immigration.
- The airline may ask you to produce a visa to India (if u need a visa)
- Even if everything goes OK, the transfer desk may be totally clueless
- If your bags are thru checked, there is IRROPS and u miss ur connection, u will struggle to find ur bags.
I won't do this connection on 2 tickets.
- Your airline may or may not do a thru check in of bags. If not you will have to do customs / immigration.
- The airline may ask you to produce a visa to India (if u need a visa)
- Even if everything goes OK, the transfer desk may be totally clueless
- If your bags are thru checked, there is IRROPS and u miss ur connection, u will struggle to find ur bags.
I won't do this connection on 2 tickets.
Jun 16, 2016, 11:10 pm
#15
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: asia miles
Posts: 399
On 2 PNRs it can get complicated. Many things involved.
- Your airline may or may not do a thru check in of bags. If not you will have to do customs / immigration.
- The airline may ask you to produce a visa to India (if u need a visa)
- Even if everything goes OK, the transfer desk may be totally clueless
- If your bags are thru checked, there is IRROPS and u miss ur connection, u will struggle to find ur bags.
I won't do this connection on 2 tickets.
- Your airline may or may not do a thru check in of bags. If not you will have to do customs / immigration.
- The airline may ask you to produce a visa to India (if u need a visa)
- Even if everything goes OK, the transfer desk may be totally clueless
- If your bags are thru checked, there is IRROPS and u miss ur connection, u will struggle to find ur bags.
I won't do this connection on 2 tickets.
Overal the reason I ask is because I would have a 1 entry visa for India, and I would not want to use it to do that transfer in CCU, as I will come back to India after visiting Bangladesh. So overall the main issue is if the transfer desk would be able to assit with checkin for my Regent air flight to DAC