Baggage in US airports coming back to YYZ
 

When I fly home from NRT to YYZ via ORD or DFW my bags are checked through and I don't see it. Flying home from EDI today via EWR and have been advised both at check in and on plane to retrieve bag at EWR. Why the difference?

US airports don't have an international transit zone, so all arriving passengers need to clear customs with their baggage before connecting, even if they are connecting to another country.

Question was why does it go through to YYZ via ORD and DFW but not EWR. All US airports.

Apart from MIA and IAH - which have the red INTLtoINTL tag - you should be picking up your bags at all US airports XXX-USA-Canada

Flying NRT-EWR-YYZ, on one e-ticket, your bag should still be tagged at NRT to YYZ. You will simply retrieve your bag before Customs at EWR,carry it through Customs and then drop it with AC just post Customs. You will not have to wait or recheck, simply drop it because it is already tagged.

You may have experienced an International-to-International (I-T-I) pilot at ORD in which bags arriving from outside the US and checked to another destination outside the US are not routinely inspected in the passenger's presence. Thus, you won't see the bag after it is checked at NRT until Customs at YYZ. The only two US airports with full-time I-T-I are IAH and DFW and bags subject to I-T-I carry a special tag which you would have seen applied at NRT.

Not all airports in the United States are set up to have bags transfer through. At JFK, for example, you have to pick up your bag and go through customs. You do not have to at DTW.

It depends on the airport.

As I don't believe this is an Air Canada specific questions the thread has been relocated to the Canada forum for further discussion.

tcook052
Air Canada forum moderator

Damn. Got searched and lost my haggis..very confusing pricedures

The only 2?

I guess I got really lucky at ATL DTW MSP in the last four years getting ITI?

Google ITI at the DHS CBP site and you will see the list of port of entry airport that ITI is available. The airline also needs to be a participant in the program.

YYZ-ORD-NRT: The bags are precleared by US Customs in YYZ so the bag is treated as a "domestic to international" transfer...the same as if the bag was traveling DEN-ORD-NRT.
NRT-ORD-YYZ: There is no preclearance for bags in Tokyo so the bag must clear US Customs in ORD. So, the bag must clear US Customs at ORD before being rechecked in for the final leg of the journey.