INTL to INTL Connection ATL
Jan 2, 2019, 3:09 pm
#91
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OP will need to clear immigration and customs at ATL. However as they're connecting international to international, with both flights on DL, they shouldn't need to pickup bags. They just need to make sure when checking in at ICN the DL agent tags their bags with an ITI (International to International) bag transfer tag. The bags will then be automatically transferred without needing to haul them through customs and rechecking them.
They did in 2010. I slept overnight at a gate due to weather.
Jan 2, 2019, 5:45 pm
#93
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The sleeping in airports website is a useful resource to check whether airport terminals are open 24/7. I talso suggests good locations for sleeping and other helpful information for someone considering this.
Jan 2, 2019, 8:32 pm
#94
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 1,884
yes
no
What you're missing is that when you land, you collect your bags (at which point you're landside, even though you're not in an area that people coming in off the street can access). You can either recheck your bags at this point, clear security and enter the airside area, or you can exit the airport, come back later, and re-check your bag before clearing security.
At no point will you have access to your checked luggage while airside.
no
What you're missing is that when you land, you collect your bags (at which point you're landside, even though you're not in an area that people coming in off the street can access). You can either recheck your bags at this point, clear security and enter the airside area, or you can exit the airport, come back later, and re-check your bag before clearing security.
At no point will you have access to your checked luggage while airside.
Thanks.
Jan 3, 2019, 8:23 am
#95
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ATL is open 24 hours and so is TSA at the main security check point.
Regarding the OP's original question. As far as I know, there's no airport in the US with a transit area like there is outside the States. The US doesn't do an exit passport check like other countries, and at ATL all gates are connected. So if you have a domestic boarding pass you can easily walk up to a gate bound for Paris, Johannesburg, Shanghai, etc. In fact, you can often find domestic flights whose gates are at the two international concourses at ATL.
Regardless of whether you land at Concourse E or Concourse F, you will be required to go through passport control. If you want to remain inside the airport, airside, this is easy, as you do not need a boarding pass at all to clear security at either concourse. (As an ATL destination passenger, I go through security to exit the airport at the domestic terminal, so I can more quickly get to MARTA) Customs for both concourses is underground. These two feed into their own, completely separated and independent TSA security lines. Passengers originating in Atlanta cannot get to these lines at all. These two checkpoints are only for international arrivals.
If you wish to exit the airport and not pass through security you can easily do so at Concourse F. If you land at E, and have no checked bags, feel free to follow the signs to Atlanta Final Destination (or something like that) to leave the airport without doing security. You will do customs and passport control at F. If you have checked bags and land at E and want to exit the airport, you must clear customs at E so you can recheck your bags on your own, go through security at E, and then travel through the airport to either terminal to exit. If you land at F, have checked bags, and want to leave, you just follow the signs to do so. You'll need to do passport control, recheck bags, but then you can walk out of the airport. It's my understanding that since you have an overnight layover, Delta will allow you to collect your bags at your layover airport, you just need to ask them. If you do that, you will need to exit at Concourse F/international terminal, as your bags will be there.
Regardless of what you want to do, remain in the airport or leave, everything you're asking to do is possible and quite feasible.
Regarding the OP's original question. As far as I know, there's no airport in the US with a transit area like there is outside the States. The US doesn't do an exit passport check like other countries, and at ATL all gates are connected. So if you have a domestic boarding pass you can easily walk up to a gate bound for Paris, Johannesburg, Shanghai, etc. In fact, you can often find domestic flights whose gates are at the two international concourses at ATL.
Regardless of whether you land at Concourse E or Concourse F, you will be required to go through passport control. If you want to remain inside the airport, airside, this is easy, as you do not need a boarding pass at all to clear security at either concourse. (As an ATL destination passenger, I go through security to exit the airport at the domestic terminal, so I can more quickly get to MARTA) Customs for both concourses is underground. These two feed into their own, completely separated and independent TSA security lines. Passengers originating in Atlanta cannot get to these lines at all. These two checkpoints are only for international arrivals.
If you wish to exit the airport and not pass through security you can easily do so at Concourse F. If you land at E, and have no checked bags, feel free to follow the signs to Atlanta Final Destination (or something like that) to leave the airport without doing security. You will do customs and passport control at F. If you have checked bags and land at E and want to exit the airport, you must clear customs at E so you can recheck your bags on your own, go through security at E, and then travel through the airport to either terminal to exit. If you land at F, have checked bags, and want to leave, you just follow the signs to do so. You'll need to do passport control, recheck bags, but then you can walk out of the airport. It's my understanding that since you have an overnight layover, Delta will allow you to collect your bags at your layover airport, you just need to ask them. If you do that, you will need to exit at Concourse F/international terminal, as your bags will be there.
Regardless of what you want to do, remain in the airport or leave, everything you're asking to do is possible and quite feasible.
Jan 3, 2019, 8:41 am
#96
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ATL is open 24 hours and so is TSA at the main security check point.
Regarding the OP's original question. As far as I know, there's no airport in the US with a transit area like there is outside the States. The US doesn't do an exit passport check like other countries, and at ATL all gates are connected. So if you have a domestic boarding pass you can easily walk up to a gate bound for Paris, Johannesburg, Shanghai, etc. In fact, you can often find domestic flights whose gates are at the two international concourses at ATL.
Regardless of whether you land at Concourse E or Concourse F, you will be required to go through passport control. If you want to remain inside the airport, airside, this is easy, as you do not need a boarding pass at all to clear security at either concourse. (As an ATL destination passenger, I go through security to exit the airport at the domestic terminal, so I can more quickly get to MARTA) Customs for both concourses is underground. These two feed into their own, completely separated and independent TSA security lines. Passengers originating in Atlanta cannot get to these lines at all. These two checkpoints are only for international arrivals.
If you wish to exit the airport and not pass through security you can easily do so at Concourse F. If you land at E, and have no checked bags, feel free to follow the signs to Atlanta Final Destination (or something like that) to leave the airport without doing security. You will do customs and passport control at F. If you have checked bags and land at E and want to exit the airport, you must clear customs at E so you can recheck your bags on your own, go through security at E, and then travel through the airport to either terminal to exit. If you land at F, have checked bags, and want to leave, you just follow the signs to do so. You'll need to do passport control, recheck bags, but then you can walk out of the airport. It's my understanding that since you have an overnight layover, Delta will allow you to collect your bags at your layover airport, you just need to ask them. If you do that, you will need to exit at Concourse F/international terminal, as your bags will be there.
Regardless of what you want to do, remain in the airport or leave, everything you're asking to do is possible and quite feasible.
Regarding the OP's original question. As far as I know, there's no airport in the US with a transit area like there is outside the States. The US doesn't do an exit passport check like other countries, and at ATL all gates are connected. So if you have a domestic boarding pass you can easily walk up to a gate bound for Paris, Johannesburg, Shanghai, etc. In fact, you can often find domestic flights whose gates are at the two international concourses at ATL.
Regardless of whether you land at Concourse E or Concourse F, you will be required to go through passport control. If you want to remain inside the airport, airside, this is easy, as you do not need a boarding pass at all to clear security at either concourse. (As an ATL destination passenger, I go through security to exit the airport at the domestic terminal, so I can more quickly get to MARTA) Customs for both concourses is underground. These two feed into their own, completely separated and independent TSA security lines. Passengers originating in Atlanta cannot get to these lines at all. These two checkpoints are only for international arrivals.
If you wish to exit the airport and not pass through security you can easily do so at Concourse F. If you land at E, and have no checked bags, feel free to follow the signs to Atlanta Final Destination (or something like that) to leave the airport without doing security. You will do customs and passport control at F. If you have checked bags and land at E and want to exit the airport, you must clear customs at E so you can recheck your bags on your own, go through security at E, and then travel through the airport to either terminal to exit. If you land at F, have checked bags, and want to leave, you just follow the signs to do so. You'll need to do passport control, recheck bags, but then you can walk out of the airport. It's my understanding that since you have an overnight layover, Delta will allow you to collect your bags at your layover airport, you just need to ask them. If you do that, you will need to exit at Concourse F/international terminal, as your bags will be there.
Regardless of what you want to do, remain in the airport or leave, everything you're asking to do is possible and quite feasible.
Jan 3, 2019, 10:20 am
#97
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Transit and I-T-I are separate functions. Transit deals with immigration while I-T-I deals with bags. The US does not have transit. But, at certain airports, it does have I-T-I which simply means that checked luggage is not delivered to the passenger, subject to an in-person inspection, and then dropped or rechecked.
Jan 3, 2019, 11:18 am
#98
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That doesn't matter at Atlanta. All bags must be collected and rechecked upon entrance into the US. Generally, all one needs to do is just pick up from one baggage carousel and drop off at another. But all bags must be claimed and rechecked at Atlanta. This isn't different than other airports in the states is it? Admittedly, I don't check bags often, but if I recall correctly at Dulles and Newark it's the same process. Once you pass passport control, you get your bags, and drop them off for your connection, then leave that area to landside.
Jan 3, 2019, 11:30 am
#99
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NO, the point seems to be that a very few USA airports have the international to international procedure for handling checked bags in which you don't pick them up and take them through customs on this type of itinerary. The passenger still goes through immigration and customs as usual, but only with carry on items.
Jan 3, 2019, 11:44 am
#100
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NO, the point seems to be that a very few USA airports have the international to international procedure for handling checked bags in which you don't pick them up and take them through customs on this type of itinerary. The passenger still goes through immigration and customs as usual, but only with carry on items.
Jan 3, 2019, 11:53 am
#101
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That's the point of international transit, although in most nonUSA airports, you can do such connectionas without going through customs and immigration because departing and arriving passengers aren't mixed together, for example if you were to do USA-NRT-SIN on DL, theire's airport security at NRT, but you don't see your checked bags and you never enter Japan unless you have an overnight connection or stopover.
Why? It's probably to conserve resources in that stuff just passing through a USA airport with no risk of ever entering the USA doesn't matter in terms of introducing undesirable stuff like pathogens. Iit's a matter of duty, in principle that stuff could pass through the USA in bond but that would be more of a hassle for everyone.
It's not significant but USA GDP rises if more people book international travel through on USA carriers and connect through the USA.
Why? It's probably to conserve resources in that stuff just passing through a USA airport with no risk of ever entering the USA doesn't matter in terms of introducing undesirable stuff like pathogens. Iit's a matter of duty, in principle that stuff could pass through the USA in bond but that would be more of a hassle for everyone.
It's not significant but USA GDP rises if more people book international travel through on USA carriers and connect through the USA.
Jan 3, 2019, 12:31 pm
#102
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That doesn't matter at Atlanta. All bags must be collected and rechecked upon entrance into the US. Generally, all one needs to do is just pick up from one baggage carousel and drop off at another. But all bags must be claimed and rechecked at Atlanta. This isn't different than other airports in the states is it? Admittedly, I don't check bags often, but if I recall correctly at Dulles and Newark it's the same process. Once you pass passport control, you get your bags, and drop them off for your connection, then leave that area to landside.
Jan 3, 2019, 3:26 pm
#103
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Yes it does matter. At certain US airports when connecting from international to International flight on the same carrier, one doesn't need to collect bags. ATL like most major US airports allow this. Since OP is flying DL for both flights he's eligible. This has been the case for at least year and half. I flew NRT-ATL-YYZ few months back. No need to pickup bags at ATL.
Bags are very likely THE issue in this story.
Jan 3, 2019, 4:05 pm
#104
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As far as I know, the OP has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of checked bags. That said, I found this great thread that talks about I-I checked bags. It's about 2 years old now, but it seems to show that you need to have your bags specially marked with a purple tag in order to avoid collecting and rechecking bags in ATL.
Jan 3, 2019, 4:47 pm
#105
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Never have had an issue when bags weren't checked by an actual DL agent. AFAIK ICN is contracted (either to KE or thrid party) and thus they'll tags bags all the way. Its the dumb downed software GUI that DL uses that causes bags to be short checked. Contracted agents don't use it.