kthomas

Is there a DL bag drop *with check-in* at T1 after customs?

(Arriving AF, connecting to DL, AF agent at origin managed to check to JFK only ... )

TIA.

lost_perspicacity

No. You would need to re-drop your bag at T2 or T4. You can take the airtrain to either one or walk to T2. If your flight is from T4 and you want to avoid the airtrain you can walk to T2 and take the post-security Delta bus. The agent couldn't check it through because you are required to collect luggage at first entry into the US when arriving on an international flight.

VFR

Delta closed T2 when COVID hit, so you will need to go to T4.

Looking back at past FT posts, DL may have had a recheck agent after T1 customs in previous years, but they were inconsistently present and it was not always guaranteed that your bags would make your connecting flight unless you took them on the AirTrain to T2 or T4. My advice for OP would be to keep his/her eyes out but expect to take a bag on the AirTrain to T4.

I believe there is a small difference between a bag being checked to the first US airport (e.g. CDG-JFK) and the bag being checked to your final destination (e.g. CDG-JFK-XXX), since all of the flights will be printed on the bag tag so it does not need to be retagged. I still have a tag on my checked bag from my last international trip before COVID, which was TPE-NRT-BOS-JFK on JL/AA, and it has the BOS-JFK flight on the tag though the baggage agents in TPE told me 3 times that I'll need to get my bag in BOS.

flyerCO

There should be one in T1. However I don't know if it's still staffed due to CV19 reductions.

kthomas

Thanks all.

Quick: I didn't see anyone at the baggage check at approx. 5:40p, so I headed to the AirTrain. (Not hard to get to; we arrived late; among other problems, my next flight was delayed ... past connection time ... )

MSPeconomist

The difference is that if the bag is tagged to your destination, after exiting customs you can just deposit it onto the belt with the connecting bags and have it transferred onto your connecting flight automatically with no need to see can agent or (normally) stand in line. Otherwise you need to see an agent to have the bag re-tagged to your destination after the connection at your international arrival airport and possibly risk being charged a fee to check the bag, in addition to the risk in IROPs or with long lines that you or your bag could miss the connecting flight.