Pulley

My wife & I are flying to CLT for our Global entry interviews. This is the closest center to where we live. The office is outside security. We'll fly into CLT go "outside" for our interview and then back through security when we are done to catch our plane home. We've never done a same day turnaround. Is there anything we should know or do?

Thanks

Efrem

Arrival: Nobody involved in security will know or care when you plan to return. You won't even see them, since this is a domestic flight (no customs or immigration), except perhaps for the agent who makes sure nobody enters the secure area through the exit.

Departure: Nobody involved in security will know or care when you arrived. All they'll see is your departure boarding pass and your ID.

Airline check-in agents will be able to see that you're on a round trip ticket with a short stay, but they won't care.

Bottom line: don't worry.

paperwastage

Just remember to bring all documents (approval letter printed out + passport/DL/documents)

I've done a sameday turnaround (printed both boarding passes at JFK, landed in SFO. During return, the TSA checker at SFO saw that the boarding pass wasn't printed at SFO, was curious why)

Pulley

Thanks for the quick responses.

RI2KH2SU

I once did this from HKG to SFO and back in one day. I picked up my kids in SFO to bring them back to Asia. What a long day(s) that was! Luckily I was in C both ways.

KoKoBuddy

People fly in for the day - or for a few hours - and then turn right around all the time. No big deal. Nobody will care.

SpinOn2

There is nothing wrong with this at all.

For my GE appointment at JFK I flew in, went to terminal 4 to take the appointment, and 40 minutes later I was back through security and on my flight home within an hour.

Last year I actually flew JFK-LHR-LAX, and although the security guy was a little puzzled, it did not pose a problem at all. He asked me twice where I was transferring from, and I told him New York, and he kept saying "No today" and I kept telling him, yes, New York.

Also last year I flew to LHR on BA to try out my first 747, and had a 4 hours layover and flew back home to PHL. Again security guy was a little confused, but no problems at all.

Only advice, receive your boarding passes for your return before your appointment just in case.

Other than that, as other said, you have nothing to worry about.

FirstInFlight

Flight issues - none
TSA issues - none
Airport - yes. When coming back through TSA there are 5 TSA checkpoints but they all lead to thr same place so find the shortest line - usually E/F. If you habe PreChek the B line can br qiick. And the BBQ place just past security isn't bad.

Kiwi Flyer

No problem with same day return. Some people even have to do international same day return trips for work.

Efrem

My first (of many) visit to Australia was as part of a oneWorld promotion that offered 100,000 AA miles to anyone who flew to all six* continents within a given period. I had a 2 1/2 hour turn-around in Perth as part of that. I filled out the landing card with "Time in Australia: 2 1/2 hours;" "Address in Australia: None;" "Reason for Visit: Other." The immigration officer found that a bit unusual and asked me about my visit. I explained. He eventually decided that I might be crazy, but probably wasn't dangerous, and let me in.

A bit later, I returned through the same hall the other way. (PER airport was smaller then than it is now.) The same fellow spotted me from the very far end of the hall. He stood up on his chair, waved a newspaper in the air, and shouted to me at the top of his lungs "Come on down here so you don't have to explain it to anyone else again!"

Only in Australia.
_______________________
*OneWorld didn't, and AFAIK still doesn't, serve Antarctica.

Eastbay1K

Domestic USA not an issue. There are probably 100,000+ day business trips every business day.

International - I did get questioned to the nth degree @ YVR arrival. It was a nice MR long day trip from SFO and she finally asked how much the ticket cost. Fortunately I had printed the receipt and when she saw it was under $200, let us go.

kochleffel

I once had some difficulty entering Canada when my only reason was to have dinner.

This happened at Sault Ste. Marie. The town on the Michigan side was small, with no restaurants of interest, while the Ontario side is a fairly large city. I was a fairly young man, alone, driving a slightly flashy car that did not have Michigan license plates. The customs and immigration inspector at the end of the bridge asked where I was going, and I replied with the street address, which was almost in sight of his booth. How long was I staying? About two hours. Why was I coming to Canada? To have dinner.

This apparently sounded fishy, because he told me to park the car and go inside the building. There, a more senior agent with a strong Scottish accent (there was a lot of Scots settlement in western Ontario) took out an enormous ledger and looked to see whether I had ever made trouble in Canada before.

On the return, the U.S. agent thought it was perfectly ordinary to cross the border for dinner; people who live on the U.S. side do it routinely. He just wanted to know whether I had bought anything, other than the dinner that I had already eaten.

Efrem

Did the same thing several years ago, driving to Montreal en route from Boston to Burlington, Vermont where my younger son lived at the time. It was for a FlyerTalk get-together! As best I recall, a good time was had by all, and I wasn't quizzed unduly when crossing the border. Perhaps the Quebecois are so proud of their food that they find it natural that a Yank would drive for hours to have some.

darthbimmer

I agree with posters above: on a purely domestic trip there is nothing special to be concerned about. Plenty of business travelers do same-day returns. It will not raise eyebrows.

The only time an airline or airport employee has even noticed my same-day return was on an MR at an outstation when I boarded the same aircraft with the same crew that I stepped off of less than 30 minutes earlier. The FA expressed concern that I may have gotten on the wrong plane; she thought that perhaps I had read the wrong BP when making a connection. I said, "Nope, I just like flying," with a wink and sat in the same seat I'd arrived in.

Open Jaw

I had a similar experience in Canada but I was traveling by plane. I landed at YYZ and filled out my declaration card. I was only staying in Canada for the day and flying out at 6AM the next morning. The immigration official sent me to another official who could not believe I wanted to leave so soon. The official believed I was there for work reasons. I explained I just wanted to visit the major sites, eat diner, have a few drinks at a bar and then fly home. After about an hour to review my travel reservations, I was allowed in.