São Paulo Travel Forum

I arrive in Sao Paulo (GRU) on a Tuesday at 9:45 am from Canada where I've connected in Newark on a Continental Airlines flight. I have 55 minutes to get a connecting flight to Rio (GIG). Do I have enough time? Do I clear customs in Sao Paulo? I've read things about being fingerprinted and photographed. Does that apply to me? I'm thinking of just having a carry-on bag and no checked luggage. Will this speed things up?

If it's an actual connection (plane change to a differently numbered flight) and not just a stop-over--a question you should be asking your travel agent or the airline--- you will have to go through customs and 55 minutes is not hardly enough time. If another international flight comes in at about the same time, you may be in line at passport control for over an hour. (The fingerprint and photo routine has been long over, though.) Then you have to collect your bags and go through customs with them, so, yes, just carry-on would speed things up, but there are strict size and weight limits these days. Can you survive with so little? Arriving to check in with less than 30 minutes before the flight, you may be refused boarding and have to wait for the next flight.

Bahiana is right - as usual.

If it is indeed a conection, you should change to a later flight. Flights from GRU to GIG are quite frequent and you should easily find one to fit your time frame.