Philadelphia Travel Forum

hi
i will be travelling with US AIRWAYS from manchester,england to manchester,NH and having philadelphia as my connecting city, do i need to re-claim my luggage in philadelphia and also go through their immigration even though new hampshire is my final destination? i would be really grateful if anyone could help me with the step by step guide of what to do in the airport from the time i'll disembark the plane and towards catching my connecting flight. do you think 2 hours lay over is enough? i'm sure you've got a hint now that i'm not a well travelled person that's why i'm asking anyone who can advise me with this journey to help make it more organize as much as possible...
thanks in advance!

Hi!

Okay, Your Port of Entry to the US will be Philadelphia and you will definitely have to go through customs and immigration. YES - you will have to claim your luggage there and check your luggage back to your doemstic flight to New Hampshire. 2 hours might be cutting it a bit too close so I would recommend at least 3 hours, so you won't be rushing and worrying about checking in your luggage and all that.

Hope this info helps! Philadelphia, Newark, JFK and La Guardia are most of the airports I use.

regards,

gd

so is it immigration first then claim the luggages and then proceed to customs? will i have to re-deposit my luggage in the terminal il be connecting to for my final destination? and how far is terminal A to terminal C and what's the best way to get there quicker? also, do i have to go through immigration again when i'll arrive in new hampshire airport?
thanks a lot for your help at least i've got an idea now of what to do!!!!!!!!

All the Terminals in Philadelphia are connected to each other. The only thing that will probably take the most time aside from Immigration and customs is checking in back your luggage on the first floor of Terminal C and once you've checked it in, you go through a LONG LONG LINE for security on the 2nd floor of Terminal C, that's why 3 hours would be best for you.

Hope that helps!

again am very grateful for your help, thank you so much...

Actually, I am not sure you have to go back through security at Terminal C. You will arrive at Terminal A-West, which is where all the international flights come in. First you will go through immigration, then pick up your luggage and pass through customs. However, you do NOT have to carry your luggage to Terminal C and re-check it there. All of the airlines have counters right there outside customs in Terminal A-West, and if you have a connecting flight, you just drop it off there and continue on to whatever terminal you're leaving from. I believe that you are still "airside" at that point--that is, still inside the security zone. As far as I know, there will be no wait again for security at Terminal C.

Two hours is probably enough. The longest wait you will have is at immigration. There are a lot of overseas tourists these days, and depending on what time your flight arrives, you can wait up to 30 minutes in that line. If you're waiting that long, then by the time you get through immigration, your bags will have arrived at baggage claim.

PHL is my home airport, so I fly into it from international flights constantly, but I don't see what happens after Terminal A since I never have to connect!!

how about arriving to new hampshire as my final destination will i have to go through another immigration check again? and what about coming back?

No, once you are through immigration in Philadelphia, that's it.

There is no "exit" immigration in the US. You just walk out.

thanks for taking time to answer my queries, at least i have got more ideas now on what to expect. cheers!!!!!!!!!!