View Full Version : Taking duty free onto onward flights
DLB-GOUROCK
16-01-2010, 06:13
I posted this on another forum but think it's worth while putting it on here too for information.
If you journey is made up of more than one connecting flight do you check your luggage through to your final destination or do you pick up and re-check in at each stop?
The reason I ask is when going home from the US many of us fly into a UK hub airport and then take another domestic flight closer to home.
If your luggage is checked through to your final destination then once you have checked it in in the US that's the last you see of it until your last landing.
Now if you buy duty free in a US airport and take it as carry on then when you arrive in the UK, leave immigration / customs and proceed through security before boarding the domestic flight you are banned from taking liquids or gel in containers greater than 100ml so all your duty free that you have brought in from the US will have to be handed over to security and disposed of.
However if your luggage has to be picked up and re checked at each stop then you have the opportunity of placing your carry on duty free from your first flight into your hold luggage before you check it in for the next flight. Not everyone realises that even if their duty free is in a sealed bag it is not permitted as carry on on your onward flight. I've seen many people having their purchases taken from them and not allowed through the second security check.
Hold baggage can have liquids / gels in larger quantities.
(edit was to fix a typo)
When arriving into the UK as an international passenger and continuing on to a domestic flight;
you are required to collect your luggage at the first port of entry to clear customs and immigration.
This enables you to place any duty free purchases into the checked baggage for the onward flight.
The same applies travelling from the UK to international destinations and taking an onward domestic flight, customs and immigration have to be cleared at first point of entry.
Lynne
DLB-GOUROCK
16-01-2010, 14:06
I think that you will find that you can fly Glasgow to Gatwick to Orlando, check your baggage in at Glasgow and not see it again until you arrive in Orlando. The same on your return journey.
So you don't pick it up on your first port of entry coming back into the UK.
Robert5988
16-01-2010, 14:07
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:When arriving into the UK as an international passenger and continuing on to a domestic flight;
you are required to collect your luggage at the first port of entry to clear customs and immigration.[/quote]Not so!
Immigration - yes. Customs - not checked luggage in some situations.
As the OP states, your luggage can be checked straight through. I have landed at Gatwick(with AA from USA) and taken a domestic flight to Manchester with BA with my baggage not seen until Manchester.
That of course means that your bags don't clear customs at Manchester;)
Andy & Arlene
16-01-2010, 15:56
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Robert5988
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:When arriving into the UK as an international passenger and continuing on to a domestic flight;
you are required to collect your luggage at the first port of entry to clear customs and immigration.[/quote]Not so!
Immigration - yes. Customs - not checked luggage in some situations.
As the OP states, your luggage can be checked straight through. I have landed at Gatwick(with AA from USA) and taken a domestic flight to Manchester with BA with my baggage not seen until Manchester.
That of course means that your bags don't clear customs at Manchester;)
[/quote]
I agree. We always have a connecting flight to Aberdeen either through London, Manchester or Amsterdam and never see our luggage. It does definately go straight through to your end destination. The only way (I think) you may have to pick luggage up is if you had booked your internal flights separately with an airline that is not part of the alliance group you had flown with.
Robert5988
16-01-2010, 16:50
Come to think of it I have also gone to Manchester via Dublin(AA & Aer Lingus) and the same thing - bags first seen at Manchester.
DLB-GOUROCK
16-01-2010, 17:05
This is nothing to do with a custom's check. It's not about if you have exceeded your duty free allowance. It's about flight security and the measures that were put in place over the past 9 years.
Once you come into the public area of the airport you will have to go through a security check before you pass back through to airside (departure lounge) and you cannot take quantities of liquids greater than 100ml through the security check.
So if you don't have the opportunity of checking in baggage then you can't take it onwards.
Now my point about checking luggage straight through is if you intend to take advantage of duty free or if buy without realising the situation then it's not an advantage having you luggage handled for you and you should ask that you pick up and re-check yourself when you are booking your flights. Then your travel agent will book separate flights. Doing a DIY holiday you probably do this anyway.
The only way around this is if you have a two bag allowance and you only travel with one bag then you can buy a cheap holdall and check this in before your next flight as your second bag. You need to balance this with the value you place on your purchases.
Either loosing them or is it not worth buying if you add the extra cost of another bag. (you could always take a second empty soft bag from home).
However don't end up in the position of having your goods taken from you because you didn't think it through.
pieman790
16-01-2010, 19:12
We arrived at Gatwick on a flight from Orlando in December with BA and had a connecting flight with BA. We had to clear immigration and customs but our bags were checked through to Manchester and did not collect until we got to Manchester.
Quite a few people had purchased Duty Free in Orlando but were not allowed to take it through security at Gatwick. One person had spent £40 on duty free which he had to leave behind or drink it before security. Imagine what he would have looked like getting on board the plane after two bottles of Scotch?[drinkbeer]
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Robert5988
That of course means that your bags don't clear customs at Manchester;)Travel to the US and don't change planes in the UK but in the US. Your first stop in the US you go through Immigration and Customs and then hand your luggage back.
However, according to Heathrow's website this is irrelevant because...
You may take on board liquid items of any size that are purchased after the security check in the departure lounge. Most duty free or similar purchases will be given to you in a special sealed bag - do not open this bag until you have reached your final destination. You should also retain your proof of purchase throughout your journey as you may be required to show it at a transfer point.
**Please note restrictions apply to duty free purchases made on return journeys where passengers change flights at an EU airport. These are explained in detail on the Department for Transport's website.
http://www.heathrow-airport-guide.co.uk/security.html
The same appears on Mancheter Airport's website. http://www.manchester-airport-guide.co.uk/security.html So I'm guessing it applies to all UK airports.
And this one is from the Government.
Liquids bought at the airport
You can take into the aircraft cabin any liquids you buy after passing through security, as these items go through a separate screening process. This includes bottled water, wines and spirits and fragrances and cosmetics of any size.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Publictransport/AirtravelintheUK/DG_078179
You are correct David.
Our friends bought Duty free at Gatwick, changed planes at Atlanta and had their Duty free confiscated due to it being over the limit to take on board the next flight. They could have bought Duty Free at Atlanta and taken it with them as they had already passed through security. It is the change of planes that causes many problems and we have seen many an argument going on when people get their duty free taken off them at the changeover airport!!!
Sandra
DLB-GOUROCK
16-01-2010, 23:22
I took a look at the UK Government web site in the section: What to expect at the airport: Returning to or via the UK.
It appears that it is OK to carry through duty free in approved sealed bag if travelling between EU countries, or Norway, Iceland or Switzerland if travelling on an EU carrier with a receipt showing that they were bought on the day of travel.
Also there are special arrangements if you are travelling from Changi Airport in Singapore or Dubrovnik, Rijeka, Pula, Zadar or Zagreb airports in Croatia where special arrangements are in place - liquids must be in a tamper-proof bag provided by the airport, unopened, and must contain a receipt that shows the item was bought within the last 36 hours.
No mention is made of any other country so travelling to and from the US which is the focus of this forum then you will encounter items being confiscated at the second security check, or have I read this wrong.
I know from my own experience that when transiting through Gatwick coming home, our party was checking in with BA to come up to Glasgow. We were carrying our duty free in the bag from MCO and the BA person at the bag drop tipped us off as they noticed the bag and told us to put it into our bag before we put it through the bag drop.
The other thing to think about is if you enter into any arguments with security officers you run the risk of not being permitted to fly.
Robert5988
17-01-2010, 02:26
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Travel to the US and don't change planes in the UK but in the US. Your first stop in the US you go through Immigration and Customs and then hand your luggage back.[/quote]Blott,
That is not in dispute. My post was about returning from the USA
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:That of course means that your bags don't clear customs at Manchester[/quote]The point I was making(as have the others) was that baggage checked in the USA does not get subjected to any customs check in UK.
i.e. if my checked bags were full of, say, whisky and cigarettes I would arrive at the domestic terminal in Manchester, pick up my bags without having to take them through the Red or Green customs channel.
I was of course wanting to declare all that booze and fags and pay duty on them - but sadly there were no customs officers[msnwink]
Katys Grandad
17-01-2010, 04:26
Interesting point - I suppose the answer is to buy your duty free outbund and check it in with your hold bags on the way home. Or do without of course!!![msnwink]
David, I'm with you on this one and have seen it happen. I think many people are not quite getting what you are trying to say[msnwink]
Sandra
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:The point I was making(as have the others) was that baggage checked in the USA does not get subjected to any customs check in UK.[/quote]
This was my point and it is an anomaly if international checked baggage is being checked through to a UK domestic airport where customs are not present.
The point I was making was that this should not happen and therefore the duty free could be placed in the checked baggage at the first point of entry into the UK or US.
Re Irish flights, flights from Eire into LHR always have done and still do clear customs but you do not see the customs officers they are behind opaque glass.
Lynne
Robert5988
17-01-2010, 14:05
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:This was my point and it is an anomaly if international checked baggage is being checked through to a UK domestic airport where customs are not present.
The point I was making was that this should not happen and therefore the duty free could be placed in the checked baggage at the first point of entry into the UK[/quote]
With respect that wasn't your point. What you stated was:
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:When arriving into the UK as an international passenger and continuing on to a domestic flight;
you are required to collect your luggage at the first port of entry to clear customs and immigration.[/quote]
As several people have pointed out, there is no provision in many cases for you to be able to collect your checked bags at the first point of entry and therefore are unable place your duty free in your checked baggage.
Thus the OP's point is valid.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:you are required to collect your luggage at the first port of entry to clear customs and immigration.[/quote]
This was always the case and I was unaware the system had changed and as later stated this is an anomaly and one I would think customs would be very interested in.
Lynne
Nice lttle earner for the Customs & Excise!!!
Seriously, it's always seemed daft to me that airlines allow glass bottles of volatile chemistry to fly - if you think booze burns, try perfume !!!
Surely it should be possible for duty free shops to issue a voucher re-imbursed at air-side of arrival & product taken through customs ??
Agreed not feasable for the finer wines, but entirely possible for the majority of spirits / perfumes.
Lessened risk of problems either accidental or deliberate & less weight on aircraft....
Be very wary about putting bottles of booze in your hold luggage. Having worked as both ground staff and cabin crew I've lost count of the times I've seen alcohol leaking out of cases in arrivals halls!!