The airport expertise retains getting much less disturbing for passengers flying to the U.S. from overseas — particularly for vacationers hurrying to catch a connecting flight.
In latest months, we have seen the U.S. loosen up some safety protocols for passengers after an extended intercontinental flight. This particularly applies to flights from the U.Okay. and Australia.
Up subsequent are flights from South Korea.
Delta Air Traces introduced on Wednesday that passengers flying into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport (ATL) from Seoul’s Incheon Worldwide Airport (ICN) not have to attend (after which recheck) their baggage earlier than heading to their connecting flight.
These passengers’ luggage will now switch proper to their subsequent aircraft, identical to they’d on a home connection.
Which will sound like a reasonably small change, however Delta estimates that this shift might save vacationers a mean of 25 minutes. That is valuable time throughout a layover.
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Simplifying safety guidelines after a world flight
Usually, vacationers flying inbound to the U.S. should undergo an arduous sequence of steps earlier than reaching their connecting gate. They should clear passport management, wait for his or her bag, recheck it after which return by safety.
Over the previous couple of months, airways (alongside the Transportation Safety Administration) have began lowering a few of these necessities for vacationers flying into the U.S. from sure international locations with comparable safety protocols.
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In actual fact, simply two weeks in the past, Delta (and Virgin Atlantic) eliminated the bag and safety recheck necessities for passengers connecting in ATL after an inbound flight from London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR).
American Airways just lately launched the same “one-stop safety” trial for its passengers connecting at Dallas Fort Price Worldwide Airport (DFW) after a flight from LHR.
Seoul-Atlanta connections get simplified
Now, that idea is increasing (although in a extra restricted capability) for Delta passengers flying from Seoul to Atlanta after which connecting to a different flight.
These vacationers nonetheless should reclear safety, however their luggage will switch proper over.
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Why the TSA says that is secure
By means of the partnership, South Korean safety officers ship the TSA X-ray photographs of passengers’ luggage taken on the bottom at checkpoints at ICN.
TSA brokers can study these photographs whereas passengers are flying, eliminating the necessity for a recheck after the flight.
“By leveraging superior know-how and enhancing our processes, we’re driving innovation in air journey that provides an additional layer of safety whereas streamlining the entry course of for worldwide journey,” Diane Sabatino, U.S. Customs and Border Safety’s performing govt assistant commissioner of operations, stated in a press release Wednesday.
The brand new one-stop protocols additionally lengthen to passengers flying Korean Air, Delta’s SkyTeam alliance accomplice, which additionally operates flights between Seoul and Atlanta.
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Which airports have one-stop safety?
Whereas many passengers will cheer the much less cumbersome safety guidelines, this does imply the postflight protocols are much less constant from one airport to a different.
This is a fast rundown of all of the one-stop packages now in place, as of Aug. 13:
- In case you’re flying from London to Atlanta or Dallas, you possibly can skip the bag and safety recheck and head proper to your connecting flight.
- In case you’re flying from Seoul to Atlanta on Delta, your baggage will switch proper to your connecting flight, however you will nonetheless must reclear safety.
- In case you’re flying from Sydney to Los Angeles on American Airways, your bag will switch proper to your connecting flight, however you will nonetheless must reclear safety.
Moreover, in case you’re flying from Atlanta or Dallas to London and connecting at LHR, you possibly can skip the safety recheck there (luggage already switch proper to connections).
Backside line
The U.S. authorities has stated that it hopes so as to add partnerships with extra international locations to those streamlined safety protocols. That ought to assist save passengers time within the U.S. and at airports abroad.
Delta, for one, instructed TPG that it hopes to get rid of the safety recheck requirement for passengers coming from Seoul and connecting in Atlanta within the close to future.
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