Where do I pass customs- EU to USA

August 30, 2023 8:47 AM

I fly back to the USA in a few days from Lisbon to Paris (CDG) to North Carolina (RDU). Where will I have to pass customs and if I check a bag, will I have to recheck it?

My flight is all one ticket booked with Delta but the LIS-CDG flight is operated by AirFrance. I have a somewhat tight connection (2 hours) so I’ll consider not checking a bag home if it will a difference to my timing at CDG. I know I’ll go through customs at RDU.

Will I also go through customs (and will I have to recheck a checked bag) at CDG?

I went through a second round of security when flying through CDG to arrive and that’s fine. However I only had carry on luggage during that portion so I’m not sure what the situation is in reverse.

posted by raccoon409 to Travel & Transportation (10 answers total)

Best answer: Portugal and France are both part of the Schengen area so you shouldn't have to clear customs in Paris. Air France and Delta have an interline agreement so there shouldn't be any problems checking your luggage through to RDU. Check away.
posted by praemunire at 8:53 AM on August 30, 2023 [3 favorites]

This should not impact your timing at CDG and you should not have to recheck. You personally may have to do the enhanced screening at CDG at the gate, but you should have sufficient time (or they should hold the flight for you). I will flag that when traveling on one ticket but switching operators, my bag was left behind in Munich during a 3h layover. It was fine; I got it back the next day - but just highlighting that with a tight turnaround, your bags might not get through on the same flight as you.
posted by quadrilaterals at 8:57 AM on August 30, 2023

Best answer: Your bag should check through all the way to RDU from Lisbon.
You personally will need to go through exit passport control - not customs - at CDG. The internal EU flights (LIS-CDG) use 'domestic' gates at CDG and you'll need to pass through the passport control thing to get to the 'international' gates. It should be obvious and no big deal. The few times I've had a tight connection and the passport control lines were backed up (usually at Schipol or Kastrup) airline reps were working the lines to shuffle people through so no one missed the flight.
posted by niicholas at 9:00 AM on August 30, 2023 [3 favorites]

Special tip I just remembered, because I went through this recently. Sometimes the transfer location is a madhouse (EWR) and I think the airlines lose some visibility of your bag location in the process, so next time I'm going to take a picture of the attendants accepting my bag during the transfer. Then if it gets lost you'll have evidence to show that you did in fact give them the bag.
posted by achrise at 9:48 AM on August 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: You personally may have to do the enhanced screening at CDG at the gate, but you should have sufficient time (or they should hold the flight for you).

It's been a while since I was last at CDG, but in my (dated) experience it's an awful airport for tight connections, and they absolutely did not hold the flight at least once. (During that connection there was a very long line for something (passport control?) and a bunch of people from the same delayed incoming flight as me were telling the agents that we were all late for a connecting flight and could we please be processed first, and the agents were all 'no, wait your turn, you'll be fine'. The agents were wrong, the gate was closed in people's faces.)

In short, if you're worried you're running late at CDG, it's probably best to start literally running.
posted by trig at 9:49 AM on August 30, 2023

Best answer: I have one more tip specifically re: Delta/Air France: I have never successfully checked in online for a delta/Air France flight. You will probably have to do it at the ticket counter and the line will be long. Definitely arrive early!
posted by pazazygeek at 9:49 AM on August 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: It's best to think of the EU as one country for the purposes of rechecking bags. So when flying between the US and Europe:

If the connection is in the same "country" you are departing from, you will not have to recheck your bag.
If the connection is in the destination "country", you will have to recheck your bag.

For countries other than US and Europe, the answer is: it depends. Some countries require you to do so, others don't. It's not up to the airlines.

Also the above assumes you bought everything on one "ticket" even if there are different airlines involved.
posted by vacapinta at 9:53 AM on August 30, 2023 [2 favorites]

Mod note: Several comments and responses removed. Please do not ask your own question in an AsKMe that you did not create. You are free to post your own AskMe though!
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 10:43 AM on August 30, 2023 [1 favorite]

Vacapinta’s advice should be modified to exclude Ireland. You go through US customs in Dublin and Shannon.
posted by bowbeacon at 1:13 PM on August 30, 2023 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Thank you ll for your helpful responses! As predicted and expected, I had to pass through passport control and security in CDG but my bag was checked all the way through to Raliegh and I didn’t need to pick it up and recheck it in CDG.

In the madness that is CDG at one point the passport control line was so blocked TTT a staff member took a group of about 40 of us from the line, took us on a 10-15 minute walk through a variety of hallways, leaving the “secure “ area to a different terminal ti have us go through passport control and security there. I’ve never experienced anything like that in my many years of international travel.

Luckily I made it to the gate was they were boarding groups 3 and 4 and shockingly my bag made it back with me to RDU as well!
posted by raccoon409 at 1:49 AM on September 5, 2023 [1 favorite]