All about airport transfers

During travel and even a tourist trip on a ticket, you can often face the need to make a transfer from one flight to another, because in some countries of the world you can not get directly, besides, often air travel with one or even two transfers is cheaper than direct. However, transfers at airports, especially if they are made in other countries, can lead to certain difficulties, starting with the need to move between different terminals and ending with the need to obtain a visa of the country through which you are transiting. In order not to get into an unpleasant situation, you will need tips on how to buy air tickets and how to behave when connecting at the airport:

How the transplant takes place

For transfers at the airport, a special procedure is provided, traditionally called transit or docking. In English, it can be called Transfer, Flight Transfers, Flight Connections, Connecting Flights, Transit. This is a simple procedure, but it can vary greatly depending on flights, airport, country, etc.

• If you purchased tickets in a set from one airline

  If you do not have a change of airport or terminal building, and you are flying international flights, then after getting off the plane most often you will not have to leave the international zone, respectively, you will not need a visa of the country of transfer. In this case, you do not need to go to passport control and baggage claim, but follow the Transfer signs for boarding the next flight, or simply the terminal number and gate number. In complex and large airports for transfers, airline employees even meet and escort passengers to another board. But it is very important to make sure at the check-in stage when checking in your luggage that your luggage will be delivered to the final point of the flight and you will be issued boarding passes for all flights. If, due to an oversight, the baggage is not processed to the end point and boarding passes are issued only for the first flight, then you will have to leave the international zone at the intermediate airport to collect luggage and check in for the next flight, and this is fraught with the need for a visa.

  Attention! Sometimes there are exceptions. Some smaller airports do not have a transit procedure per se. Getting off the board, you must immediately go through passport control, which may require a visa. Also in the countries of the USA, Canada, Australia, some EU countries a visa is required for transfer (a special transit visa is provided). Information on each specific case is better to clarify on the Internet on the official website of the airport or airline. And, in the end, you can always call the representative of the airline in your country, from which you bought a ticket.

  If during the docking you have a change of airport or terminal building with an exit from the international zone, or if you change from an international to a domestic flight or vice versa, then you must pass passport border control (with presentation or receipt of a country visa, if necessary), and customs control. Whether or not to get your luggage depends on the airline and the specific airport, but that's not a problem at all as you'll still have to leave the international area. In some countries, especially for such cases, even a transit visa is provided, which is cheaper than the usual one, but its validity period is minimal.

• If you purchased tickets for connecting separately

  If you bought tickets separately even from one airline, the docking procedure will have to be carried out independently, and most often with the receipt of luggage at the intermediate airport and its re-delivery at check-in for the next flight. Also, the possible risks of being late when transplanting fall on you. If you miss the next flight, no matter for what reason, the next flight will simply burn out, and you will have to buy a new ticket. And since you will have to leave the international zone in order to move luggage from one airline flight to another, you will have to take care of a visa (if it is needed to enter this country).

  These possible problems do not mean that you should not fly such flights, you just need to prepare properly. As read further.

What is the best way to buy connecting flights

The ideal option is to buy tickets with a transfer immediately in a set from one airline or an alliance of airlines. It is these options that are most often given out in the results of modern flight search engines. Then you will not have any problems with the transfer (with rare exceptions). Arriving at the departure airport with such a ticket, at the airline counter you check in immediately for all flights in the chain and hand over your luggage to the final destination. What is good, even if the first flight is delayed for some reason and because of this you will not have time for the connecting flight, the airline will send you on the next flight at its own expense.

You can find flights to anywhere in the world, including ready-made low-cost flights with transfers, through the form of a proven search engine Aviasales:

What to do with luggage during transfers

If you are flying a connecting flight of one airline or alliance, and you do not have a change of airport or terminal, then you need to check in for the first flight to hand over your luggage to the end point, and immediately check in for both flights. Usually this is done automatically when you present an electronic ticket for all flights at once at the check-in desk, but it is better to control this issue, i.e. remind the airline staff to do this. If all this is done, then at the airport of docking the luggage without your participation will be moved from one flight to another, and you will receive it already at the destination.

If you bought tickets with a transfer yourself from different airlines, or even from one airline but separately at different times, then no one will care about your luggage. You will have to receive it yourself at the transfer airport, check in again for the next flight, and check in your luggage. In this case, it is necessary to clarify all the issues of the visa regime in the country, as well as the device of the airport, since it is possible that for baggage collection and subsequent check-in you will have to leave the international zone.

Do I need to get a visa to transit at an international airport

In general, this is not required, since the transit procedure provides that when you transfer, you will always be in the international zone. However, if you have a change of airline, terminal, or even Airport, and you need to collect your luggage and check in again, then depending on the visa regime of the country, you may need a visa.

In some airports, baggage collection and check-in are possible directly in the international zone in a special order for transit passengers, but it is better to find out such a question for a particular airport in advance via the internet, or by calling the airline for advice.

But there are airports where even if you follow one airline, regardless of the need to collect luggage, you will have to go through passport control and get a visa, although this is very rare. In some countries, special transit visas are provided for this, and in others, a visa-free regime, but all this must be clarified in advance.

And, of course, if in the process of docking you will have a change of airport or stand-alone terminals that are not connected by internal crossings, you will have to take care of the visa in advance (if necessary for this country).

How much time to lay on the transplant

If you are flying on a ticket of one airline, then the required time for the transfer has already been calculated by the airline. You just need not hesitate, but immediately go to the exit for the next landing. Even if the previous flight is delayed, the airline takes the risks and delays the departure of the next flight, or will send you to others.

Another thing is a transfer on separate tickets. Here, personal risks increase, because if you do not have time for the next plane, it will be very difficult to compensate for the loss of the ticket. How much time to lay when buying air tickets in this case depends on the specific situation: whether you need to go through passport and Customs Control, receive luggage, move between terminals or airports. Do not forget also that registration for boarding ends in advance, and you also need to lay time for it. And yet, keep in mind that aircraft delays of 20-30 minutes are quite normal, which should also be laid for docking. So do not be petty in time, lay it more. Here's time for a benchmark and with a margin:

• Passport, customs control, baggage collection-at least 1 hour
• Baggage claim (for domestic flights) - minimum 30 minutes
• Moving between terminals, airports – depends on the situation
• Check-in for the next flight, passport and customs control, security inspection (for international flights) - 3 hours
• Check-in for subsequent flight, security screening (for domestic flights) - 2 hours

If you still have questions on the topic of transfers and transits through airports, you can ask them in the topic on the Forum, we will be happy to answer.