New American Airlines program makes international layovers way less annoying
New American Airlines program makes international layovers way less annoying
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American Airlines is piloting a program to streamline baggage screening for international travelers connecting to domestic flights.
The program, trialed on flights from Sydney to Los Angeles, allows passengers to bypass baggage re-check after customs.
Bags are still screened, but automatically transferred to connecting flights, enhancing convenience and efficiency.
American Airlines is working to make international travel easier.
A pilot program with U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Tuesday will allow some passengers connecting from international to domestic flights to skip collecting and re-checking their bags.
The program, called International Remote Baggage Screening, will allow passengers arriving in the U.S. and connecting to domestic flights to proceed straight from passport control to the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint. The bags will still be screened to ensure everything that's packed meets existing regulations, but they will automatically be checked through to the next flight.
The program is being trialed on flights leaving Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport in Australia and arriving at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
'We are excited to collaborate with CBP on this innovative initiative,' Vice President of Global Corporate Security at American Airlines Gary Tomasulo said in a statement. 'By leveraging advanced technology and working with Sydney Airport and our vendor partners BagCheck and Brock Solutions, we are enhancing safety and security while streamlining the CBP baggage inspection process to make global travel smoother and more convenient for our customers.'
In its press release, American Airlines did not mention plans for expanding the trial to other routes or airports at this stage.
American Airlines also announced in February a trial program to make connecting easier for passengers transiting through London's Heathrow Airport. Previously, passengers would have to clear security again after arriving in London before connecting to another international flight. Still, under the One Stop Security pilot, American Airlines passengers from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport arriving at Heathrow terminal 3 or 5 will not need a secondary security screening before connecting to another flight.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.
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