Beginner's Guide to Typical Airport Procedures: International Travels

 

Welcome, welcome to the second part of this two-part series of beginner's guide to typical procedures at the airport.

As I have written on the previous post, the aim of this is to give you a general idea of what you have to do at an aiport because the biggest part of all the fear of first time travel is really the fear of the unknown. So I am hoping that by giving you this general idea, you'll be less anxious when you are travelling.

International travel is quite similar to domestic procedures with a couple little additions that you have to know.

Departure

1. Check-in

It is advisable to arrive at the airport not less than three hours earlier than your flight. This is because of the extra steps with international travel.

Check-in is almost the same as checking in for a domestic flight. For international travels, you are most likely required to present a valid passport with an expiry date of greater than six months. Your airline might also check the documents required by your destination country.

It is also very important to ask where you would claim your bags when you are checking in.

If you have a transit flight, you may or may not receive boarding passes for all your flight. If you receive all boarding passes, then you're good to go. However, if you have only one boarding pass, you will have to ask for the boarding pass of your next flight at the check-in counter of your transit country/city.

2. Immigration

Everyone has a different experience each time going through immigration. There is really nothing to be worried about as long as you are honest with your travel and you have all the necessary documents like your visa, identification, return flight and hotel or tour bookings at your destination country (if the destination country is not your home country). 

It is also worth noting that in some countries, there wouldn't be any need for immigration clearance if you are departing the country.

3. Security Check

Just like domestic flights, pack your liquids in 100mL or less containers and pack them all in a quart-sized clear bag. You might be required to take this bag out when going through security. Check for signs at the security area for items that you need to take out and place on a separate bin.

You will also have to place your laptop in a separate tray and other gadgets of the same size and larger.

4. Boarding Gate

Check your boarding pass for your boarding gate and pay attention to announcements for any gate changes. Be at your boarding gate minutes before your boarding time.

5. Boarding

Be sure you listen to boarding protocol announcement that the ground crew makes before boarding. You can find your batch number or letter on your boarding pass. You may choose to board later but you cannot board earlier than your batch number. But I wouldn't suggest boarding later because some people just hoard the space in the overhead bins of the plane.

Arrival

1. Immigration

After deplaning, follow the arrows that lead to Immigration. If you have a domestic transit flight, you have to go through the immigration of the first airport you land in the destination country. For example, your final destination is Bohol but your first flight lands in Manila - then you have to go through immigration in Manila.

The immigration officer might ask questions like how long you're staying in the country, your return ticket, your bookings, etc. They might also ask if you are bringing any type of food to the country. It is always best to declare. You also have to give the arrival card/form that is given out during the flight for you to fill out.

2. Baggage Claim

After going through immigration, you have to follow the arrows that lead to Baggage Claim. Your flight attendant will announce the carousel number before you deplane. If they do not, then you can check your flight number on the monitors at the carousels.

3. Customs

This is simple. All you have to do is to give them the Customs Declaration Form that the flight attendant gives out during the flight. If there are no taxes for you to pay, then you're good to go. This is why it is so important to pack correctly.

I hope this covers the important steps that a beginner might need to know when travelling. If there's anything you'd like to add, feel free to comment down below.

Happy travels!