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Separate tickets with only carry ons -- do I have to go through customs?

Separate tickets with only carry ons -- do I have to go through customs?

Old Mar 26th, 2017, 04:02 PM
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Separate tickets with only carry ons -- do I have to go through customs?

I am an American travelling with my boyfriend through Europe in June and have two instances of multiple-leg trips with tickets that I bought separately. I understand the risks associated with separate ticketing. I read extensively on the matter and the cost savings outweighed the risk, given the layover time I was able to allow myself at the connecting airports. What I'd like to know if at the following airports, will I need to exit through customs then go back through security to get on the second portion of my flights? There are two factors that should be considered:

1. I will not be checking any bags, only carrying small carry-ons.
2. The flights on each route are with the same airlines. I know that does not likely protect me in the event of a delay, but it does mean that my arrival and departure gates could be in the same general vicinity.

The first set of flights goes from destination A > Madrid MAD > destination B. Both of these flights are with RyanAir. I am scheduled to land in Madrid at 5:45PM and take off from Madrid at 9:30PM.

The second set of flights goes from destination C > Paris ORY > destination D. Both of these flights are with Transavia. I am scheduled to land in Paris at 2:40PM and take off from Paris at 5:05PM.

In these instances, will I need to exit, go through customs, and go through security again? How would I find out if this is necessary when I get there?
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Old Mar 26th, 2017, 08:30 PM
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Why not give the destinations? Hard to help when the post is so 'mysterious'. Are these flight w/i Schengen? If so, there is no customs . . .
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Old Mar 27th, 2017, 12:39 PM
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I expect that what you are concerned about is not customs (basically you walk through Nothing to Declare - it takes no time), but passport control, which can have long lines. Without knowing what Destination A and Destination C are no one can answer this question.
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Old Mar 27th, 2017, 12:59 PM
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Even without knowing the details I don't see this as a problem. You have 2hr 25min at Orly, and 3hr 45min at Madrid, and you're flying on the same airline in/out of both airports.

I don't know RyanAir or Transavia but I would expect you'd be able to check-in for the 2nd legs on both of these airlines before you got on board the 1st leg, either by checking in online, or at the airport.

Even if you have to pass through passport control, I think you have plenty of time, assuming your incoming flight is not delayed substantially.
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Old Mar 27th, 2017, 01:26 PM
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On Ryanair you may have to check in at the airline desk for the second leg as their flights are always entirely separate. You can (and should, to save money) satisfy the procedure for both tickets on-line 30 days in advance. Ryanair uses Terminal 1 which is quite small. These days there can be security checks at any time.
The routine for Transavia is about the same. Orly is also a moderate-sized airport. Transavia uses Orly Sud (South). There is less leeway for advance check-in; 30 hours max according to its website. I don't know if the two Transavia flights will be treated as a connection or separately as with Ryanair. Ask them.
In both cases you have more than two hours which should be comfortable. Be sure to read all the on-line info and restrictions for carry-on luggage.
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Old Mar 27th, 2017, 01:28 PM
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> You should know that Ryanair charges for airport check in, per person per flight. Online check in is available 30 days before departure but you have to pay for seat assignment or 7 days before departure with free seat (random) assignment. Check in for both flights online and print or download the app and keep an online version of your BPs.

Airport check in is no extra charge for Transavia, but why would you do that? Do online check in which might be poss upto 30 hours before departure, for both flights. Saves going landside just to check in.
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Old Mar 27th, 2017, 02:02 PM
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Thank you for your kind replies. I do not view this as mysterious at all, no reason to put out more personal detail than necessary on the internet @janisj! I thought my post implied I would need my visa/passport checked given the fact that I was asking about customs . Yes @kathie, I did mean to add passport control. Thank you.

@j62, @Southam, @Odin, thanks so much. Some more details are below.

I do plan to check in to all flights online and get boarding passes in that way, so I should not need to visit the ticket counter. I should have included that in the first post.

The flights break down as such:

The first set of flights goes from Palma PMI > Madrid MAD > Marrakech RAK. Both of these flights are with RyanAir. I am scheduled to land in Madrid at 5:45PM and take off from Madrid at 9:30PM.

The second set of flights goes from Marrakech RAK > Paris ORY > Dubrovnik DBV. Both of these flights are with Transavia. I am scheduled to land in Paris at 2:40PM and take off from Paris at 5:05PM.

It appears there is no reason to need to go back out through passport control/customs if I don't have checked bags, don't need to visit a ticket counter, and don't need to switch terminals. Am I reading that correctly? When checking my boarding pass before boarding the plane, they won't care that I am foreign/haven't been through security at that particular airport? That all seems fine to me, given it is the same procedure as having a true layover, but I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything glaring.

Thank you for the perspective that even if I do need to go through the rotation, I seemingly have enough time to do so (barring any delays).
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Old Mar 27th, 2017, 03:20 PM
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What has been missed is that you are a non EU/EEA passenger and Ryanair have a separate desk landside where documents (i.e. passport) are checked before proceeding to airside. If you remain airside with your connection, the document check cannot be done and you might not be allowed to board. Can you check with Ryanair?
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Old Mar 27th, 2017, 04:24 PM
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since the OP doesn't want to share her itinerary we really can't be sure of anything.

But I would assume she would have to go landside each connection . . .

It isn't customs that is an issue.
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Old Mar 27th, 2017, 05:49 PM
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Hi @janisj, you must have missed it! I did post my itinerary in my most recent reply. I have received some great information, so no need to continue posting if you don't think you can help. Thanks!

Hi @Odin, thank you for this information. This is the type of little caveat I was worried about! I will check with RyanAir and post an update once I know.
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Old Mar 28th, 2017, 12:37 AM
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When you contact Ryanair, I would ask them if they can do a document check for both flights (just as a regular airline would do) when you go to the airport for the flight PMI to MAD. In this case I would have both boarding passes printed and not have them on my app.

You need to ask Transavia the same questions.
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Old Mar 28th, 2017, 04:03 AM
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>>>Hi @janisj, you must have missed it! I did post my itinerary in my most recent reply. I have received some great information, so no need to continue posting if you don't think you can help. Thanks!
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Old Mar 28th, 2017, 01:33 PM
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On your outbound you'll go through passport control at MAD since you're traveling from a Schengen country to a non-Schengen country and MAD is the point where you exit the Schengen zone.
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Old Mar 29th, 2017, 08:04 PM
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If you get your boarding passes in advance for your connecting flights and do not check luggage, you should be fine at both airports. Just follow the airside signs to your gate. You will be asked for your passport when you board but will not need to go through passport control in your connecting airports (you won't exit the Schengen area until you arrive in Morocco).

I advise confirming this with both airlines just to be certain. Happy travels!
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Old Mar 29th, 2017, 11:07 PM
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Unless Ryanair checks and stamps both boarding passes when arriving at the airport for the first flight, I can't see how the above suggestion will work. There is no facility airside for passport and/or visa checks.

https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful...ent-visa-check
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Old Mar 30th, 2017, 02:20 AM
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If they have to exit the secure area to get the Ryanair boarding pass stamped, then they'll do that.

Does anybody here honestly think 3hr 45min is not enough time in Madrid?
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Old Mar 30th, 2017, 07:33 AM
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The concept of exit passport control may be confusing as it doesn't exist in the US (at least for now http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea....t-just-arrive/ ). Similar to entry passport control which happens at the first Schengen airport where you arrive, exit passport control happens at the last Schengen airport from which you depart. In the OP's case this would be MAD. This would be the case even if the OP didn't need to go airside due to a Ryanair idiosyncrasy.
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Old Mar 30th, 2017, 02:09 PM
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Yes, she has enough time, so no worries either way! And sorry if I wasn't clear above. I do think MAD has airside exit passport control for connections (or possibly a fast track from the non-Schengen to Schengen side of T1), but the safe thing is to call the airline. I checked this for my son when he had a Schengen-non-Schengen connection through MAD w/ two tickets, but can't remember if it was Ryanair.

Here is an ongoing flyertalk thread about connections in MAD - I don't have time to go through it now, but the answer is probably there. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/spain...irport-18.html
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Old Jul 7th, 2017, 06:48 AM
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I wanted to update the thread now that I’ve returned. It turned out that we did need to leave the secure zone/go through passport control and go back through security for both sets of flights. We had about an hour to spare in Madrid and 2 hours to spare in Paris. As a US citizen, I found it’s best to go to either the desk outside security or the desk at your gate and make sure you have all appropriate stamps on your boarding pass. I have traveled a bit but it always seems a bit hard to predict what stamps you'll need on these cheap airlines and we found a few instances where we were lucky we asked. They checked our passports at the gate and gave us the appropriate stamps (these are not visa stamps in your passport, of course, but stamps on your boarding pass).

All-in-all, a bit stressful but our forgiving layover time allowed for it to work out. Thank you all for your help with this!
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Old Jul 7th, 2017, 12:19 PM
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Thanks for reporting back to us on your experience.
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