customs
 

Does anyone know at what point do I go through customs on a JFK-Joberg- Cape Town flight? I asked Delta and got 2 different responses- the first said Joberg because that is my point of entry (I have a 3 hour layover there so time shouldn't be an issue)and the other told me Cape Town because my luggage is checked through to CPT. I would think Joberg would be correct because I am coming off an international flight and transfering to a domestic flight but I figured someone on this board would know for sure. Thanks for your help!

When my husband flew to Durban in July 2003, he had to retrieve his luggage and go through customs and immigration in Johannesburg, although his luggage theoretically was checked all the way through to Durban.

After clearing customs and immigration, he was able to put his suitcase on a conveyor belt that returned it to the airport's baggage handling area.

The same thing is true when we return to Calgary from overseas, if we first touch down on Canadian soil in Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal.

Mo261, I don't ordinarily get picky about people's grammar, spelling and typos on discussion boards. I've heard it's poor Internet etiquette and, goodness knows, I make enough mistakes of my own.

But I thought you might like to know the rationale behind the spelling of Johannesburg because, once you knew that, it would help you in spelling other South African place names.

The thing that's useful to know is that in Afrikaans, the South African language derived from Dutch,

burg = town

berg = mountain

Hence one has cities and towns such as Johannesburg (commonly abbreviated to Jo'burg), Pietermartizburg, Lydenburg, and so on.

Then one has mountains like the Drakensberg, Magaliesberg, Cedarberg, etc.

There is the occasional town whose name ends in "berg." Piketberg is that one that comes to mind for me right now. That's because Piketberg is the name of a mountain as well as the name of the town that's situated at the foot of that mountain. But the town of Piketberg is the exception rather than the rule.

You did well to get Cape Town right, though. Writing it as one word is a common mistake. :)

>>>>>>I make enough mistakes of my own.<<<<<<

>>>>>>Piketberg is that one that comes to mind for me right now.<<<<<<

I rest my case. :)

I was trying to recall how we did it, so called my travel partner. I initially thought it was as Judy_In_Calgary mentioned, but all I could remember was clearing Immigration and receiving our Visas in JNB. For the life of me, I could only remember seeing my bags in CPT.

My partner confirmed this, in that we didn't claim our bags in JNB, just walk out and headed to the gate for ongoing flight to CPT. When we arrived there, we simply collected our bags and met our driver.

There were lines at JNB Immigration, considering we were coming off a 747, but they moved very quickly (maybe within 10-minutes we were out of there).

The process might have been changed, but I even recall once on arriving in Paris with final destination in Marseilles - clearing Immigration in Paris, but never saw my bags until we arrived in MRS. And the same arriving in London Heathrow, just clearing Immigration there and not collecting my bags till I arrived in Teeside (in Yorkshire).

Regardless mo261 - with 3-hrs you have more than enough to follow whichever procedure they have in effect at the time. Both JNB & CPT are "Int'l Points of Entry" - so I guess either is possible.

MO261,

May I suggest that you double check the fact that your baggage will be flown from JFK > Jhb and then on to Cape Town as I dont think this will be allowed. If you are boarding a local flight in Johannesburg for Cape Town you will be arriving at Cape Town national and NOT international arrivals. With that being the case there is no place at the Cape Town airport for you to clear customs for your baggage. I am virtually 100% sure that the SA authorities will NOT allow your baggage to be moved onto Cape Town from Jhb without you custom clearing the baggage in Johannesburg first.

I believe that what will aactually happen is your baggage will be flown to Johannesburg and you will have to clear your baggage as well as yourself through customs. Therafter you will have to walk to the national terminal with your baggage (Close by - 100 yards)) where you can check in your baggage as well as yourself once again. Therafter you can board your flight to Cape Town. I dont think there is any other way of going through tis procedure which btw I have done more than 40 times in my life. Its a bit cumbersome but unfortunately the only way it can happen.

Just as a matter of interest had you flown to Johannesburg and not got off the plane if it were travelling on to Cape Town then all of the above would be averted as you would have arrived at the international terminal at Cape Town airport. I do however suspect that your JFK to JHB flight stops in Jhb so the above would not be valid.

Hope this helps.

Very proudly part of the wonderful ((r)) nation of South Africa

When we flew to Cape Town (via Jo'burg)last spring, we had to collect our bags in Jo'burg, clear customs, and then haul everything from the international terminal to the domestic terminal and then recheck our bags.

As I recall, we had to do this on the way out as well.