Clearing Customs
 

We are arriving from Detroit at Terminal 4 early in the morning. Our connection to Johannesburg is not until that evening. I have booked at day room at the Ibis. In the past the line up at T4 customs has always been huge. Can we take the inter-terminal bus to Terminal 1 and clear customs there or do we have to do it at T4 where we land? Our luggage should be checked all the way through to Johannesburg so we wouldn't have to claim it. Does anyone know? I think T1 would be quicker and it puts us closer to our hotel. Thanks.

I am going to guess that the connecting airport you are asking about is CDG. Am I close?

Sounds like LHR to me.

Oops I forgot to mention that it is Heathrow where we are landing!!

There should be absolutely no problem

If your onward flight is with BA, you'll have got a boarding pass for JNB at Detroit. You simply get the airside bus at T4 as if you were transferring to a T1 onward flight, get off at T1 and then follow the arrivals signs.

"Clearing customs" is an inappropriate term, since withiut baggage you're unlikely to see a Customs official. But, yes, you go through immigration at T1 - though I can't imagine why you think the queues there are going to be any shorter.

If you're on SAA, you're supposed to get the (same) airside bus to the T1-3 Flight Connections Centre for your onward boarding card. Get it, then again follow the signs for arrivals and go through immigration.

If you really want to be clever, I THINK it's possible to follow the signs for T2 arrivals without some security jobsworth checking your boarding pass. Since almost all T2 arrivals are from other EU countries, the EU passport queue can snake round the building, while non-Europeans often waltz through.

But don't blame me if you arrive at the same time as a flight from Romania and a couple from Russia