Hi there - Has anyone flown out of Hamilton as part of an international flight? We are looking at flights to Paris, and want to avoid Pearson. How long does the customs process take from Hamilton etc.

thanks!

There are no direct flights to Paris from Hamilton. You will need to connect in Montreal. That to me is a much greater inconvenience than flying from Pearson.

There is no customs process on the outbound flight. You will go through customs and immigration in Paris, and on your return in Montreal.

All in all, I don't see the point in flying from Hamilton, unless it is much more convenient to get to than Pearson.

I believe there are flights from Hamilton to London, but I think only twice per week. Hamilton airport is a great airport. Convenient, clean, accessible. If it works for you, you will enjoy the experience. Customs, baggage pickup etc. is quick compared to YYZ.

Thanks for the feedback! I wasn't thinking there were direct flights to Europe from Hamilton, but I had thought that the customs processing was in Hamilton, but I guess it makes more sense that it would be in Montreal. There are customs facilities in Hamilton, but I guess those are just for direct flights to the US etc. And actually for the context of our trip (family including our 2 boys who will be 7 and 10 who have not flown since they were too young to remember) the connection in Montreal would actually be a plus rather then an inconvenience - the extra flight on the smaller plane being seen as a bonus Thanks again for the feedback!

More about Hamilton -- near teh main terminal is the Canadian Warplane Heritage museum.

Depending on your schedule, you could bring the boys to the museum, too. They'll get to sit in at least one plane, touch lots of others, maybe even sit in a CF-100.

And they get to go to Paris, too. Cool trip for the children, and I bet having the children with you will be lots of fun for the grownups, too.

BAK

That's a good idea about the museum, either on the day, or maybe as a destination for a day trip when we could scope out the airport as well!