Hello, I was wondering how the Shannon airport is w/ customs/immigration while leaving the country? Two weeks ago, we flew into Shannon and thought customs was far more organized then some places in the U.S., but we flew out of Dublin when we left. I am planning to travel back to Ireland in Aug. and I will be flying in and out of Shannon. I know customs is customs, but since Shannon is not as big as Dublin, I'm hoping it is just as organized going out as it is coming in. Thanks for your time. P.S. I may have other off the wall questions later.

I have always marveled at the ease with which I have gone through customs on departure from Shannon. It is and will always be my airport of choice. I have never been encountered any agent there that was unfriendly, as opposed to Dublin where they seem to be rather gruff.

Enjoy your next trip. I wish I was going with you!

Slan go Foill,

Bit

Why are you asking about customs/immigration <u>leaving</u> Ireland?

Am I missing something here??

Oops - I meant to ask &quot;Why are you asking about immigration leaving Ireland?&quot;. I know about the customs pre-clearance in Ireland. But immigration is still performed on arrival in the States.

Thanks CowboyCraic, Glad you understood what I meant to ask. I thought Shannon personel were very friendly/helpful.
I hope you get to return soon as well.

On my last trip from Shannon to the U.S.--it has been several years-- immigration processing took place at Shannon, leaving customs as the only hurdle upon landing in the U.S.

kayd,

That was my experience when leaving Ireland the last couple of trips. My first stop would always be Atlanta and after getting my luggage, I just had to clear customs before going on to my next flight.

Yes, you clear immigration in Shannon, then when you get to your final destination in the States, you go straight to the luggage carousel, you pick up your luggage, and then you go thru customs. It's really nice and convenient. When you leave the flight, they steer you past the immigration point.

Not final destination in States, but first stop/international airport.

There's no Customs screening when one is departing Shannon for the U.S. There's about a half dozen U.S.-Government staffed Customs/Immigration counters between the Duty Free area &amp; the Gates to U.S. bound flights. They stamp your Passport there. You do have to clear Customs &amp; Agriculture when you deplane at your U.S. Port of entry

Normally, Security is no problem; but once I had my checked baggage thoroughly examined at the Continental Airlines check-in.

Shannon and Dublin airports have American immigation facilities so that one does not have to face it again in the US. They are the only airports in Europe that do that.

The immigration/customs systems in Shannon have always been pretty smooth.

I've noticed the lines at AerLingus check-in haven't gotten any faster, but security and immigration processing at Shannon has sped up.

The important thing to remember in Shannon is to have the forms given to you by the ticket agent filled out before you get in the US immigration lines. The rest is pretty simple.

I just came back this past Tuesday (4/3) through Dublin and then Shannon. I was surprised at how much more security there was coming back than leaving (from O'Hare). When I left here I was never asked who packed my bags, etc. I was asked a total of three or four times in Dublin and Shannon including a very thorough list of questions before I checked my bags in Dublin. And all of our carryon luggage was searched before we were allowed into the gate at Shannon. This wasn't random, everyone was searched.

When we arrived back at O'Hare we picked up our luggage, turned in our customs form and were passed straight through the line. No questions, no searches, etc.