Although we travel a lot, we've not been to Europe since Brexit, and we typically fly nonstop to our destination. Not this time. My wife & I will be flying to Rome (JFK-FRA-FCO) in September, returning via Heathrow. Questions: 1) do we officially enter the EU in Frankfurt, even though we are not leaving the airport, or in Rome? 2) Similarly, since we change planes at LHR -- and the UK is no longer in the EU -- do we have to clear Customs or, since we're just changing planes, go straight to our next gate? (We have a two hour layover at FRA and LHR.). Thanks in advance.
When you land in FRA you will enter the Schengen area by completing EES Registration and passport control. The FRA-FCO flight will be “domestic”.
Departing FCO (any Schengen zone country) for the UK or elsewhere the steps are reversed.
If the stop in the UK is a connection you clear security and continue.
If the stop in the UK will have you entering the UK, then obtaining a travel authorization is required
- In FRA you will clear immigration as you will enter Schengen.
- Transit LHR int-int does not require entering UK, you will stay airside during international transit. There will be EU exit immigration before flight to UK.
1. Last time I transited FRA, they had a very empty immigration checkpoint halfway along the Z pier serving *A US flights. I was going the other way (AMS-FRA-US), hopefully it works in both directions.
2. Which airlines are you flying to/from LHR? In T5 everyone has to go to the main building for transit security, even if it is an international-to-international transfer. Lines (pardon me, queues) are usually not too bad.
@sbs Indeed, LHR does love their transfer security, which is major reason to avoid LHR for international transit in my opinion. A more normal approach in the EU for this at e.g. AMS, CDG, FRA, ZRH, MUC is to simply clear passport control (exit Schengen) and be straight into the departure lounge with no additional security when connecting from within Europe.
@sbs LHR is not my favorite airport, but it's hard to avoid when you're flying BA...lol. But sometimes beggars -- or rather, "points users" -- can't be choosers, especially when you're seeking out Business class tickets on points and are actually flying a total of five people to Rome (and arriving on different days). One is on Air France, and two are on TAP. Both are flying round-trip, so they're all entering and leaving directly from Schengen countries. We, however, are using Avios to fly BA FCO-LHR-SFO in Business (and, FWIW, ATMOS points to fly Condor JFK-FRA-FCO).
@jbl1776 I would avoid BA award tickets....more often than not the surcharges are more or close to just a regular revenue fare.....so check the going cash rate.....
@isaacc Believe me, I hate BA fuel surcharges (which are really just a way to increase the fares). As of today, the fare (FCO-LHR-SFO in Business) is 7,537 Euros each ($8,730.31 at the current exchange rate) per ticket. The fuel surcharge is $500 per ticket. The value of the points spent per ticket is roughly $1,400. So, $1900 versus $8730...I think it's OK. ;^)
I highly recommend just getting the UK ETA just in case....if you want to go landside due to irrops or long connection, etc. Just makes it a lot easier and flexible.
@jbl1776 A 2-hour connection at LHR is risky. IIRC, BA uses T5 for both FCO and USA flights, so it should be ok (absent IRROPS). If it's a mix of airlines and/or alliances, the transit won't be fun with terminal changes, transit security, and bus rides.
@tennen Remember that if you have to do landside connections....you may need to bring luggage on the underground....which is a hassle depending on how much stuff.....ensure the connection tickets are in the same terminal area (i.e. T5, T23 and T4)