ACRP Report 61: Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers

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Abstract

International fights arriving at U.S. airports transport 180,000 passengers per day on average. Overall, one-third of these passengers proceed to a connecting international or domestic fight. Irrespective of whether passengers are connecting or terminating upon arrival to the United States, they proceed through U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspection formalities. While the large majority of passengers have no issues whatsoever, some individuals are referred to Secondary Processing for a more detailed examination related to immigration, customs, agriculture, or other aspects of import laws/regulations.

For connecting passengers, the 2006 CBP Airport Technical Design Standards (1) specify that checked bags are collected during the arrivals process immediately after Primary Processing. As a result, baggage recheck facilities are typically provided immediately after CBP processing to allow passengers with connecting fights to drop off checked bags for the next fight. However, the multiple times that bags are picked up and dropped off for connections have been cited as a customer service issue, and baggage recheck facilities impose space and operating costs on airports and airlines. Further, limited time is available for passengers to successfully make close connections.

ACRP Report 61: Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers (1) identifies potential alternative procedures that could be implemented to reduce or eliminate the need for the recheck of baggage for arriving international passengers at U.S. airports; (2) describes in detail the benefits and costs associated with these alternative procedures to airports, airlines, and federal agencies; and (3) compares potential alternative procedures with current practices. This report will assist airports, airlines, and other stake­ holders in examining policies, processes, and other drivers behind baggage recheck facilities that could lead to improved connections.

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Wong, S., Tse, S., Beeson, A., Ristic, H., & Mann, H. ( 2012). ACRP Report 61: Elimination or Reduction of Baggage Recheck for Arriving International Passengers. Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C.

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