One of the most annoying aspects of air travel to the United States may be eliminated if a pilot program planned by Delta Airlines is a success. Under the plan, travelers arriving by air in the U.S. would no longer have to retrieve their baggage and check it in again for connecting flights.
At present, arrival at a U.S. airport from overseas requires not only immigration checks, but also collecting any checked bags and making them available for inspection before passing them on for a flight to another domestic airport. The process adds time, increases the chance of missing connections and aggravates travelers who have just finished a long flight.
The test, authorized by the 2022 Defense Reauthorization act that gave TSA the power to experiment, requires that the originating overseas airport be certified for its security procedures and handling of baggage so that no further check is needed on arrival. At the arrival airport, passengers whose luggage is included must be segregated from others during the transfer.
The overseas airport selected for the test, which may begin later this year, is Seoul’s Incheon International Airport; Delta hasn’t yet said which of its U.S. hubs that has flights from there will be involved; the U.S. cities are Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis and Seattle. Travelers involved would first see their bags again at their final destination.
