Post # 1
Member
31 posts
Newbee
So my fiance and I will be heading to Cancun for our honeymoon and neither of us have flown internationally before and are a little confused as to how it works. We will be leaving Rochester, NY at 5:35AM and arrive in Philadelphia at 6:53AM then depart Philadelphia at 7:45AM. I’m wondering when we will need to go through customs and if less than an hour is enough time for us to do everything that we need to do. Any advice would be appreicated!
Post # 3
Member
396 posts
Helper bee
That is a really short layover, and PHL is a pretty busy airport. Can you change your flights around to give yourselves at least an hour and a half layover? Any sort of delay on your first flight could mess you up for the rest of the day.
Post # 4
Member
6015 posts
Bee Keeper
You’ll have paperwork to fill out when you land in Cancun and then when you return to the US. I agree tho, you are cutting it a little close for the Philly Airport.
Post # 5
Member
31 posts
Newbee
@TwinABee: We booked our entire vacation through cheapcaribbean so they scheduled our flights, so I don’t believe that we would be able to rearrange our fligth schedules.
Post # 6
Member
14657 posts
Honey Beekeeper
As long as your flight is on time, you should be fine. You dont need to go through customs to leave the states so it’ll just be like catching a connecting domestic flight. On the way back though you’ll need to go through customs at your first entry point to the US, so if you only have an hour on the way back, it may be a problem. Leaving the US is ok though.
Post # 7
Member
12247 posts
Sugar Beekeeper
I don’t think you’ll have a problem… I was traveling from VT to Germany by way of Chicago (No, that DOESN’T make sense…). The first check in takes some time, but the layover is the same as a domestic one. Then they’ll have you fill out some paper work before you land, and a passport check when you arrive in Cancun! It’s not bad!
Post # 8
Member
8682 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
You should be able to check your luggage all the way through to Cancun from Rochester. You will need to go through immigration at Philly to board your international flight to Cancun. If you are travelling on the same airline for both flights I would ask about checking in for both flights and getting your boarding passes (if you can’t print at home) at Rochester. If you are flying different airlines then I think you maybe in trouble as you will need to go out to boarding checkin at Philly. I think an hour would be cutting it fine if you need to clear immigration and checkin at an airline desk at Philly.
Here is a map of the airport which also list which terminal each airline flies out of. You may need to check the distances on the map.
http://www.phl.org/passengerinfo/terminals/Pages/terminals_default.aspx
But be aware that the their website recommends that passengers on international flights arrive 3 hrs prior to departure in peak times to clear immigration/customs.
Post # 9
Member
31 posts
Newbee
@pinkshoes: That is really helpful, thanks for the response! We have 2.5 hours on the way back so I think that should be okay 🙂
Post # 10
Member
31 posts
Newbee
Thanks everyone for the responses. We will be flying US Airways for all flights so I will def check in to possibly checking in for both flights in Rochester.
Post # 11
Member
1941 posts
Buzzing bee
@FutureMrsBrew: You should have a phone number for a travel agent for cheap caribbean. Keep that on you in case of any delays on the first round, you can call them to rearrange the flights. Make sure you let the flight attendants know you have a flight to make, a lot of times they will let you off the plane first. Good luck and have fun!
Post # 12
Member
374 posts
Helper bee
If your flight is on time, you will be totally fine. The Philly airport is not THAT busy, and you can easily get from one terminal to another. Don’t worry about it.
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