Say goodbye to one of the biggest troubles of international travel – that is, if you are in the right flight.
United Airlines has just become the latest American airline in the United States, which launched a major time-saving plan for travelers flying to the United States and then made connections. As part of the new setup, passengers flying from Sydney Airport (SYD) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) do not have to recheck their luggage before racing.
This is a trial program that can save passengers within 45 minutes of a long-distance flight.
Luggage transfer plan connecting leaflets
In most cases, travelers arriving in the United States from abroad must wait for their baggage on an international arrival baggage claim after clearing control of their passport, then recheck it before flying towards their connection. Manchester United’s new setting will eliminate the usual length steps.
Instead, passengers start traveling in SYD and then connect via SFO, just like on a home connection, their luggage will be transferred directly to the next plane.
“We are streamlining the international arrival process by canceling additional steps for travelers to pick up and recheck their bags to connect to the flight,” Jennifer Schwierzke, executive vice president of customer operations strategy and said in a statement to announce the news.
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From the start, the program will be very limited and only for travelers who start with Syd-Sfo flights. But Manchester United hopes to expand this option to other international routes “in the coming months”.
New ways to save airport time
Manchester United is the third major airline in the United States, which launched an innovative, time-saving plan in 2025, which will return to the United States in 2025. The same is true for Delta Air Lines recently for passengers traveling from Incheon International Airport (ICN) in Seoul, South Korea via Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).
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This summer, both the United States and Delta Air Lines (and its partners) began allowing passengers to fly ATL and Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) from London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) to skip security checks, another time-consuming process travelers face when making connections when making connections after international flights.
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Airlines are working with the Transportation Safety Administration and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency while on these new simplified safety plans.
These moves are made possible by technology to enable images of luggage first captured by U.S. officials at security checkpoints at certain international airports.
Here is a complete summary of the now-developed new “one-stop security” and “international remote luggage screening” plans:
| Airlines and routes | The bag connected to the passenger is transferred directly to the next flight | Connecting passengers can skip TSA security recheck |
|---|---|---|
| American Airlines, LHR-DFW | √ | √ |
| American Airlines, West Drax | √ | |
| Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic, LHR-ATL | √ | √ |
| Delta Air Lines, ICN-ATL | √ | |
| United Airlines, West Drax | √ |
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