Airport transfers

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

Transferring at Amsterdam on Wednesday. Can anyone enlighten me what the deal is with luggage?

 

Do I need to wait a carousel and then check in again?

 

Many thanks in advance

[swannymere]

Not usually, your luggage will automatically be sent to your new flight.

[Verbal]

No, you'll have your luggage checked through to your final destination.

 

The only exception to this rule is the US, where transit passengers travelling to, say, Mexico or the Caribbean,and only changing planes an hour apart have to go through US Immigration, pick up physically pick up their luggage and carry it through US Customs.

[hamster]

i know a good tattoo'ist

[timebomb]

As the above, but bear in mind that Amsterdam airport is bloody huge! It can take 30 minutes to walk from one terminal to another.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

Lovely, thanks very much

[lettuce]

Also, sometimes if you switch from an international flight to a domestic (internal) flight, you have to check your luggage in again.

 

I found this out on a trip to Sweden (Birmingham -> Stockholm -> Lulea) a few years ago. I'd been tipped off about this in advance by a work colleague so I asked about it at the check-in desk in Birmingham but was told my luggage would go all the way through to my final destination. Once I got off the plane at Stockholm, I was wandering through the terminal on my way to my connecting flight when I noticed my suitcase on a carousel! Quickly grabbed it, ran like the clappers and got in the queue to check it back in! Just about made it to my flight on time... which was over-booked and they had no seat for me by the time I arrived!

 

Don't know if this is the case (pardon the pun) in any other countries.

[hutch]

As long as all your flights are on one ticket, and your onward destination isn't in Holland, the above advice is probably correct.

 

But, if you booked the flights yourself, on the internet or whatever, and different airlines are involved, you might have to pick it up in Amsterdam and check in again there. They will tell you at the check-in desk when you check in. And whatever they say, I always read what's printed on the label that they stick on the suitcase.

[hutch]

A couple of anecdotes of what can go wrong, from my own experience:

 

1. Flying from Johannesburg to London via Addis Ababa, with a 3 day stopover on business in Addis, they checked my luggage all the way to Heathrow. It took me 2 days to get my hands on my suitcase in Addis.

 

2. Flying from Johannesburg to Marsa Alam (Egypt) via Cairo. Collected my luggage in the domestic hall after the local flight from Cairo to Marsa Alam, met the driver, loaded the luggage and set off. We were stopped by the security police at the airport perimeter gate and sent back to the terminal, where I was marched to the international arrivals hall with my luggage and thoroughly searched by some miserable looking thugs.

[dune]

Just a though but maybe if you rang airline they might know and they could tell you.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

As long as all your flights are on one ticket, and your onward destination isn't in Holland, the above advice is probably correct.

 

But, if you booked the flights yourself, on the internet or whatever, and different airlines are involved, you might have to pick it up in Amsterdam and check in again there. They will tell you at the check-in desk when you check in. And whatever they say, I always read what's printed on the label that they stick on the suitcase.

 

Both flights are with KLM (Heathrow to Amsterdam then Amsterdam to Berlin). Saying that however, the Amsterdam to Berlin leg is with "KLM CityHopper"...

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

Just a though but maybe if you rang airline they might know and they could tell you.

 

Can't, too busy trying to sort out camp sites for when I take the Volvo round France later this month.

[Verbal]

Both flights are with KLM (Heathrow to Amsterdam then Amsterdam to Berlin). Saying that however, the Amsterdam to Berlin leg is with "KLM CityHopper"...

 

Then you'll be booked all the way through. As someone says though - check your bag tags at check-in.

[keithd]

As the above, but bear in mind that Amsterdam airport is bloody huge! It can take 30 minutes to walk from one terminal to another.

 

wot he sed.

 

just got back from there last week, i was with flybe so they stick them out the way, as you're with KLM you might not have quite so much the same issue. when they announce your gate they put an ETA walking time next to it, very handy.

[Doctoroncall]

If you're got no choice of having to put your luggage in the hold, always put the essentials (or at least what you can) in your carry on luggage just in case your luggage from the hold goes missing.

[sambosa75]

This may be a silly question but why are you flying to Berlin with a stopover in Amsterdam? There must be hundreds of flights available direct to Berlin from London.