Customs at OHare or SEA flying from ANC after a cruise?
Do you have to go through customs at OHare (or Seattle) flying from Anchorage after an Alaskan cruise? I need to book a return flight to Chicago from ANC in August, and the flight selections aren't the greatest. Will I need a longer layover time to go through customs in SEA on the way to OHare if we do a connecting flight? I would rather do a nonstop to OHare, but I am not sure that will work with the available times. Our cruise starts in Vancouver, if that makes any difference. TIA
If you are flying from Anchorage (ANC) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) after an Alaskan cruise, the customs and immigration process depends on where your cruise started and the routing of your flight.
Since your cruise departs from Vancouver, Canada, and you are flying from Anchorage back to the U.S., here’s what you should know:
- Anchorage is a U.S. domestic airport for flights returning from within Alaska, so if you are flying from ANC to a U.S. destination like Chicago, you will not go through customs at ANC because you are already entering from U.S. territory. Customs are only required when entering the U.S. from another country.
- Your cruise starting in Vancouver may affect customs: when you fly back from Anchorage, you are not coming directly from Canada; you are in the U.S., so your entry into the U.S. occurs at your first port of call in the U.S.—which would be Anchorage if your cruise had a Canadian port first. However, most cruises from Vancouver that include U.S. ports will handle U.S. Customs clearance on board or at the first U.S. port (usually Ketchikan or Juneau), so you would have already cleared U.S. customs before flying from ANC.
- If you choose a connecting flight through Seattle (SEA) to ORD, you will not go through customs there either, as it is a domestic connection from ANC. You only go through security screening for your connecting flight. Your layover time does not need to account for customs, but a standard 1–2 hour connection is recommended to navigate the airport and any gate changes.
Recommendation:
- A nonstop ANC to ORD flight is the simplest option and avoids any layover stress, but a connecting flight through SEA is also straightforward since no additional customs are required.
- Check with your cruise line regarding any U.S. Customs procedures they complete for passengers returning from Canada, but in most cases, you will be treated as cleared for U.S. domestic flights once you disembark in Anchorage.
In summary, you do not need to go through customs at SEA on a domestic connection from ANC to ORD. Nonstop or connecting flights are both fine, and standard layover times are sufficient.
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