Blowin’ in the wind – Automated Passport Fun
Index:
- Don’t go you go anywhere else that’s remotely different?
- To Manchester Airport, British Airways Terraces Lounge
- American Airlines AA55 Manchester Airport to Chicago O’Hare International Airport
- Automated Processing Chaos
- Crowne Plaza O’Hare
- Intstawalk: State Street Chicago
- Hyatt Regency O’Hare
- A wind of change
- Chicago O’Hare Terminal 5, British Airways Terraces First Lounge
- British Airways BA9294 Chicago O’Hare to London Heathrow
- British Airways Arrivals Lounge London Heathrow
- Virgin Trains London Euston to Birmingham New Street
- The Answer My Friend Is Blowin’ in the wind…
As I had luggage with me, I could not avail myself of the One-Stop clearance facilities – but rather had to clear using more traditional methods.
Well – not that traditional it seems.
Approaching the clearance hall, it was split in to three – ESTA/Visa first time users, ETSA Holders and US Citizens. Except. Filtering is sometimes a great idea – expect the ESTA holders and US Citizens queue merged into one queue.
Wonderful.
To get to the machines was a 15 minute wait in itself. 5 minutes on the machines, and another 10 minute wait for an entry interview.
I got the usual thump in my passport, and was let on my way.
With 45 minutes gone, my luggage had been making multiple laps around the belt. I retrieved my items, and headed for the exit – where all that was taken from me was the receipt from the machine and not my CBP declaration.
With that, I was out in the public area… with no place to dispose of the completed CBP declaration.
45 minutes is an improvement on US CBP clearance at peak times, but a few extra machines and few more staff clearing those with completed forms would never hurt.
For those of us who travel to the US, it is an improvement – but it’s no Global Entry system which is a lot more speedier. Similarly, the One-Stop Entry is amazingly fast way to go through immigration and clearance.
It’s better than nothing, when you could count how long you were going to wait by the number of switchbacks there were in a queue, but there is plenty of room for improvement.
With the core things done, my next stop was of course the taxi rank for a lift over to the first hotel of the trip: The Crowne Plaza O’Hare
Still a queue for the taxi however…
Next: The Crowne Plaza O’Hare
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