You have reached the destination airport. Before leaving the plane, check whether you have hold of the personal items you carried on board (check whether you have your personal documents at hand, check the seat pockets, and take your carry-on baggage if there is any). In case of connecting flights, especially when the transit time is short, prepare your travel documents and the appropriate boarding pass, and keep them at hand since ground handling personnel will be waiting for your disembarkation to escort you to the relevant gate immediately. In case you have reached your final destination, you should follow the usual procedure, that is walk exit lane corridor to leave the airport. This procedure includes:
- Health screening (applicable to various situations, specially those caused by pandemics, it may be relatable at the moment) where passengers fill in given questionnaires, present a proof of vaccination status or provide a negative COVID-19 PCR test certificate, or they provide any information, in consistency with the protocols laid down by the state of arrival. You should have in mind that each country lays down its own entry, mobility and transit requirements, and you should stay informed of this matter accordingly. The air carrier has no liability towards passengers in case the passenger was denied entrance to a certain country.Before SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic, health screening was not so common at EU airports and it was mostly intended for screening of passengers arriving from “exotic” destinations where the risk of infection with local pathogens was very high. When travelling to a large number of African or Asian countries, “yellow card” of the World Health Organization is required.
- Passport control - travel documents checks. Except for longer waiting lines, this part of procedure should not pose any problems since you have already gone through the same procedures at the departure airport, and in case of any irregularities, you would not have been allowed to take your flight. Information systems between borderline police enable them conduct passenger assessment in real time, and as a result, the passenger is allowed to board the plane or the passenger is denied boarding the plane. Irrespective of the aforementioned, the immigration authority may conduct an additional assessment, and you should be prepared and have in your possession all the necessary documents in paper format.
- Additional check - although it is unpleasant, this check is not unusual. Border police officer may find you suspicious for various reasons, and decide to conduct an interview in a special area. Do not panic, and answer your questions in a calm manner. The cause for additional check is usually trivial (smudged numbers especially in machine readable zone, torn passport edge, apparent change in your looks- cosmetic surgery, growing a long beard or hair which does not match with the passport photo that is old at least ten years at that moment, visa that has not been recognized in the country of your arrival etc.). Stay in a “high-risk” country may also be the cause of additional check. Here are some actions while waiting in line that may also be the cause of additional check:
1. Fidgeting in line;
2. Passing comments on performance of airport staff;
3. Inappropriate verbal and aggressive behavior;
4. Making jokes on bombs and terrorism.
- Checked baggage reclaim - after passing passport control, you should go to the baggage claim area. Check the information displayed at monitors in order to find the conveyor belt (carousel) with the baggage from your flight. It is advisable to take a closer look at your bag once you collect your baggage. Check whether there is any missing content or any sign of damage. This is very important since you can make the claim for damage and loss only immediately upon the arrival. In case there are any irregularities with your baggage, you should go to Lost & Found counter, where you fill in a relevant form and get a reference number (PIR- passenger irregulation report), thus ending the process in accordance with the procedure. The same procedure is applicable in cases when your baggage has been lost or delayed.
- Customs - final check of arriving passengers. There are red and green stripes on the floor. In case you have nothing to declare, you should follow the green one, and in case you have goods that need to be declared at the customs, you should follow the red one. However, this does not imply that customs officer will not ask you to step behind the line, where necessary. Possible causes of customs officer’s intervention and baggage check are: anxious, agitated or impatient behavior, carrying a large number of bags, or, on the other side, an attempt to stay cold-blooded, ignoring security personnel or making unusual gestures.