So hopefully this question is posed in the right forum. Was curious about airport sterile areas, specifically those separating arriving passengers from international flights for customs and immigration processing. Normally it seems that the gate agents work the jet bridges and bring them up to the aircraft doors and then pull them away upon departure for domestic flights. How does it work for international arrivals and jet bridges? Do the gate agents operate those contact bridges that offload passengers into sterile areas, or do customs and border patrol agents operate those? If gate agents operate those bridges do they remove themselves from that sterile area prior to passengers deplaning? If agents work the bridges do the agents have to be processed in the sterile area, or are they free to go back into the passenger hold areas? Guess I'm interested in how these agents interact w/ this sterile area.

On a similar note do cleaning crews, catering, maintenance, etc. wait for those aircraft to be fully vacated prior to cleaning knowing that turnaround times are often tight thus not interacting in the sterile environment?

I'm always fascinated by airport operations and how all the different processes occur, and how seamless it all appears (knowing that behind the scenes there are armies of support staff to make that all happen).

Can't wait to learn more about how these things work, and many thanks for all your responses!

Hmm.

The gate agent operates the jetbridge on international arrivals not CBP…

CBP has other things they’re focused on than mundane tasks like operating a jetbridge.


Though if you have a medical emergency on arrival - you do get expedited to the gate, but the guy leaving the airplane on a stretcher with the paramedics still goes thru immigration and customs before being put in the ambulance…. For whatever that’s worth…

Woodreau wrote:

Though if you have a medical emergency on arrival - you do get expedited to the gate, but the guy leaving the airplane on a stretcher with the paramedics still goes thru immigration and customs before being put in the ambulance…. For whatever that’s worth…

Now you have me curious, what happens in the event the person leaving the airplane on a stretcher can't legally enter the country for whatever reason.

AirKevin wrote:

Woodreau wrote:

Though if you have a medical emergency on arrival - you do get expedited to the gate, but the guy leaving the airplane on a stretcher with the paramedics still goes thru immigration and customs before being put in the ambulance…. For whatever that’s worth…

Now you have me curious, what happens in the event the person leaving the airplane on a stretcher can't legally enter the country for whatever reason.

Usually they’ll be sent off to the hospital or wherever, possibly under guard. Once they’re cleared to fly, off they go.

As for the original question, it’s all on gate agents or whoever the airline has drive the bridge. Passenger flow is usually some combination of doors. Open door A on arrival and passengers flow into the customs area. Close door A, open door B which leads into the gate area for boarding. Often the doors will be programmed so that if doors to the immigration area are open, doors to the passenger boarding areas can’t be opened and vice versa.

As for staff, at least in the US most airports have tiers of customs clearance on their badges. Some have full access to the customs areas, international flights with uncleared pax, and so on. Usually that’s operations, engineers, pax service, etc. Others have access to international arriving aircraft but not uncleared pax areas. That would be cleaners, caterers, so on. That part especially can get complicated because you can have staff who are allowed on the aircraft, but only once it’s clear of inbound crew and pax.

Quick edit:depending on your badge clearance, you can go back and forth through customs or normal areas however you like. But the general rule at all the airports I’ve worked at is don’t be in the immigration halls unless you have reason to be.

Also another note-sterile usually refers to the areas of the airport. Post security is usually called the sterile or SIDA area. I’m not sure if it’s a local thing, but I’ve sometimes heard customs refer to flights as dirty vs clean. Dirty meaning requiring clearance though customs.

It sounds much more complicated than it is. Any questions related to airline or airport ops, feel free to fire away. I’ve spent most my life working in that field.

In simple terms, and as FGITD explains, it's catering staff, engineers, gate agents, cleaners, fueler, and so on, simply have access to the sterile area with a badge They'll go in and out through a staff entrance.

At some ports, crew are even picked up by minibus at the aircraft, and driven directly to the crew hotel. Obviously, the drivers have to have clearance then as well.

At some ports, inbound and outbound crew cannot meet. At others, outbound crew can board while inbound are still onboard. Handshakes and "enjoy the stay" all around.

tmu101 wrote:

On a similar note do cleaning crews, catering, maintenance, etc. wait for those aircraft to be fully vacated prior to cleaning knowing that turnaround times are often tight thus not interacting in the sterile environment?
Can't wait to learn more about how these things work, and many thanks for all your responses!

From where I work, arriving aircraft with disembarking pax have priority during turnarounds. Its a safety protocol. Caterers and cleaners really need to wait until the last passenger is gone. Because the aisles and the aircraft doors are designated as a socalled clear area that need to be unobstructed, in case of a rapid evacuation. I think it also has to do with the cabin crew that are still responsible for every onboard passenger after touchdown untill they stepped on the jetway or have otherwise disembarked.

FlyingHonu001 wrote:

tmu101 wrote:

On a similar note do cleaning crews, catering, maintenance, etc. wait for those aircraft to be fully vacated prior to cleaning knowing that turnaround times are often tight thus not interacting in the sterile environment?
Can't wait to learn more about how these things work, and many thanks for all your responses!

From where I work, arriving aircraft with disembarking pax have priority during turnarounds. Its a safety protocol. Caterers and cleaners really need to wait until the last passenger is gone. Because the aisles and the aircraft doors are designated as a socalled clear area that need to be unobstructed, in case of a rapid evacuation. I think it also has to do with the cabin crew that are still responsible for every onboard passenger after touchdown untill they stepped on the jetway or have otherwise disembarked.

How would the doors be of any use for an evacuation at that point, given that the slides are already disarmed. I can't imagine that jumping from a 777 onto the ground is going to have a good ending for the people.

Agreed with AirKevin. Once the slides are disarmed and you're at the bay, evacuation is not going to happen rapidly.

That's why you shut down the engines, THEN switch off the signs so the cabin crew can disarm the slides, THEN switch off the beacon to let the engineer and airbridge handler know it is safe to approach the aircraft.

In my experience the caterers and cleaners have to wait until crew and pax are off simply because they don’t have the proper customs clearance (nor do they need it) to be around “dirty” pax. And from a customer service end, it’s a bad look to have them rushing onboard while customers are still trying to get off.

Evacuation during cleaning is via whatever doors have jetbridges, simple as that. However the rule was to keep 50% of the exits clear whenever crew/pax were onboard. Sounds easy but it actually gets tedious when you’re trying to load fwd and aft while boarding

For USA-based airlines and USA-based crew, do they go through immigration and customs upon arrival (return to States) or do they get special treatment or badge access?

This thread has made me realize I’ve never seen crew go through Global Entry so I assume they’ve got something better for them.

Okcflyer wrote:

For USA-based airlines and USA-based crew, do they go through immigration and customs upon arrival (return to States) or do they get special treatment or badge access?

This thread has made me realize I’ve never seen crew go through Global Entry so I assume they’ve got something better for them.

I don't know about the US specifically, but typically everyone has to go through some form of immigration processing, though local crews may get slightly different treatment. The latter happens, for example, in Japan and EU countries. Entering Germany, my EU passport will get a cursory glance, while a non-EU passport holder will get a more thorough assessment.

Everyone definitely goes through customs, since customs regulations tend to be irrespective of nationality.



I shall now brace for the inevitable comments detailing exceptions.

Okcflyer wrote:

For USA-based airlines and USA-based crew, do they go through immigration and customs upon arrival (return to States) or do they get special treatment or badge access?
This thread has made me realize I’ve never seen crew go through Global Entry so I assume they’ve got something better for them.

Okcflyer, yes, US-based crew members are required to go through customs and immigration when returning to the United States. The airline badge itself does not provide access back into the U.S. from abroad.

With regard to your observation, "I’ve never seen crew go through Global Entry so I assume they’ve got something better for them."

Well, not necessarily "something better for them," but many airports have dedicated crew lines to help expedite the process. These lines are normally at the extreme end of the immigration official desks. The next time you go through immigration--either in the U.S. or abroad--take a look at the ends of the lineup of desks and you may see a sign that states, "Crew / Diplomats" -- perhaps "Tripulaciones / Diplomaticos" -- or something similar. They are not at every airport.

e38

Crew / diplomats / and all of the people who all of a sudden need wheelchair assistance to leave the plane…

Coming back into the US, you check to see what other planes have landed…. You want to get to crew immigration before the international wide bodies crews get there….
Those crews usually get a bus charter to pick them up to take them to their layover hotel…. So if you’re behind several wide bodies, your domestic crew of 6 or 7 end up stuck in crew line behind the foreign international crews.

I remember coming into JFK on a DL 757 from KEF a few years ago. I had heard horror stories about CBP lines there. The hall was empty! As we were processing at the desk, the passengers from a KE 380 started coming in. Ten more minutes and we would've been stuck there.

johns624 wrote:

I remember coming into JFK on a DL 757 from KEF a few years ago. I had heard horror stories about CBP lines there. The hall was empty! As we were processing at the desk, the passengers from a KE 380 started coming in. Ten more minutes and we would've been stuck there.

Boston used to have this problem in the worst way. In the span of a few minutes we’d bring in 3 744s and a few 330s. CBP hall would go from deserted to a mad house in the span of minutes

Okcflyer wrote:

For USA-based airlines and USA-based crew, do they go through immigration and customs upon arrival (return to States) or do they get special treatment or badge access?

This thread has made me realize I’ve never seen crew go through Global Entry so I assume they’ve got something better for them.

Typically there is a separate crew line but, trust me, our government treats us with the same level of suspicion as any foreign visitors. As an American, going through immigration/customs is a more pleasant experience in almost every other country compared to my own.

Okcflyer wrote:

For USA-based airlines and USA-based crew, do they go through immigration and customs upon arrival (return to States) or do they get special treatment or badge access?

This thread has made me realize I’ve never seen crew go through Global Entry so I assume they’ve got something better for them.

I've most certainly seen US airline crews going through Global Entry. I've seen so many pilots doing it that I assume the unions have negotiated payment for GE into their contract.