In order to protect passengers from adverse events during air travel, all airports have security controls that include not only document verification, but also other procedures. Taking into account that they take a lot of time, you should arrive at the airport in advance. The best option is 2–4 hours before sending international flights, and at least 1.5 hours for domestic flights.
Those who fly outside the state pass passport control at the airport. Keep in mind that with the simultaneous departure of several flights, a huge queue forms in front of the control counter, and even if you still have a lot of time before departure, those who do not have it at all may ask for it.
General information
Many are interested in what exactly they check when passing through passport control at the airport. First of all, the employee must make sure the legality of departure outside of Russia. A person with large debt obligations to banking institutions or the state has no right to travel abroad.
The same rule applies to persons who have serious problems with the law. The ban on leaving is imposed on citizens with a criminal record, as well as with open enforcement proceedings.
Subtleties of passport control
Travelers without experience are afraid to go through passport control at the airport, which they check in the process - they also do not know. Passport control rules apply to everyone without exception:
- You can not come close to the post. Before the red line you need to stop, this line means the Russian border. A person who violates it can be punished.
- Many tourists are very confused by the gaze of a passport control officer, do not worry and look away, as the border guard checks his face in front of him with a photograph in his passport.
- When passing the verification of documents, airport employees can not only check the documentation, but also ask different questions. You need to answer clearly and carefully, jokes and irony in this case are inappropriate and can turn into troubles.
- If the passenger does not understand the question of the border guard asked in a foreign language, for example, during the check-in upon arrival, you should definitely say so, in no case do not answer “as it seems”, as this can lead to problems, such as refusal to entry into the state.
- Keep in mind that even if the tourist has all the necessary documents and visas in his hands, passport control employees at the entrance have every right to prevent a person from entering the country, if there are good reasons for this. For example, it may be a suspicion that the real reason for the arrival is to stay in the country and get a job on a tourist visa.
But do not worry too much, because in most countries checking documents at the entrance and exit is the usual control procedure.
How to get through passport control at the airport
Those who set off on an international journey for the first time should know that there are several types of control that can be arranged in different order, but one way or another, they will have to go through.
customs inspection
Passengers notice the customs control process quite rarely, because as such an inspection may not take place. All those who have nothing to declare simply go through the “green corridor”. Those who need to arrange some things go into the “red corridor”. In the “green corridor”, instead of being inspected, travelers simply pass by airport employees and through special frames. Customs control can be carried out both upon departure and upon arrival. On his own initiative, an inspection officer can check any passenger. In Russian airports, this happens quite rarely, usually they check tourists arriving from trading countries such as China. After passing the customs check, you can go through passport control at Sheremetyevo Airport or any other.
Passport control before departure
Travelers flying on an international flight pass not only the usual control, but also passport control. This procedure is valid only for passengers departing outside the state. However, not all tourists know how to pass passport control at the airport, and even more so are unfamiliar with the process.
Passport control procedure
The passenger must perform the following actions:
- In order of priority, travelers come to a special window where airport employees check his documents.
- The passenger must present the original foreign passport, and upon request of the document control officer or the border service, a boarding pass must be shown.
- If the documents do not have any questions and everything is in order, a stamp is placed confirming that the person passed passport control without violations. This means that he has the right to cross the state border, since no problems have been identified.
Passport control at the airport of each country is carried out according to its own rules of the existing border services, but in any case, the passenger’s document must bear a stamp on the passage of all the steps of registration for the flight.
Air travel traveling with children
For inexperienced travelers traveling with children under 14 years old, flying is a very frightening experience. However, passport control at the airport for such passengers is not as complicated as it seems at first glance. Tourists who go on a trip abroad with children need to have the following documents with them:
- A baby’s foreign passport made according to the established model.
- International passport of the parent with a mark and a photograph of the child.
- Original baby's birth certificate.
A child who is already 14 years old, passes passport control at the airport on his own. When leaving the country with one parent, it is necessary to prepare a notarized permission to leave the child from the second parent. This document is needed only for international travel, a document is not required for domestic flights.
Security control
Another type of control that many passengers did not like is security control. This process involves removing women's outerwear and heels, removing laptops, removing water bottles, and raising hands.
At most airports, there is only one security control - pre-flight. In Russia, for example, the first check also takes place at the entrance to the airport building, it is not so thorough, but it is also important.
At the pre-flight security control, plastic boxes are offered in which metal objects, equipment, liquids, etc. should be folded. If modern inspection frames are installed at the airport, you will need to remove your shoes. In terminals equipped with advanced technical equipment, there are installations that allow you to recognize the contents of the bottles, making it possible to transport water, juice and soda, rather than throwing them away when inspected. Basically, when monitoring security, you have to part with the following things:
- with bottles in excess of 100 ml;
- with matches;
- with lighters;
- with large and small scissors;
- with corkscrews.
If you find in the bag things such as hairpins, jars, souvenirs, etc., they will simply be inspected and returned to the passenger.
Do not be afraid of screening procedures; they are necessary for your own safety. Come to the airport well in advance and enjoy your next flight! Have a nice rest!