goddesstogo

In March we'll be flying from Toronto, Canada, to Aruba with a two-hour layover at Miami International Airport. Can anyone tell me if I'm going to have to pick up my bags and go through immigration/customs again or will it just be a matter of us getting ourselves to another gate for the second leg of the trip (with bags transferred automatically).
Thanks
I've also posted this on the Air Travel forum
It's so nice to be asking travel questions again!

janisj

From most foreign destinations one does have to clear immigration and collect their bags but I'm pretty sure you will do all that at YYZ so your flight would be just like a domestic flight and you'd go straight to your gate (not 100% sure but like 98%-99% ) Which airline are you flying -- their website should have all the info.

RoamsAround

janisj is correct- Toronto has pre-clearance for US Immigration, Customs and TSA so all you have to do upon landing is deplane and go to your connecting flight. This assumes you are flying on the same or partner airline and you have your boarding passes for both flights.

If you are on the same or partner airline any checked bags should be tagged to your final destination and be automatically transferred to your connecting flight.

If your Miami to Aruba is on a different airline or an that airline does not have a baggage handling arrangement with the airline for your Toronto to Miami flight you will have to claim and recheck your bags. In this case you’ll also have to clear TSA again in Miami.

Either way, 2hours should be sufficient time to make your connection.

J62

Aruba also has US pre clearance, so any flight from AUA to a US airport is considered domestic US flight.

goddesstogo

Thanks, all. Traveling is so complicated these days. I'm not worried about the time between the flights but I did have some concern about immigration/customs issues. If we could fly direct from Toronto to Aruba, I wouldn't have to have a covid test but I do have to have one to enter Miami airport. Not only that, they want a 24 hour prior to boarding test which is almost impossible for me. Our shortest test results seem to take 48 hours. There's an exemption clause for those of us who can't do the 24-hour thing but I haven't looked into it yet.
Thanks again!

janisj

Can't you get quick antigen tests in Canada??? That is all you need and the results come back very quickly -- like 30 minutes. They are offered in a lot of airports.

edit: I just checked the YYZ website and the do the tests right there with 30-60 minute results.

https://www.torontopearson.com/en/he...ing-passengers

goddesstogo

Oh man, that would have been the perfect solution but the time doesn't work for us. The clinic opens at 5 am and our flight leaves at 6 am (I know, ugh, right?). So just as the clinic is opening we'll be getting body scanned in security.
I'll have to go back to the website and see what kinds of tests are acceptable. I can't imagine the 48 hour one wouldn't be acceptable. They must be getting thousands of them from Canadians flying into Florida.
You're a doll, though, for finding that out for me
​​​

janisj

Do you live near or near-ish to the airport? If so, you could go there the afternoon/evening before your flight and get the rapid tests then.

goddesstogo

That's a possibility. We could zip out to the airport the day before.
I'm going to see what the exemptions are for the 48 hour test.

J62

do you have at-home antigen tests in Canada? We do here south of the border.

CDC allows them as long as the test is monitored by video connection, id is verified, and the monitor provides the documentation.

goddesstogo

Good god, that sounds complicated!
This is what the state.cov website says (guided here by the Miami airport website);

• Travelers must show documentation of a negative viral COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 within the past 90 days before boarding a plane to the United States (or before boarding the first flight in a series of connections booked on the same itinerary to the United States).
• Both nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), such as a PCR test, and antigen tests qualify.
• A self-test can be used if it meets the requirements of the order including real-time proctoring by a telehealth service affiliated with the manufacturer of the test and that generates a test result that can be reviewed by the airline before boarding.   

I do believe we have at-home tests but I think they're hard to find these days. I'm going to see if I can find that 24-hour exemption clause right now.

goddesstogo

Nope, this is all it says:

• However, there is also a waiver process in place from the pre-departure testing requirement when a suitable test is not available.

No link or anything to get more info about that.
I'm going to call my testing centre right now to see if I can get a faster result.

goddesstogo

Woohoo! Problem solved! (Barring screw-ups.)
I just spoke to someone at the testing centre at my pharmacy. I can get the antigen test the day before departure and will get the results almost immediately.
I should have found this out before I bothered y'all but you've given me some excellent info anyway that I didn't know and will be able to pass along.
You are the best and this is why I'll never leave Fodors!