Are international transfer zones typical around the world?

Question

Most, if not all, European airports have international transfer zones, meaning that if you don't have to pass customs and immigration check of the country the airport is located in. On the other hand in US airports do not have international transfer zones. (Note that in case of Schengen zone countries "international" would mean out-of-Schengen).

How about rest of the world, which case is more typical?

Note: I'm not expecting full list of countries, just general indication what's the case in other regions.

Answer 1

Sterile international transfer is possible at many gateway airports in many countries, but one cannot make a rule about it. It depends on the facilities of the airport and its terminals, including staff, and it goes without saying that you should always double-check transit requirements when planning a trip.

At Toronto Pearson (YYZ), for example, I believe sterile transfer is possible if your inbound and outbound flights both use Terminal 1 (as with some U.S.-bound flights), but as most long-haul international carriers use Terminal 3, you'd need to go through CBSA screening as there is no sterile transit facility between terminals.

On the other side of the country Vancouver goes so far as to provide a passenger guide that determines the procedure applicable to you based on your arrival or departure countries and the specific airline you are flying— sterile transit is only possible with certain connections and only between the hours of 7:00am and 2:00am local time.

Answer 2

Most of the large international airports outside of North America provide sterile international-to-international transit which does not require passengers to go through passport control or customs or to reclaim and re-check bags.

This especially applies to airports which are a major hub for one or more airlines doing a lot of long-haul.

Here are a few examples:

• London Heathrow
• London Gatwick
• Paris Charles De Gaulle
• Amsterdam
• Frankfurt
• Zurich
• Milan Malpensa
• Athens
• Dubai
• Hong Kong
• Singapore
• Sydney

Note however that:

• This of course requires bags to have been "checked through" to the final destination, which usually requires both flights to be on the same ticket/booking.

  If you have hand luggage only, this depends on your ability to check-in for the next flight online and/or the availability of a transfer desk at the airport to retrieve your next boarding pass, otherwise you will need to pass through immigration to get to a check-in desk.

• One may need to go through security again (in fact I believe in most cases one will need to).

• In the case of airports with multiple terminals, sterile transit is not always possible between terminals.

• Even if sterile transit exists, there may be a requirement for citizens of some countries to hold a transit visa, and/or they may be isolated from the general public during their wait.

• One should definitely always check the details for their specific trip, there are enough exceptions and special rules that it is difficult to rely on generalities.