Do I need to pick up my luggage on a connecting flight Air Canada?

Your checked baggage will be delivered to your final destination and will automatically be transferred by Air Canada during each connection, unless advised otherwise at check-in.



Whether you need to retrieve your luggage on an Air Canada connection depends primarily on your origin, destination, and the airport of transit. If you are traveling on a domestic itinerary within Canada (e.g., Vancouver to Toronto to Halifax), your bags are checked through to your final destination and you do not need to pick them up. For international travel arriving into Canada from the U.S. or other global regions, you must usually retrieve your bags at your first point of entry to clear Customs, even if they are tagged to a final destination. However, there are significant exceptions: at major hubs like Toronto Pearson (YYZ), Montreal (YUL), and Vancouver (YVR), Air Canada utilizes "ITD" (International-to-Domestic) and "ITI" (International-to-International) programs. In many of these cases, if your bags are tagged through and you are traveling on a single ticket, your luggage will be transferred automatically without you needing to claim it. Always confirm with the check-in agent and listen for announcements on the plane, as security protocols can change based on the specific "pre-clearance" agreements between countries in 2026.

Whether you need to pick up your luggage on a connecting flight with Air Canada depends primarily on your routing, specifically if you are connecting through Canada from an international flight.

Here’s a breakdown of the general rules:

1. Connecting Within Canada (Domestic to Domestic)

  • No, you do not need to pick up your luggage. Your bags will be checked through to your final destination. You simply go to your next gate after clearing security.

2. Connecting from an International Flight to a Canadian Domestic Flight

  • Yes, you must pick up your luggage and clear customs at your first point of entry into Canada.
  • Process: After landing in Canada (e.g., Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal), you will:
    1. Go to the baggage claim area and collect all your checked luggage.
    2. Proceed through Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) customs and immigration with your luggage.
    3. Immediately after clearing customs, you will see a “Baggage Drop” or “Connecting Flights” area. Drop your re-checked luggage onto the conveyor belt there.
    4. Then proceed to your domestic flight gate (you may need to go through a security check for the domestic terminal).
  • This is a mandatory procedure for all passengers entering Canada, regardless of your final destination.

3. Connecting from a Canadian Domestic Flight to an International Flight

  • Usually, no. Your luggage will typically be checked through to your international destination. You drop your bags at your initial domestic airport. However, you may need to pick them up for customs screening at the international

People Also Ask

It depends on how your ticket was booked. If your flights were booked under one ticket, your bags will be checked through to your final destination. If your flights were booked under separate tickets, you will need to collect your bags and recheck them before your connecting flight.

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If your flights were booked under one ticket, your bags will be checked through to your final destination. If your flights were booked under separate tickets, you will need to collect your bags and recheck them before your connecting flight.

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If you checked a bag, you'll have to collect it from baggage claim from the international flight. You'll need to clear customs and immigration. Next, you'll recheck your luggage for the domestic flight. Finally, you'll need to go through Transportation Security Administration screening.

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Airlines will transfer your checked bags if a codeshare or interline agreement exists between them. You can find out what agreements your airline has by visiting their website.

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You need an eTA to transit through Canada by air if you're from an eTA-required country. You don't need an eTA if you're transiting through Canada and you enter by train, bus,boat or cruise ship. You do need to bring the right travel documents.

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Arriving international connecting to International:
When connecting from outside of Canada to another country (excluding the United States), if your baggage is checked-through to your final destination you may not need to claim your checked-bags in Toronto.

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While these terms are often used interchangeably, they are not the same thing. A layover is the time you spend at the airport between two flights. A connecting flight is the next flight in your itinerary that you're waiting at the airport to take.

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We'll tag your bags right through to your final destination so you won't need to collect them and check them in again. If your connecting flight is with another airline, you may arrive and depart from different terminals.

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If you miss a connecting flight, your checked luggage will typically continue on to your final destination without you. Most of the time, if you miss your flight, so does your bag. But sometimes your bag will make it without you.

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In most cases, passengers on layover flights must clear customs and immigration at the first point of entry.

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Factors to consider before leaving the airport during a layover. If you have an excessive layover time you may be wondering: Can I leave the airport between connecting flights? The short answer is yes. It is possible to exit and reenter the airport.

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In most cases, you'll receive your boarding pass for your connecting flight already when you check in for your first flight. This means you don't have to check in again for your next flight. If you haven't received it, you can go to the transfer desk or kiosk of the airline you're flying with to collect it.

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Each airline, and even sometimes each airport, will have different rules about what is and is not allowed. As a general rule, most airlines will NOT automatically check your luggage through for an overnight connection. You will normally need collect your luggage when you land, and re-check it the following morning.

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By default all connecting passengers have to go through security and plenty of airports do this for everyone regardless of where you come from (London (LHR), Paris (CDG), Doha (DOH), etc.)

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