Dear Host Families and AFS Hosted Students from Spain and Italy,

We are writing to inform you of your confirmed return travel for Friday, March 27, 2020, and to provide you with instructions upon your arrival at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. 

For those flying to Chicago,

• You will receive your domestic e-ticket information within the next couple of hours, if you haven’t already.
• As a reminder, please do NOT check in online for your domestic flight to Chicago/ O’Hare. Should your flight be cancelled, and you have checked in online, AFS will not be able to re-book your flight.
• If your domestic flight to Chicago is cancelled, please call the airline immediately to make sure you are confirmed for the next available flight. Let them know you have an international flight departing from Chicago and must arrive by 5:00p at the latest. After you get rebooked or if you have any problems, call the numbers listed below to advise us of the new flights or email tlogistics@afsusa.org.
• Upon your arrival at O’Hare airport, please get your luggage and remain in the baggage claim area until an AFS volunteer finds you. AFS volunteers and staff will be at O’Hare throughout the day to assist all students.
• Those of you who are arriving exceptionally early on Friday morning will likely have to wait for a while before the AFS volunteers are at the airport, so please be patient until they arrive.

Some of you will be in Chicago for many hours. We encourage you to bring snacks, bring your phone charger, and bring a book (or two)!

For those driving to Chicago, please plan to arrive at O’Hare International Airport, Terminal 5, Swissport counter, no later than 5pm on Friday. We will have AFS representatives at the airport to assist students as they check in for their flight.

Here is your international flight information. Please note that students will be fed dinner and breakfast on the charter flight (including vegetarian options). The group to Spain will get a snack from Rome to Madrid:

Privilege Airlines has informed us that each passenger will have a baggage allowance of one carry on (max 8kg/ 17 lbs.) and one checked bag (max 25 kg/ 55 lbs.), and one small personal item such as a purse or small backpack that fits under the seat. They will not allow additional or overweight bags, even if you are willing and able to pay for them. There will be no ability for you to ship items home from the airport and there is no option for you to pay for overweight or additional luggage. 

For Students flying to Chicago,

AFS-USA is asking that host families take their student(s) directly to the airport for the first leg of their return travel. If your host family is unable to drive you to the airport, please contact your local AFS liaison or other local volunteers to coordinate travel to the airport.

For those with connecting flights to Chicago, please plan to arrive at the airport with your host family at least 4 hours prior to your flight departure, as we are uncertain of how long security procedures may take. This will also allow you time to say good-bye, check your bags, clear security, and arrive to your departure gate prior to your departure time. We ask that the adult accompanying you to the airport remain near the airport until your flight takes off. If your flight is cancelled, they will be available to take you back to the host community.

DOMESTIC CONNECTIONS: some of you have a domestic connection before reaching Chicago/ O’Hare.  Please look for your connecting gate as you get off the plane. If you have any questions, be sure to ask a gate agent.  Please pay attention to any announcements as gates can change, flights get delayed or cancelled. Please call us at the numbers below if there are any delays.

If you have any problems on the day of departure, please first try to call 1-800-221-3998 or 1-800-876-2376, press 6 for the Travel Department. If you cannot reach anyone, please call the AFS Duty Officer at 1-800-AFS-INFO, press “9” and leave a number with our answering service so we can call you back.

If you have specific questions regarding your student’s return international travel, please email afshosttravel@afsusa.org and your concern will be addressed by a staff member

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we arrange a departure for our hosted participants.

Wishing you well as you journey home,

The AFS-USA Travel & Logistics Team

120 Wall Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10005
email: afshosttravel@afsusa.org 
ph: (212) 299-9000, ext. 6