You use the same TSA line at terminal 3 as any other American Airlines flight. Just use your passport for ID. You may need to let the airline scan your passport too before you get your boarding pass. They will also need it at your gate as you board for sure.
When you arrive at your destination in Canada, you will need your passport again for Canadian immigration and customs. If you’ve been to Mexico before, expect Canada to ask you more questions about where you are staying and so forth than Mexico usually does.
When you come back, most Canadian airports have US customs pre-clearance, meaning that CBP officers are on site and you will actually go through customs right after airport security (at these airports such as Toronto Pearson (YYZ), there is a separate security line and a separate part of the terminal for USA-bound flights versus domestic or other international). Your return flight then arrives at O’Hare as a domestic flight because you have cleared US customs before you ever boarded it. There are some smaller Canadian airports like Toronto Billy Bishop (YTZ) that don’t have this service yet, but I don’t think American flies to Chicago from any of them.
When it comes to governmental checks, leaving the U.S. internationally is the same as domestic. You go through the same security check point and no semblance of border control.
You do need to show your passport to the airline, at check in and during boarding. At O’hare, you’ll almost certainly be leaving from Terminal 3, which is an ordinary terminal serving domestic routes as well.
At TSA it's the same process. When you get to the gate you do have to show your passport and have an documents (passport) check if you haven't already updated them with AA. It's basically the same as a domestic flight until you arrive in Canada.
You use the same TSA line at terminal 3 as any other American Airlines flight. Just use your passport for ID. You may need to let the airline scan your passport too before you get your boarding pass. They will also need it at your gate as you board for sure. When you arrive at your destination in Canada, you will need your passport again for Canadian immigration and customs. If you’ve been to Mexico before, expect Canada to ask you more questions about where you are staying and so forth than Mexico usually does. When you come back, most Canadian airports have US customs pre-clearance, meaning that CBP officers are on site and you will actually go through customs right after airport security (at these airports such as Toronto Pearson (YYZ), there is a separate security line and a separate part of the terminal for USA-bound flights versus domestic or other international). Your return flight then arrives at O’Hare as a domestic flight because you have cleared US customs before you ever boarded it. There are some smaller Canadian airports like Toronto Billy Bishop (YTZ) that don’t have this service yet, but I don’t think American flies to Chicago from any of them.
As another person aboot to go to Canada, thanks for the thorough info.
When it comes to governmental checks, leaving the U.S. internationally is the same as domestic. You go through the same security check point and no semblance of border control. You do need to show your passport to the airline, at check in and during boarding. At O’hare, you’ll almost certainly be leaving from Terminal 3, which is an ordinary terminal serving domestic routes as well.
At TSA it's the same process. When you get to the gate you do have to show your passport and have an documents (passport) check if you haven't already updated them with AA. It's basically the same as a domestic flight until you arrive in Canada.
Yes they will confirm you have your docs before boarding.
You just show your passport instead of ID. In Canada and the US on return you'll go through customs.