International Remote Baggage Screening (IRBS) Program: SYD-LAX

If you’ve ever flown internationally into the U.S. with a connection, you know the dreaded checked baggage claim and recheck. You land, wind your way through passport control, wait at baggage claim, haul your suitcases through Customs, only to hand them right back to the airline minutes later. It’s repetitive, physically draining, and not exactly how you want to spend the tail end of a long-haul journey. That’s why a new partnership between American Airlines and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) feels like such a meaningful upgrade. Their pilot program, International Remote Baggage Screening (IRBS), is now taking off, and I recently had the chance to experience it firsthand.

I flew from Sydney (SYD) to Los Angeles (LAX) on American Airlines with a connection onward to San Francisco (SFO). Normally, this is the part of the trip where the anxiety kicks in: Will my bags come out in time? Will I make my connection? This time, it was completely different. Because I was part of the IRBS pilot, I cleared passport control using Global Entry at LAX and simply kept walking. No detour to baggage claim, no waiting at the carousel, no wrestling with heavy bags. I headed straight to the TSA checkpoint and on to my gate for SFO. I was able to track my bags in real time as they moved behind the scenes, transferring through San Francisco on their way to San Diego. My AirTags even confirmed they made it onto the LAX to SFO leg, the connection following the SYD to LAX flight via IRBS.

How IRBS Works:

• Remote screening: CBP reviews advanced X-ray images of your checked bags taken at your departure airport before your flight even lands in the U.S.

• Seamless connections: Unless a bag is flagged for inspection, it’s automatically transferred to your next flight.

• Less time, less stress: You still clear TSA at your first U.S. stop, but skipping baggage claim and recheck can shave up to 45 minutes off your connection.

Conclusion: This is one of those rare travel innovations that actually makes a noticeable difference. IRBS removes a frustrating, outdated step and replaces it with something faster, smoother, and far less stressful. If this pilot expands to more routes, as I hope it does, it could genuinely transform the international arrival experience in the U.S.

Sydney