Safe two-ticket connection time in Sydney (international > domestic)
I'll be flying into Sydney later this year, and need to change to a domestic flight. I'll be coming in from London via Singapore into T1, early in the morning. For various reasons I wasn't able to get the domestic flight booked as a through ticket, so I'll need to change terminals, recheck my luggage, clear security again, etc, as well as pass through customs & immigration on the way in.
I have not been to Sydney before, and it's been a long time since I had a connection like this one. I'm wondering how much time I should safely leave for it. This question and this one both deal with connecting to a separate international flight, but suggest ~2h15 is cutting it fine in that case.
I have three choices for an outbound flight; ~2h15 after landing, ~2h45 after landing, and ~6h after landing (eep). Given the need to recheck bags etc, is 2h45 enough time to safely make the connection? I am not in a great hurry - I don't have to be anywhere before the evening - but equally I'd prefer not to spend six hours in an airport if I can avoid it.
Best Answer
“Safe” is a matter of opinion. A flight can always be delayed, diverted or cancelled: even with your six hour gap it's not an unrealistic prospect that you miss the domestic flight.
It's a risk measure. Your question should be informed by another question, “if you miss your domestic flight, what will you do?” If it's no problem, then go for the shorter connection. If it is a serious problem for you, then you should allow more time, perhaps an overnight (or book on the same ticket!).
Personally, I would go for the six hour gap here, and if I arrived early or on time, I'd go into Sydney for an hour or two.
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How long does it take to transfer from Sydney international to domestic?
The journey takes only two minutes and there are frequent services between 5am and midnight, seven days a week. For information on 'GatePass', please refer to the AirportLink website. A taxi journey between T1 International and the T2/T3 domestic terminals will take up to 10 minutes, depending on the time of day.How much time should you leave between connecting flights?
Pad Your Schedule for Airport Connections That's why many travelers deliberately pad their schedules by booking a longer layover than the minimum at a connecting hub. Consider allowing at least 60 to 90 minutes for a U.S. domestic connection, and at least two hours for an international connection.Do I have to go through customs for a connecting flight in Sydney?
For those arriving internationally and connecting to a domestic flight: You will need to clear customs and immigration, which can take upwards of an hour if busy. You will need to transfer on the airside bus, which can take ten minutes when it arrives.Is 2 hours enough for an international connection?
International flights require longer connections as you will often have to go through immigration and customs upon arrival. For international layover flights booked on one airline, two hours is often recommended to make your connection.How to transfer from Sydney international to domestic terminals
More answers regarding safe two-ticket connection time in Sydney (international > domestic)
Answer 2
This question from 2014 tackles the same question https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/australasia-pacific-australia-new-zealand-antarctica/australia/sydney-airport-connection-time The conclusion is that 2.45 will probably be okay but doesn't have a lot of margin.
This from 2011 recommends 2.5h http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/your-questions/minimum-connection-time-sydney-28987.html
Transfer between terminals is a bit of chore and you need to pay for it: http://www.sydneyairport.com.au/go/terminal-transfer.aspx.
Having an electronic Visa and a machine readable passport would help with immigration procedures.
Answer 3
If you are arriving in Sydney around 8am (or 8pm), don't count on getting anywhere on time.
That's when the large international flights all show up at once and queues get pretty bad - last time I went through at peak time, even the express line at immigration was well over an hour.
As Doc mentioned, Smartgate can help if the machines happen to like your passport and you aren't traveling with kids or otherwise disqualified. However, the overall speedup was temporary - the automated lanes get backed up too, and recently they seem to have gotten rid of most of the manual lanes.
I'd go with the 6 hour delay - once you do make it through customs, it only takes about twenty minutes to get into the city by train.
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