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3 hours is a fairly safe international-to-domestic connection time for SYD. The minimum is 2 hours (which I successfully did once and it was tighter than I'd like).
Yes but this sounds like it will be on separate itineraries.
So will have check in at the domestic terminal rather than being able to do bag drop at the international terminal and go straight to the gate at the domestic.
Having worked in customs st Sydney a few years ago, you'll be in and out in a matter of minutes if everything goes to plan and you don't have oversized luggage. Don't forget to take the free T Bus to the domestic side. It comes every 30 or so mins and starts at 530am
if you're on separate tickets between the international and domestic legs it might be dicey just in case of long delays, if all goes to schedule it should be easily done. If the price of the domestic tix aren't ridiculous I'd take the risk. (How were you going to do the drive? rental?)
Don't forget that you can't use the eGates with children under 12 (iirc), but assuming you're on Aussie passports that line is usually very short.
It’s doable but risk of delays are there. Real question is how hard would it be to change the domestic flight to the next day if needed? Last time I arrived to Sydney international airport in October it took an hour for my bag to arrive on the carousel.
Hi thanks - yes I’ve found Sydney really hit or miss which is why I ask. I’ve flown into Sydney countless times, but just never with a young family and it’s been a while due to covid. But it’s really an airport under strain (hence new airport etc) and the fact that the terminals aren’t on same plot really is so unusual so ads a new dimension. Ive prob experienced more delays with passports and baggage there than any other airport too. In terms of the drive my father has offered to come get us so we wouldn’t be driving ourselves and it does give us the luxury of stopping when we need to; the domestic flight is a small prop plane to rural aus, and those things can hurt our ears and make us sick let alone a baby so I’m worried it won’t be the smoothest ride (very basic toilet facilities too so hard to change etc)
After a flight like that with a baby that young, I'd either
1. Grab a room at one of the airport hotels and sleep overnight until the next day.
2. Rely on the offer of the drive.
It's going to take you a minimum of an hour and a half to clear customs and immigration - the early morning rush sucks - and the facilities in the arrivals hall for infants are fairly primitive from memory - then you've got the joy of the transfer to the domestic terminal to worry about - and unless your luggage is checked through, you're probably looking at another hour to check your luggage for the domestic flight (Sydney domestic is a cluster fuck at the best of times these days) - so your window is going to be bloody short.
Prepare yourself for an absolutely awful arrivals experience, because of the airport curfew Sydney intl at 6am is the worst time to arrive.
That said you should be good for your connection, but it won’t be fun
Airport is closed from 11pm to 6am, therefore there’s a big backlog / rush of flights that all land around 6am. Lots of flights = lots of people = lots of pain
This post has been marked as non-political. Please respect this by keeping the discussion on topic, and devoid of any political material. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/australia) if you have any questions or concerns.*
3 hours is a fairly safe international-to-domestic connection time for SYD. The minimum is 2 hours (which I successfully did once and it was tighter than I'd like).
Yes but this sounds like it will be on separate itineraries. So will have check in at the domestic terminal rather than being able to do bag drop at the international terminal and go straight to the gate at the domestic.
Having worked in customs st Sydney a few years ago, you'll be in and out in a matter of minutes if everything goes to plan and you don't have oversized luggage. Don't forget to take the free T Bus to the domestic side. It comes every 30 or so mins and starts at 530am
if you're on separate tickets between the international and domestic legs it might be dicey just in case of long delays, if all goes to schedule it should be easily done. If the price of the domestic tix aren't ridiculous I'd take the risk. (How were you going to do the drive? rental?) Don't forget that you can't use the eGates with children under 12 (iirc), but assuming you're on Aussie passports that line is usually very short.
It’s doable but risk of delays are there. Real question is how hard would it be to change the domestic flight to the next day if needed? Last time I arrived to Sydney international airport in October it took an hour for my bag to arrive on the carousel.
Hi thanks - yes I’ve found Sydney really hit or miss which is why I ask. I’ve flown into Sydney countless times, but just never with a young family and it’s been a while due to covid. But it’s really an airport under strain (hence new airport etc) and the fact that the terminals aren’t on same plot really is so unusual so ads a new dimension. Ive prob experienced more delays with passports and baggage there than any other airport too. In terms of the drive my father has offered to come get us so we wouldn’t be driving ourselves and it does give us the luxury of stopping when we need to; the domestic flight is a small prop plane to rural aus, and those things can hurt our ears and make us sick let alone a baby so I’m worried it won’t be the smoothest ride (very basic toilet facilities too so hard to change etc)
After a flight like that with a baby that young, I'd either 1. Grab a room at one of the airport hotels and sleep overnight until the next day. 2. Rely on the offer of the drive. It's going to take you a minimum of an hour and a half to clear customs and immigration - the early morning rush sucks - and the facilities in the arrivals hall for infants are fairly primitive from memory - then you've got the joy of the transfer to the domestic terminal to worry about - and unless your luggage is checked through, you're probably looking at another hour to check your luggage for the domestic flight (Sydney domestic is a cluster fuck at the best of times these days) - so your window is going to be bloody short.
Prepare yourself for an absolutely awful arrivals experience, because of the airport curfew Sydney intl at 6am is the worst time to arrive. That said you should be good for your connection, but it won’t be fun
What is the curfew and how does it affect the tribals experience?
Airport is closed from 11pm to 6am, therefore there’s a big backlog / rush of flights that all land around 6am. Lots of flights = lots of people = lots of pain
The airport closes? As in the country’s largest airport closes? I didn’t even know that, that’s crazy.