Transiting in Nadi Airport, Fiji
Jul 25th, 2016, 02:18 AM
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Transiting in Nadi Airport, Fiji
**I have also posted this in the Australia and Pacific forum**
Hi! My husband and I will be arriving in Nadi airport at 00:20 and then departing on a domestic flight to Taveuni Island at 07:00. All segments are on Fiji Airways.
From the Nadi Airport website: "If your transit time exceeds six (6) hours, you will be required to exit Immigration and Customs and enter Fiji, any flight transit time less than six (6) hours allows you to transit within the Nadi Airport Transit Lounge."
Based on my calculation, our transit time is more than six hours (by 40 minutes) and therefore we'll need to clear immigration and customs. I have a few questions, which the Fiji Airways customer service representative could not give clear answers to when I called. I'm hoping maybe someone here has experience and can help.
- Do I retrieve luggage and then recheck it for the domestic flight?
- We'd like to pick up two bottles of wine at the Nadi duty free shop. If we do retrieve luggage, then we can put the bottles in the suitcases for check-in. But if we don't need to retrieve our luggage, would we be able to bring the bottles (assuming they'll be in sealed duty free shopping bags) as carry-on for the domestic flight?
Thank you in advance for any advice!
Hi! My husband and I will be arriving in Nadi airport at 00:20 and then departing on a domestic flight to Taveuni Island at 07:00. All segments are on Fiji Airways.
From the Nadi Airport website: "If your transit time exceeds six (6) hours, you will be required to exit Immigration and Customs and enter Fiji, any flight transit time less than six (6) hours allows you to transit within the Nadi Airport Transit Lounge."
Based on my calculation, our transit time is more than six hours (by 40 minutes) and therefore we'll need to clear immigration and customs. I have a few questions, which the Fiji Airways customer service representative could not give clear answers to when I called. I'm hoping maybe someone here has experience and can help.
- Do I retrieve luggage and then recheck it for the domestic flight?
- We'd like to pick up two bottles of wine at the Nadi duty free shop. If we do retrieve luggage, then we can put the bottles in the suitcases for check-in. But if we don't need to retrieve our luggage, would we be able to bring the bottles (assuming they'll be in sealed duty free shopping bags) as carry-on for the domestic flight?
Thank you in advance for any advice!
Jul 25th, 2016, 09:23 AM
#2
<i>Based on my calculation, our transit time is more than six hours (by 40 minutes) and therefore we'll need to clear immigration and customs.</i>
Taveuni is in Fiji; it's a domestic flight, so you'll have to go through Fijian border controls anyway, including luggage retrieval and (possible) customs check. You'll need to take it to the counter for re-check unless there's now a re-check desk right after customs.
FWIW I personally would never check wine in luggage, especially for flights on small planes like you'll have for NAN-TVU.
Taveuni is in Fiji; it's a domestic flight, so you'll have to go through Fijian border controls anyway, including luggage retrieval and (possible) customs check. You'll need to take it to the counter for re-check unless there's now a re-check desk right after customs.
FWIW I personally would never check wine in luggage, especially for flights on small planes like you'll have for NAN-TVU.
Jul 25th, 2016, 06:01 PM
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Hi Gardyloo, that's why I'm confused.
The travel agent who issued our tickets said we clear customs and immigration in Taveuni. The Fiji Airways customer service representative I called also said yes, we and our luggage are checked through from Singapore to Nadi to Taveuni with no need to exit the transit area in Nadi. BUT he also said we should still double-check with the check-in agent in Singapore.
I wouldn't have been so concerned if I was not thinking about buying duty-free wine. I guess I'll wait and see. Worst case would be to have to pay higher price for wine at the resort.
My husband did remind me of something similar happening in Indonesia earlier this year when we transited in Jakarta to Makassar and then to Sorong. We cleared Indonesian immigration and customs in Jakarta but were not required to retrieve our luggage. We were told our luggage was checked through to Sorong and customs agents in Jakarta "looked at our suitcases in Jakarta." And we hand-carried our duty-free wine bought in Singapore all the way to Sorong without anyone questioning us.
The travel agent who issued our tickets said we clear customs and immigration in Taveuni. The Fiji Airways customer service representative I called also said yes, we and our luggage are checked through from Singapore to Nadi to Taveuni with no need to exit the transit area in Nadi. BUT he also said we should still double-check with the check-in agent in Singapore.
I wouldn't have been so concerned if I was not thinking about buying duty-free wine. I guess I'll wait and see. Worst case would be to have to pay higher price for wine at the resort.
My husband did remind me of something similar happening in Indonesia earlier this year when we transited in Jakarta to Makassar and then to Sorong. We cleared Indonesian immigration and customs in Jakarta but were not required to retrieve our luggage. We were told our luggage was checked through to Sorong and customs agents in Jakarta "looked at our suitcases in Jakarta." And we hand-carried our duty-free wine bought in Singapore all the way to Sorong without anyone questioning us.
