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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: Is 1hr 45mins enough time to transfer domestic to intl?
The airport in question is Baiyun Guangzhou Airport (CAN)
I heard some people mention 2 hours is a short time to transfer domestic to international.
But it's still doable ?
What is the best plan to getting through customs fast enough as to make the transfer?
What of the following stations can I bypass as I Have only one small-carry on and a clean passport with R Permit?
1. Baggage Claim 2. Health inspection 3. Customs 4. Airport Transfer Desk 5. Frontier Inspection 6. Security Checkpoint
I'm assuming there's a queue for at least some of these...
appreciate your experiential feedback
8 years 40 weeks ago in Transport & Travel - China
A good friend of mine, recently working in Korea, returned to Guangdong to visit family and friends for a few days. He was scheduled to leave GZ in the early morning and connect to a flight to Korea in the afternoon in Shanghai.
It rained the day he left and after sitting on the plane in GZ for 6 hours (because it was raining and planes can't take off or fly in the rain apparently) missed his connection to Korea.
The airline kindly provided he, and several other passengers with overnight lodgings and food. Shit happens and he wasn't too concerned. The lodgings turned out to be an abandoned dormatory for a battery factory. Why it was abandoned is unknown but there was a nice view of a toxic slurry pond from his window. It was pretty...a light green with purple swirls. The food turned out to be two packets of two minute noodles without any flavouring sachets. Water to cook them came from a tap in the bathroom. The water was free.
Fast forward to the next day.....they all return to the airport to discover that their tickets are already booked, however, they have to pay for the flight because they didn't notify the airline that they would be late (note this is with the very same airline). Of course. On a side note, the extra ticket he had no choice but to buy was 500 rmb more expensive than the one for the plane he should have been on. And there was a delay taking off in Shanghai "due to technical problems".
The happy ending is that he called his boss and explained what had occured. His boss laughed and told him to take his future holidays in Korea then offered to pay for the additional flight. He refused and the boss thinks he is a God now.
Needless to say that there are some delays connecting that you have no control over and must deal with local logic to overcome. If it all works out, great. If it doesn't, keep your sense of humour, it's all part of the experience and you might have a funny story to tell your friends.
Assuming your starting point is baggage claim, that you have decent orientation skills and nothing unexpected happens, you'll be fine.
But that's quite a risky bet knowing delays are the norm, and that swarms of stupids can potentially get you stuck at any stage for any reason.
You have no room for error.
The real answer is ...
NO!!!
I was flying from Ningbo to Beijing
having 4 hours in Beijing before my international flight
The problem began in Ningbo
suddenly all flights out of Ningbo were delayed
Finally I was allowed to board the plane
only to be on the tarmac for another couple of hours
The plane finally took off from Ningbo
exactly at the same time that my international flight was taking off from Beijing
Thems the breaks
Expect the unexpected
and then some
BTW I got a 5 star hotel for free for 2 days till the next flight
but that's another story
We all know about morons who open the plane's emergency door for a smoke, get some fresh air, or fight for a seat leading to calling of the police, and that is after they got on the plane, not including those who make a scene at check-ins, don't we?
A good friend of mine, recently working in Korea, returned to Guangdong to visit family and friends for a few days. He was scheduled to leave GZ in the early morning and connect to a flight to Korea in the afternoon in Shanghai.
It rained the day he left and after sitting on the plane in GZ for 6 hours (because it was raining and planes can't take off or fly in the rain apparently) missed his connection to Korea.
The airline kindly provided he, and several other passengers with overnight lodgings and food. Shit happens and he wasn't too concerned. The lodgings turned out to be an abandoned dormatory for a battery factory. Why it was abandoned is unknown but there was a nice view of a toxic slurry pond from his window. It was pretty...a light green with purple swirls. The food turned out to be two packets of two minute noodles without any flavouring sachets. Water to cook them came from a tap in the bathroom. The water was free.
Fast forward to the next day.....they all return to the airport to discover that their tickets are already booked, however, they have to pay for the flight because they didn't notify the airline that they would be late (note this is with the very same airline). Of course. On a side note, the extra ticket he had no choice but to buy was 500 rmb more expensive than the one for the plane he should have been on. And there was a delay taking off in Shanghai "due to technical problems".
The happy ending is that he called his boss and explained what had occured. His boss laughed and told him to take his future holidays in Korea then offered to pay for the additional flight. He refused and the boss thinks he is a God now.
Needless to say that there are some delays connecting that you have no control over and must deal with local logic to overcome. If it all works out, great. If it doesn't, keep your sense of humour, it's all part of the experience and you might have a funny story to tell your friends.
China has the most delayed fights IN THE WORLD... No.
Karma101:
yeah, they also have most number of flights taking off every day, so obviously will have most number of delays as well... right?
If this is on two separate tickets for two different airlines you don't stand a chance. If it's all booked on the same airline you may stand a chance in the morning but the delays really start to kick in around lunchtime.
The other thing that's been hinted at, will be which airline you're flying with. If the domestic is a ticket you bought yourself, through one of the local carriers, and the international is an international carrier not connected with the domestic, and you bought it yourself... you're screwed!!!
If, however, it's all part of the same flight, through the same international booking, using a domestic flight that is part of the international airline's code-share - then you're comfortably screwed!
Ie, for the former - you just have to suck it up (and maybe end up in the situation iwolf described. If it's part of the international groups - Star Alliance, Cathay, BA, etc - then if you do miss your flights, then you'll have some nice comfy lodgings for a night (though they may short-change you on the food!. I had that in HK... the food voucher in the nice 4-star hotel was barely enough to cover the cheapest item on the menu - the soup!)
That's really cutting it close - I'm really worried about an upcoming 2 hr 20 minute domestic to international stopover in Guangzhou. Wish I had at least 3 hours.
It's likely your first flight will be delayed, which would cut into your transfer time. It's also an extremely long walk from the domestic gates to the international transit area. There are no moving sidewalks or shuttles. You'll see guys with golf carts, but you have to pay them. I think it was 30RMB. You might need to run.
Once you're near the transit area, there are long lines for security and border control. That's two separate lines you have to wait in. Of course there will be plenty of idiots with ridiculous amounts of carry-on bags and Nongs who have never traveled before, which make the lines move slower.
I don't remember going through any health related line or temperature scanner.
The good news is, if you make it, you'll hardly have any time in the Godforsaken transit area. It's not even close to being up to international standards. The prices for food and drink are extortionate- the highest I've seen in any airport around the world. It's ugly and uncomfortable, with inadequate seating. The bathrooms are gross.
All in all, CAN is the absolute PITS.
ScotsAlan:
After food photos, the most common photo I get on my wechat is "departure delayed" on airport info boards.
last year... international flight to chengdu - shanghai... my threshold was 1hr 30 minutes, I managed to take the flight on time.. everything worked out well, the international flight actually arrived 20 minutes early, against the schedule.. Good day!
This year... international flight to chengdu - shanghai... my threshold was 3 and half hours, the flight delayed 1hr 20min, I managed but few other who had a 90 minutes threshold, missed the flight, the airlines managed to postpone their ticket to another flight the same day.
Early this year... went to HK, next day morning flight from SZ to SH, slept at the airport... STILL missed the flight, there was a unusually long queue of people.
so you see, it all depends on situation...