Can't leave Melbourne Airport During transit??? [DOH-MEL-ADL vv]

[Boofyal77]

Hi All, looking for advice my partner is flying in from Doha to Melbourne tonight arriving at 12:30am in transit onto Adelaide. She's been advised she cannot leave the airport! I had booked an airport hotel for her as she has 10hrs before next flight to adelaide. Is this correct she cannot leave? She is Australian on her way home.

 

[Rich]

What airline is taken her from MEL to ADL?

 

[Boofyal77]

What airline is taken her from MEL to ADL?

Qatar

 

[Boofyal77]

What airline is taken her from MEL to ADL?

 

[daft009]

This is Qatar's way of flying more flights into Melbourne by finishing the flight in Adelaide.

Matt was talking about this in his recent podcast

 

[SeatBackForward]

This is Qatar's way of flying more flights into Melbourne by finishing the flight in Adelaide.

Matt was talking about this in his recent podcast

I removed my misleading post above, so if your final destination is ADL you don't alight in Melbourne?

 

[Peanutbladder]

Probably to do with this

Article: Qatar Airways’ Bizarre Daily Melbourne-Adelaide Flight

Qatar Airways’ Bizarre Daily Melbourne-Adelaide Flight is an article written by AFF editorial staff: https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/qatar-airways-melbourne-adelaide/ You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Fifth freedom flight and QF not being happy with competition ?

 

[SeatBackForward]

Probably to do with this

Article: Qatar Airways’ Bizarre Daily Melbourne-Adelaide Flight

Qatar Airways’ Bizarre Daily Melbourne-Adelaide Flight is an article written by AFF editorial staff: https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/qatar-airways-melbourne-adelaide/ You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Fifth freedom flight and QF not being happy with competition ?

From that article:

If anyone is actually booked QR988 between Doha and Adelaide via Melbourne, I sure hope they’ll at least be allowed to leave Melbourne Airport and head across the road to a hotel for the night!

Presumably, Qatar Airways is not planning on actually selling many seats between Melbourne and Adelaide. This flight exists only as a workaround for the airline to get a valuable second-daily Doha-Melbourne service. The moment the Air Services Agreement changes, you can bet that the Melbourne-Adelaide sector of QR988/989 will be dropped.

Until then, these bizarre flights are currently operating every day and seats are available for sale! Sadly, there will probably be a few unsuspecting souls who accidentally book this flight to or from Adelaide without realising they might get stuck in transit in Melbourne Airport along the way for more than 11 hours…

 

[MEL_Traveller]

In theory you should be able to leave the airport, unless they have employed special staff to redirect transit pax back up to the departures area?

The difficulty I guess for transit pax is is two flow. Firstly on re-entering the airport the next day they would need a ‘D’ domestic sticker on their BP, and secondly does that mean they would have had to have collected their baggage and had it customs cleared in MEL?

QR infamously doesn’t short-check bags unless there’s a stopover on the ticket. At least in DOH.

So maybe the pax won’t be able to leave the airport?

 

[Guvner]

10 hour transit + flight/disembarking/luggage/immigration etc? That's minimum 12 hours.
You can drive MEL-ADL in 8 hrs.

But to the original question, leaving the airport shouldn't be an issue for an Aus citizen.
Getting back on the MEL - ADL flight, not sure why you couldn't go back through immigration/security etc (with or without a 'D" sticker) the next morning with a valid boarding pass and passport. Luggage should be checked through so as long as she has some hand luggage with the necessities to take to the hotel, I can't really see it being an issue. Probably will get asked some questions, but no "laws" are being broken that I can see.

From the Malborne Airport FAQ:

I am a passenger in transit at Melbourne Airport with a long wait until my outbound flight departs – can I leave the airport and return to catch my outbound flight?
It may be possible to leave Melbourne Airport and return for a connecting flight, depending on your circumstances. It is the travellers responsibility to ensure all potential requirements are met in order to board a connecting flight.
These include but are limited to:

• meeting all security, biosecurity, customs and border protection requirements for entering and exiting Australian borders (e.g. appropriate passport, visa, outbound flight documentation as required)
• satisfying all specific requirements of the airline providing the connecting flight
• ensuring sufficient time to return to Melbourne Airport and complete all steps in order to board your flight on time, including check-in, Customs and security screening
• ensuring appropriate arrangements are made for any luggage.

Help & Information | Melbourne Airport

www.melbourneairport.com.au

 

[SeatBackForward]

10 hour transit + flight/disembarking/luggage/immigration etc? That's minimum 12 hours.
You can drive MEL-ADL in 8 hrs.

But to the original question, leaving the airport shouldn't be an issue for an Aus citizen.
Getting back on the MEL - ADL flight, not sure why you couldn't go back through immigration/security etc (with or without a 'D" sticker) the next morning with a valid boarding pass and passport. Luggage should be checked through so as long as she has some hand luggage with the necessities to take to the hotel, I can't really see it being an issue. Probably will get asked some questions, but no "laws" are being broken that I can see.

From the Malborne Airport FAQ:

I am a passenger in transit at Melbourne Airport with a long wait until my outbound flight departs – can I leave the airport and return to catch my outbound flight?
It may be possible to leave Melbourne Airport and return for a connecting flight, depending on your circumstances. It is the travellers responsibility to ensure all potential requirements are met in order to board a connecting flight.
These include but are limited to:

• meeting all security, biosecurity, customs and border protection requirements for entering and exiting Australian borders (e.g. appropriate passport, visa, outbound flight documentation as required)
• satisfying all specific requirements of the airline providing the connecting flight
• ensuring sufficient time to return to Melbourne Airport and complete all steps in order to board your flight on time, including check-in, Customs and security screening
• ensuring appropriate arrangements are made for any luggage.

Help & Information | Melbourne Airport

www.melbourneairport.com.au

I think the subtlety is that QR cannot treat this flight as a domestic flight, its the last leg of the DOH-ADL flight, so you're effectively not leaving at MEL at all.

 

[Guvner]

The passenger is not travelling on a domestic ticket, why is it not treated as a layover?

 

[SeatBackForward]

The Qatar Airlines website is a bit hopeless in this regard:

Qatar Airways operates direct flights to Adelaide from Doha, Qatar.

https://www.qatarairways.com/en-au/destinations/flights-to-adelaide.html

 

[TomVexille]

Given the pax has a DOH-ADL BP and not DOH-MEL and MEL-ADL, the issue is probably getting back through Immigration at MEL. Not saying that it can't be done, but I suspect there will be some questions asked.

The Qatar Airlines website is a bit hopeless in this regard:

https://www.qatarairways.com/en-au/destinations/flights-to-adelaide.html

The flight is technically a direct flight.

 

[dk4]

...Getting back on the MEL - ADL flight, not sure why you couldn't go back through immigration/security etc (with or without a 'D" sticker) the next morning with a valid boarding pass and passport.

Because when she gets to an immigration processing point, the system would see that she isn't departing to an international destination (or a domestic destination with an Australian flagged carrier), and likely reject her at that point in her journey?

She would have been processed as re-entering Australia in Melbourne (instead of remaining in international airside transit, so she could be processed in Adelaide), so as she is now in Australia, simply not eligible to travel on a foreign flagged carrier's domestic sector anymore?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Can you have your bags checked through to ADL and still be subject to customs clearance in ADL if you hold a domestic boarding pass?

 

[SeatBackForward]

Can you have your bags checked through to ADL and still be subject to customs clearance in ADL if you hold a domestic boarding pass?

They wouldn't syphon passengers off a domestic flight to the international arrivals area for customs etc.

 

[oz_mark]

Probably to do with this

Article: Qatar Airways’ Bizarre Daily Melbourne-Adelaide Flight

Qatar Airways’ Bizarre Daily Melbourne-Adelaide Flight is an article written by AFF editorial staff: https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/qatar-airways-melbourne-adelaide/ You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Fifth freedom flight and QF not being happy with competition ?

It's not a fifth freedom flight. If it were allowed, it would be cabotage, which is unofficially an eighth freedom. Either way, Qatar can't take purely domestic passengers.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

They wouldn't syphon passengers off a domestic flight to the international arrivals area for customs etc.

Domestic boarding pass of an international flight. My understanding is that domestic pax aren’t subject to customs etc?

 

[SeatBackForward]

Domestic boarding pass of an international flight. My understanding is that domestic pax aren’t subject to customs etc?

Ah sorry I mistook that the question was about being an international arrival on a domestic flight. Don't know how that could be done aynhow.