Sydney Airport Customs Clearance Chaos

[NM]

they have also discontinued insecticide in arriving planes..

No, they have not discontinued that process. They just now give the operating airline a choice as to how the insecticide is applied. They can spray the aircraft with a persistent insecticide that last for several months, or they can spray the cabin prior to arrival using hand-held cans of approved insecticide. Most airlines flying to Australia now choose to spray the persistent insecticide during maintenance periods and only operate treated aircraft to Australia. If they substitute a non-treated aircraft for a flight to Australia, they still have to spray the cabin. It is taken very seriously by AQIS.

 

[JohnK]

Arriving back in SYD from HKG in the Early hours (QF128) last April it took 1 minute to get through SmartGate and 45 minutes to get x-rayed and out. We had no checked luggage.

OK, so by the sounds of it this is not a new issue but one that has been around for a while.

I am glad that most of my arrivals into SYD have been hassle free and I hope that any future arrivals are as hassle free as the previous arrivals.

 

[ethernet]

The science of queue arrivals and waiting times has LONG been known. As a guess, the roster of quarantine staff is probably known 2 weeks in advance. The pre-screen arrivals, so they know exactly the 'demand'.

Putting aside all their ITIL cough, AQIS could post a histogram, say weekly, by the hour, of processing wait times, and justify the ugly 'first' impression of the arrival hall. Serfty is correct about peak times, this is no secret, nor is anyone complaining too much about customs - what is being done about the bottleneck?

One suspects
1) Not enough x-ray machines, or they have been 'borrowed' for elsewhere
2) Being scabby on resources - is it a money problem?
3) Incompetance - do they have their heads in the sand?
4) Not wanting to pay 'rent' since they sold the airport

Solution: Alter curfew times - a bigger window will help
or Lower the quality of service (QOS).

Maybe Chaser can unfurl a banner 'Welcone to Royal Northshore Mk2' in the arrivals hall .

Longer term air traffic is GROWING, so they will have to do something, as well as do something about getting to the airport , and stop clogging things up by allowing shopping centre development.

 

[econgdon]

try Melbourne !!! You will be unpleasantly surprised

 

[econgdon]

No, they have not discontinued that process. They just now give the operating airline a choice as to how the insecticide is applied. They can spray the aircraft with a persistent insecticide that last for several months, or they can spray the cabin prior to arrival using hand-held cans of approved insecticide. Most airlines flying to Australia now choose to spray the persistent insecticide during maintenance periods and only operate treated aircraft to Australia. If they substitute a non-treated aircraft for a flight to Australia, they still have to spray the cabin. It is taken very seriously by AQIS.

Well I think its very inconsistent.. I was driving around Melbourne and saw an obvious Bumble bee.. it must have come from Tasmania in freight. I opened my suitcase in Hobart after returning from Thailand recently .. what looked like a flying ant crawled out (often Queens). I squashed it obviously. How much stuff comes in in freight etc. Melb and now I notiice Hobart seem to be getting big fat coughroaches which I do not remember as a boy ...

And its worrysome they the authorities do not so serious about creating vacines in Australia as they are about overseas contamination by imports. I note our horse flue vaccines had to be shipped from France with great fanfare. No one mentioned during the delay what we would do if there was a human internationl pandemick !! Would others be so generous ??

 

[Reggie]

I got to New Zealand and opened my case and found not one snake, but a whole bag. I then proceded to break the backs of each of them by stretching them from head and tail and eating them. Thankyou Allens

 

[bambbbam2]

Thankyou Allens

But they just don't taste as good anymore.. since they went - ugh - artificial flavour free, they taste not as good.

 

[simongr]

Arriving back in SYD from HKG in the Early hours (QF128) last April it took 1 minute to get through SmartGate and 45 minutes to get x-rayed and out. We had no checked luggage.

QF82 arriving at 12:30PM - baggage hall empty - very unusual sight...

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Took more than 1 hour to get through customs on Saturday morning. Sydney Int.
What a joke.
Only 3 x-rays online and seemed to me like 10 plane loads all came at once.

 

[Harpoon]

Slighty off topic (sorry)...

In regards to getting the 'fast passage' green stamp on your arrival card to bypass xrays in customs, I seem to ALWAYS get this. Do they approach people who look innocent??? Or have I just been lucky? By the way I usually have nothing to declare either which helps...

Once I was travelling with a colleague on the way back from Noumea. They walked up to us both, green stamped me and I walked through but he had to go through the xray etc.

Luck or....?

 

[simongr]

I actually miss out on those having no luggage - I dont wait at the carousel and thus dont get spotted by one of the customs guys...

 

[oz_mark]

Slighty off topic (sorry)...

In regards to getting the 'fast passage' green stamp on your arrival card to bypass xrays in customs, I seem to ALWAYS get this. Do they approach people who look innocent??? Or have I just been lucky? By the way I usually have nothing to declare either which helps...

Once I was travelling with a colleague on the way back from Noumea. They walked up to us both, green stamped me and I walked through but he had to go through the xray etc.

Luck or....?

I know nothing of the green stamp, but I have been sent out the no xray way before. I got the impression it was basically a random selection of the nothing to declare people that hadn't set off alarms for some reason.

 

[dot]

I actually miss out on those having no luggage - I don't wait at the carousel and thus don't get spotted by one of the customs guys...

Hey Simon, I too am a hand luggage traveller, and this morning on arrival at SYD, I was heading for the express line, when a customs officer quizzed me about any declarations, where I had been, then took the express pass from me and put the green stamp on my arrivals card - he then told me to go to the "D" exit (at the far right if you are facing the exits) and that the green stamp replaces the express pass. Perhaps you need to go up that end of things and ask an officer about the green stamp?

 

[simongr]

Recently I have been lucky enough to use the ePass exit and with nothing to declare it has been quick - still xrayed the bags a couple of times.

 

[acampbel]

Hey Simon, I too am a hand luggage traveller, and this morning on arrival at SYD, I was heading for the express line, when a customs officer quizzed me about any declarations, where I had been, then took the express pass from me and put the green stamp on my arrivals card - he then told me to go to the "D" exit (at the far right if you are facing the exits) and that the green stamp replaces the express pass. Perhaps you need to go up that end of things and ask an officer about the green stamp?

I think it is one of those times when it does you no good to ask for it. Depending on many factors (that I can only conjecture about) you may be approached by a customs officer whilst waiting for your bags or queuing at the x-ray. They will ask where you have been and what have you been doing and then possibly give the green stamp or pull you out of the queue to have a quick visual check of your luggage.

This has happened to me the last half-dozen times I have landed in Sydney, so my customs hall experience is currently averaging 5 - 10 minutes. All I can suggest is :-

• Don't dress like a slob
• Don't have lots of large luggage (carry-on is best)
• Practice looking stoically patient whilst in the queue.

Cheers,


Andrew

.

 

[N860CR]

In regards to stamps... arrived in MEL on QF10 yesterday morning and while getting my passport checked the customs guy said "its not scanning, follow this lady" and yelled out "are you doing POS? to her" (NB: it was P something... I think POS)

Anyway, she scans my passport at the desk, says "yeh your ok to go" and puts a stamp on my arrivals card that said POS (or whatever it was).

Down to baggage claim, get my green stamp, walk right out, end of story... but what was that extra stamp for?

 

[johntkucz]

Where Do I File a Severe Complain Report for Sydney Immigrations and Customs??

Where Do I File a Severe Complain Report for Sydney Immigrations and Customs??/


I was held for a 2-hour questioning period by first Immigrations and then Customs. I was locked in a room for 2 hours. I had my phone confiscated. I was asked about my bank accounts. The immigrations and customs bureau of Sydney International Airport (this was on July 25th, 2009) even requested to look at the instant messages on my phone.

This is a gross, heinous, and severe breach of privacy rights. In the united states, this violation would be referred to as a direct and blatant violation of the 4th amendment: Unreasonable Search and Seizure.

This was a horrible "welcoming" to the first time in the country of australia for me, let alone as an illegal questioning.

I was threatened saying they would fly my back to the states.

THE REASON....The Reason for this ludicrous and disgusting violation of privacy, time, and unreasonable confiscation...as far as I could assess was that I didn't have enough bags!!

Yes, the fact that I had a backback and one other bag seemed to "alarm" customs and immigrations. They then wanted to ensure that I had "enough money". I had a one-way ticket and was visiting a friend because I had not yet determined the details of the correspondence but had purchased the ticket and my visa 1 month prior to my arrival in Sydney.

The perpetrators responsible for this at Sydney Customs and Immigrations need to be disciplined and reprimanded for this.

I need to know to where I file my complaint.

Thanks.

 

[simongr]

Wow - pretty rough. I guess the reason that they stopped you was that there was no evidence that you planned to leave the country at a particular time.

For my India and China visas I had to have itineraries showing return flights before I could even get a visa.

 

[notzac]

Re: Where Do I File a Severe Complain Report for Sydney Immigrations and Customs??

I had a one-way ticket and was visiting a friend because I had not yet determined the details of the correspondence but had purchased the ticket and my visa 1 month prior to my arrival in Sydney.

That'll be the reason you got detained, not your lack of baggage. Sorry to hear you got such an unpleasant welcome in to Australia

 

[opusman]

Sorry you had such a bad welcome to Australia, but really I don't think the treatment you received was worse than any Australian in the same situation would have received in the US. It's fairly common to have to show proof of a return ticket or funds available to pay for one when travelling other countries.

It's also quite common for US customs officials to search bags, mobile phones, and even confiscate laptops for detailed analysis. Basically, at the border, many of the normal legal protections against this sort of thing don't apply - in the US the same as in Australia.