Duty Free & Connecting Flight

A_b

Registered User
Messages
205
Can you still buy duty free if you are going on a connecting flight in different airport or is included in the 100ml limit carry on thing?
 
No duty free allowed when transfering. Its a big problem and has featured in the media.
 
Damn!!! Pretty pointless having duty free shops so nowadays.
 
No duty free allowed when transfering. Its a big problem and has featured in the media.

Hi,
just back from Canaries and bought our duty free in airport there forgetting we had a connecting flight from Dublin to Galway.

When I was collecting our bags I asked the security guy if it would be a problem taking it on next flight he said no so joined everyone else who were in line having their water taken off them. At this stage we had 2 large bottles of whiskey and 2 of wine so went to the domestic fast track and we were told it should be in sealed bags but to go through and check with security he said we can not take it on, I told him I checked with security on getting off plane and was told its ok he then asked for receipt and let us through.
I now know we should not have gotten through as family just came home from US and they were told no duty free can be taken on connecting flights,
will enjoy it all the more!!!
 
I didn't realise this & I am travelling shortly.

Am I right in thinking then that on a long haul flight the only place you can buy duty free is at your last airport ? I am flying to Christchurch via LA & Auckland so if I want to bring bottles of Irish whiskey to my friends out there I have to buy them in Auckland ??

On the way home can I not buy duty free in Hong Kong as I have to get a connection to Shannon in Heathrow ?

Is this why it now appears you can buy duty free on arrival in Dublin airport ? Presume you just have to show your boarding card ?

Am I understanding this right ?
 
Yeah, but no, but yeah.

Yeah, you can usefully only buy duty free on the last connecting leg of your trip.
No, you won't be able to buy duty free in Auckland since the flight is an internal one and so doesn't qualify for duty free . . .
Yeah, you might be able to buy it in LA *and leave it on the plane in Auckland* if the flight continues to Christchurch, but I think most flights from the US stop in either city, not both.

The whole 100ml thing needs to be got rid of - it adds very little security, if any.

I saw a whole family having to leave two bottles each of something expensive in Newark a few weeks ago for the same reason. They had bought it somewhere, were transiting through Newark and hadn't realised they would be stopped.

z
 
It's surprisingly easy to get through security with stuff that is supposedly contraband although I would not recommend it as a strategy for getting duty free through when it is otherwise not allowed. On our second trip abroad with the baby we were coming home just as Portugal brought in their own "no liquids" policy and still managed to get through security with lots of open tubes of creams/gels and lots of open liquids (not just the bottle of formula that we had to taste on the way through) more through confusion and ignorance (not just on our part) than through design.
 
Thanks for the help. I'm still confused though !
My flight does touch down in Auckland on the way to Christchurch for about an hour but we move planes as I know the connecting flight is by Jet Connect as opposed to Qantas.

I think I'll have to clarify this at check-in !

I totally approve of airport security & am very quick at unbuckling my belt & taking off boots at this stage but this latest lark is a bit much.
 
I think I'll have to clarify this at check-in !
Don't assume that the people that you ask will understand the question or know the answer. Most people are totally confused by this stuff at this stage. If in doubt just forego the duty free purchases - it's just not worth the hassle or the potential disappointment of seeing the stuff confiscated.
 
According to this [broken link removed] the liquid restrictions in NZ on liquid are only on International Departing flights - so it may not apply on the Auckland - Christchurch flight .

However you are stopping at LA so if you are getting security cleared there then I'd be fairly sure that you won't be able to carry Whiskey purchased in Dublin & London through that security check (I would assume you'll have to go through security screening at LA- you even have to clear US immigration in international transit on the same aircraft nowadays, which is nuts but there you go!)

As others have observed it's all a lot of nonsense anyway and hideously confusing.

For another perspective on it I like the Register's rather irreverent article on "flying toilet terror" - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/17/flying_toilet_terror_labs/
 

put the whiskey in the hold baggage from the start, you can then leave it there for the whole journey, or if you get your bags again in LA you can put the bottles in at this point after buying in DF.
 
Whiskey in hold luggage = high chance of some very smelly clothes on arrival ... personally I would not do this (unless you can get it in a plastic bottle maybe ?)
 
Whiskey in hold luggage = high chance of some very smelly clothes on arrival ... personally I would not do this (unless you can get it in a plastic bottle maybe ?)

Package it securely! bubble wrap etc its easy done it loads.
 
Just had a thought. The friend I want to bring the whiskey to is in Australia. I hop over to Australia from Auckland so I guess I can find an Irish whiskey in the duty free there ! She wont' know it didn't come all the way from Ireland with me personally.
I don't want to pay twice the price in my local Off Licence & risk it breaking in my checked in luggage, when I can buy it duty free !
 
Package it securely! bubble wrap etc its easy done it loads.
You can also buy special (e.g. wine) bottle cases that go inside your normal case or can be checked in separately and protect against breakages and spillages. However you would probably be over duty free limits if you filled one!
 
put the whiskey in the hold baggage from the start, you can then leave it there for the whole journey, or if you get your bags again in LA you can put the bottles in at this point after buying in DF.

How can you put it in the hold? Don't you have to check your bags in before going to the duty free shop?
 
How can you put it in the hold? Don't you have to check your bags in before going to the duty free shop?

That is true, but if you are connecting in a USA airport, you have to collect your bags and clear customs anyway. So all you would have to do is pop the duty free into the hold luggage before checking them back in.

Having said that, I think that the Air New Zealand flight from LHR to Auckland only touches down in LA and bags are unlikely to be unloaded.
 
I'm travelling Qantas but we only stop in LA for 4 hours. Imagine my luggage will be just switched. We may not even change planes as it's BA to LA & then Qantas to NZ but from my experience before they seem to be one & the same.

Flying has become a lot more complex than it used to be !
 
You'll change planes and you'll have to clear US Immigration (even though you're only staying 4 hours and not going landside) .. I don't think you'll need to retrieve your baggage - that should be through checked all the way as you don't need to clear US Customs
 
Thanks EvilDoctorK. It's good to know what to expect.

Now for an awful question .......is there an area where smoking is allowed in LAX ? No slagging please ......I know I'm an outcast & I will quit one of these days !