I am traveling to Australia later this month, and I will be flying on Jetstar (from Sydney to Hamilton Island), on QantasLink (from Hamilton Island to Cairns), and on Qantas (from Cairns to Sydney). I will arrive and depart Sydney on United/Continental from/to San Francisco.
I read online somewhere that passengers can’t bring any food into Australia, even food that is packaged/sealed like granola bars. Is this true? I understand why one couldn’t transport fruit or vegetables or other fresh items like meat, but why not power bars or a packages of crackers? I realize that I can probably buy what I need once I arrive, but I would rather not have to rush right out to find a store.
What is the situation with carry-on bags? Is it possible to carry-on a 21” roll-a-board suitcase as one can in the US on an American carrier? I wouldn’t even ask this question except that in February, I traveled to Brazil and Argentina, and even though I flew jet service between the two countries, the airlines (LAN and GOL) prevented passengers from carrying on anything larger than a duffel or a backpack, even though the overhead bins and under-seat storage were standard-size and could easily accommodate a 21” roll-a-board bag. The benefit was that embarking and debarking were a breeze because of the lack of luggage that needed to be stowed and retrieved, but I wasn’t aware of the need to check luggage before arriving at the airport, thus making it necessary to unpack and repack some items when I arrived at the airport and found that I needed to check my bag. (There was no charge for checked bags.) Does the same policy of no roll-a-boards hold true for Australian carriers?
Australian Airline Questions
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Jetstar carry-on baggage: http://www.jetstar.com/au/en/planning-and-booking/baggage/carry-on-baggage
Don't exceed the limits - Jetstar is very strict.
Bringing food into Australia: Your information is incorrect.
Sealed commercial items such as granola/power bars are usually acceptable.
However: Make sure you declare everything on the quarantine form you complete onboard before disembarkation. If it goes in your mouth, it's food. If it's acceptable & declared - it will be allowed in. If it's not declared, you risk a fine, even if it is acceptable food.
http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/faqs
Tip: You may be given fruit during the flight. Make sure you do NOT bring it off the aircraft - it's easy to put it in your bag, thinking you will eat it later, and forget about it. Don't.
I second Bokhara's comments about declaring ANY food you are carrying. Australia is extremely strict with quarantine regulations, and the consequences of not being honest are enough to ruin your holiday.
Di
I traveled to Australia last November. I arrived at Sydney to be greeted by "the dogs"
There are commercially packaged foods that are allowed. I think it may be all in the fact that you DECLARE what you have and not try to hide it. You will given a form on the plane. I had sealed vacuum packed tuna which the dogs immediately went to, and I had bagles, but I had declared and everything was fine. I would try to find an Australian government site, like USAs TSA that should have a list of items allowed/not allowed
Yes, our quarantine laws are strict and for good reason. We've managed to avoid many of the diseases that are prolific elsewhere and work very hard to keep it that way.
We have a fragile ecology and many of our native flora & fauna species have been wiped out/severely damaged by imports - some deliberate & misguided and others by stealth or unrecognised/unseen bugs.
There is a weight restriction as well as size restriction on hand luggage, I'm pretty sure it's 7kg which is not a lot. I know lots of Americans hate checking luggage, but I would really rethink this. Flying within Australia, you rarely have to wait very long to get your luggage, it rarely gets lost, and things don't disappear from your luggage, if these are some of your reasons for thinking you don't want to check it.
With JetStar it is not so much pre-checking but pre-booking your checked luggage which is a lot cheaper than just turning up with it.
Please take our quarantine seriously and bring no bits of vegetation stuck to your shoes or cuffs. We have a new fungal disease which may wipe out much of our flora. Do this because it is the right thing to do as well as not abiding by our laws can get you into a lot of trouble.