Sydney airport - 2 hour layover, intl. terminal to domestic
 

Hello,
Need a quick answer to an often-asked question, I am sure.

Is 2 hours long enough to arrive from Los Angeles, clear customs & immigration and such, and get to the domestic terminal for a flight to Ayers Rock airport on Virgin?

Barring unforseen problems, of course.

I think that is far too tight, the domestic airport is right beside the international at Sydney but your plane might be delayed or there might be a big queue at customs and/or immigration. Plus you need to check into the domestic flight roughly an hour before.

I agree with Susan7 - 2 hours isn't long enough. Allow a good hour through immigration, waiting for your bag and customs and quarantine. There's always a big queue. Then you need to find transport to the domestic airport - so that's another half-hour at least, and then 45 minutes for domestic check-in (the time before check-in depends a little on airline / destination). This leaves no time for error or just those little things you might need to do at the airport - basic orientation required for finding the bus, getting cash from an ATM, finding a toilet.

When we collect people from international flights we always count on them taking an hour to emerge and leave home accordingly. Usually we are there before our guests, only occasionally are they waiting for us.

Lavandula

Thanks for the answers. You need to take a bus from the intl. terminal to the domestic one? Ick.

You know what's puzzling about the flight I'm looking at, when I check the status of it for yesterday or today, or look at the schedule closer to now rather than November, it arrives at 6:10 am! I wonder if the winds are different in November! It's United flight 839 from Los Angeles to Sydney.

Arrrgh, I figured out that the time difference has something to do with daylight savings time, but I don't understand why because we have DS time in California too...

The time difference changes by two hours during daylight savings: we go forward an hour in summer and the northern hemisphere goes back an hour.

I say 2 hours would be just enough as long as you don't have to go through the "I have something to declare lane" in customs. If you can get more time, then yes a bit more would be helpful in case of emergencies, however, if you're already booked in, don't panic too much.

I used to live in Melbourne and would always come in to the international terminal in Sydney, clear customs then change to my domestic Syd to Melbourne plane. I always did this in about 2 hours.

MY DIL's relative just flew in from the States this week through Sydney with an onward domestic flight. She allowed 3 hours 15 minutes and only just made it!

Unlike MissGreen, when I've done what you're suggesting going the other way from Melbourne through Sydney then on to the US, I've always allowed more than 2 hours and ALWAYS needed that leeway.

I'm afraid I have a very jaundiced view of Sydney airport, which has to be amongst the worst signed airports in the world. So just to allow for looking for directions, possible delays, customs, slow staff etc etc I'd give myself 3 hours too.