International travel experiences under Covid

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#2963556 5-Sep-2022 17:25

Kyanar: Honestly, it genuinely makes me want to stay far away from New Zealand - the customs and immigration clearance process due to the way behind the curve COVID setting makes New Zealand seem unwelcoming and hostile. No one wants to spend three hours in a queue (and that's if you can get to the green lane! Lord forbid you have baggage!)

How representative is this of the day-to-day operations though? Every time I've come back to NZ the waiting time at SmartGate has been a few minutes and baggage claim has been maybe five minutes. The only time there were any real queues were at customs, and that was maybe 5-10 minutes.

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#2963610 5-Sep-2022 19:39

My experience.

Smartgate worked fine, probably because Singapore Airlines had already verified my traveller declaration before issuing my boarding pass.
I didn't check any luggage so can't comment
I was initially concerned when I joined the customs queue but it moved quickly and I was through in ~30mins. There was probably another 15mins waiting for my bags to be X-Rayed. Everyone had to go through the X-Ray process, even if you had nothing to declare.

I understand that everyone's experience is different but that was mine landing at 12:45pm last Sunday.

Kyanar

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#2963850 6-Sep-2022 12:03

neb: How representative is this of the day-to-day operations though? Every time I've come back to NZ the waiting time at SmartGate has been a few minutes and baggage claim has been maybe five minutes. The only time there were any real queues were at customs, and that was maybe 5-10 minutes.

Does it matter how representative it is? 400 people arrived in New Zealand and were met with an experience so awful a good chunk of them will be turned off it for good. Compared to my return experience at BNE which was "approach SmartGate, answer five questions (e.g. do you have TB), take ticket, hand ticket to immigration official, answer two or three verbal questions, leave airport" - total time five minutes. A far cry from three hours at AKL (and that's on top of Air New Zealand delaying departure by an hour).

The likelihood that this is an isolated occurrence is very slim.

You might say it's the airport's fault (and let's be honest, I could accept an argument that Brisbane Airport Corporation is more competent than Auckland International Airport) but the airport is playing the cards that MBIE, MoH and MPI are handing them. It seems very unlikely that every pax on an A321neo have some not-Traveller-Declaration linked cause of rejection at the SmartGates.

trig42

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#2963852 6-Sep-2022 12:14

neb:
Kyanar: Honestly, it genuinely makes me want to stay far away from New Zealand - the customs and immigration clearance process due to the way behind the curve COVID setting makes New Zealand seem unwelcoming and hostile. No one wants to spend three hours in a queue (and that's if you can get to the green lane! Lord forbid you have baggage!)
How representative is this of the day-to-day operations though? Every time I've come back to NZ the waiting time at SmartGate has been a few minutes and baggage claim has been maybe five minutes. The only time there were any real queues were at customs, and that was maybe 5-10 minutes.

Not sure how representative it is, but of the four close acquaintances I have that have recently returned from overseas, three of them spent well over an hour getting through customs.

Most recent was Sunday evening returning from BNE. They said Customs took longer than their drive back to Hamilton after getting through.

empacher48

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#2963861 6-Sep-2022 13:28

Auckland Airport have been upgrading the biosecurity area, so almost 2/3rds of the previous space pre-covid is being upgraded at the moment. So there are less than half the number of bio-security officers to process passengers and four less baggage x-ray machines to be used.

On top of that with the Foot and Mouth outbreak in Indonesia, every body gets their baggage X-rayed and there is no such thing as the "green lane" anymore. That order came down from the Beehive.

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#2963867 6-Sep-2022 13:42

empacher48:

On top of that with the Foot and Mouth outbreak in Indonesia, every body gets their baggage X-rayed and there is no such thing as the "green lane" anymore. That order came down from the Beehive.

The no scan "Green lane" was always a mistake, If you are going to have biosecurity scanning, then resource it for all arrivals,

Not just those who "might be a bit sus"-

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Kyanar

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#2963889 6-Sep-2022 14:58

empacher48:

Auckland Airport have been upgrading the biosecurity area, so almost 2/3rds of the previous space pre-covid is being upgraded at the moment. So there are less than half the number of bio-security officers to process passengers and four less baggage x-ray machines to be used.

On top of that with the Foot and Mouth outbreak in Indonesia, every body gets their baggage X-rayed and there is no such thing as the "green lane" anymore. That order came down from the Beehive.

Curious. I did not go through baggage screening at AKL. Is carry-on exempt from this rule?

Are they upgrading to the Checkpoint CT machines? It's an absolute breeze to clear security in BNE where you don't even take anything out of your bag anymore with these devices - the whole thing goes through the machine electronics and all, and in fact they tell you to stick all your electronics in it now!

empacher48

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#2963890 6-Sep-2022 15:07

Kyanar:

Curious. I did not go through baggage screening at AKL. Is carry-on exempt from this rule?

Are they upgrading to the Checkpoint CT machines? It's an absolute breeze to clear security in BNE where you don't even take anything out of your bag anymore with these devices - the whole thing goes through the machine electronics and all, and in fact they tell you to stick all your electronics in it now!

Yes all bags go through the x-rays here in Auckland even if it is just carry on, if you didn't have to, then lucky you!

No change to our check-points. But airport security in Australia is conducted by a private contractor and the rules in place vary by airport. MEL and BNE don't want stuff out of your bags and if they find anything it'll be a manual bag search and explosives test. SYD require everything removed.

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#2963891 6-Sep-2022 15:08

Departures was rebuilt in 2017-2019 so they won’t be spending anymore money there.

neb

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#2963935 6-Sep-2022 17:30

Kyanar:
Does it matter how representative it is?

Yes, because if it happens very rarely then it's just a glitch and you grit your teeth and deal with it. If a motorway experiences gridlock a few days a year because of an accident then it's just that, an accident. If a motorway experiences gridlock 365 days a year because it's Auckland then it's something that needs to be sorted out.

Kyanar

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#2963952 6-Sep-2022 18:08

neb:

Yes, because if it happens very rarely then it's just a glitch and you grit your teeth and deal with it. If a motorway experiences gridlock a few days a year because of an accident then it's just that, an accident. If a motorway experiences gridlock 365 days a year because it's Auckland then it's something that needs to be sorted out.

I'm not sure I agree on something as important as arrival into the country, it's the first impression that any visitor gets. Either way, other posts have indicated that it's pretty representative of what happens a fair amount of the time.

empacher48:

Yes all bags go through the x-rays here in Auckland even if it is just carry on, if you didn't have to, then lucky you!

No change to our check-points. But airport security in Australia is conducted by a private contractor and the rules in place vary by airport. MEL and BNE don't want stuff out of your bags and if they find anything it'll be a manual bag search and explosives test. SYD require everything removed.

I'd suggest that MEL is using the Checkpoint CT machines like BNE is then, not due to the airport or contractor's rules. The machine takes a 3D model of the contents of the bag which can then be rotated by the operator to look at what's in it - TSA is rolling them out in the US and even doing away with the "laptops out" rule. Is it the airport operator or MPI who are responsible for this? (So I know to whom I can direct my suggestion!)

Clearing both exit and entry customs in less than five minutes because it's so streamlined is a breath of fresh air from pre-COVID experiences.

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Handle9

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#2963956 6-Sep-2022 18:15

Kyanar:

Is it the airport operator or MPI who are responsible for this? (So I know to whom I can direct my suggestion!)

Ultimately the airlines have to pay for it. They won't, especially when the Vanderlande scanners at Auckland are basically brand new.

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#2963959 6-Sep-2022 18:19

neb:
Kyanar:
Does it matter how representative it is?

Yes, because if it happens very rarely then it's just a glitch and you grit your teeth and deal with it. If a motorway experiences gridlock a few days a year because of an accident then it's just that, an accident. If a motorway experiences gridlock 365 days a year because it's Auckland then it's something that needs to be sorted out.

Just to be pedantic: crash, not accident.

When we call something an "accident" it implies that no one is at fault and that no one, including the driver, bears responsibility for the outcome. The term "crash," on the other hand, is more specific in terms of the action's outcome without the unpreventable implication.

empacher48

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#2963971 6-Sep-2022 19:13

Kyanar:

I'd suggest that MEL is using the Checkpoint CT machines like BNE is then, not due to the airport or contractor's rules. The machine takes a 3D model of the contents of the bag which can then be rotated by the operator to look at what's in it - TSA is rolling them out in the US and even doing away with the "laptops out" rule. Is it the airport operator or MPI who are responsible for this? (So I know to whom I can direct my suggestion!)

AVSEC are responsible for the security screening at departure here in NZ, their funding comes from the CAA. Those machines are looking and coded for funding weapons, LAGS, suspicious items.

The arrival bio security scanners are provided by MPI and are coded to find fruit, vegetables, meats, seeds and various organic items.

Two different machines looking for different things.

In Australia departure security screening is provided by private contractors their funding comes from the Airport company and the machines are paid for by the airport company.

Handle9

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#2963974 6-Sep-2022 19:30

empacher48:

Kyanar:

I'd suggest that MEL is using the Checkpoint CT machines like BNE is then, not due to the airport or contractor's rules. The machine takes a 3D model of the contents of the bag which can then be rotated by the operator to look at what's in it - TSA is rolling them out in the US and even doing away with the "laptops out" rule. Is it the airport operator or MPI who are responsible for this? (So I know to whom I can direct my suggestion!)

AVSEC are responsible for the security screening at departure here in NZ, their funding comes from the CAA. Those machines are looking and coded for funding weapons, LAGS, suspicious items.

The arrival bio security scanners are provided by MPI and are coded to find fruit, vegetables, meats, seeds and various organic items.

Two different machines looking for different things.

In Australia departure security screening is provided by private contractors their funding comes from the Airport company and the machines are paid for by the airport company.

All of the above is subject to consultation/price negotiations with the airlines. If the airlines don't want to pay CAPEX generally doesn't happen without a direct business case.

Pre-covid Baggage Hall/MPI was going to be redeveloped and made much bigger. That's not happening now until well down the track, after the domestic pier is built.

The transport hub and moving to ICS will chew most of the CAPEX for development. There's also a ton of money to be spent on enabling works for domestic.

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