Express Path at MEL Intl Arrivals

[QF4L]

Couldn't find a recent thread about this - since the redesign of the Melbourne International Arrivals queue for customs declaration I can't work out where the old Express Path has gone. On my last inbound trip the staff was blank-faced when I asked where to go, and so I had to join the long general queue. Is there a Express Path anymore - if so, where is it?

NB This question is not about queueing for the passport check/smart gates, it's about the final queue that you join after collecting your bags where you present your customs declaration.

Thanks!

 

[Flyerwin]

I think that long queue IS the "Express" or "Green - Nothing to Declare" path. MEL INT has one of the worst exit process I've come across.

 

[QF4L]

MEL INT has one of the worst exit process I've come across.

You're not wrong. It was already bad...then they "improved" it...

 

[AIRwin]

You're not wrong. It was already bad...then they "improved" it...

Enhancement

 

[flightsonpoints]

It is on the right of the customs officers checking your yellow form. There are two lines on that side, one is regular one is express. Its not on signs anymore but it exists the sign says crew, express pass….you just show you J or F boarding pass and they let you through. Ive used it in the last 3 months.

 

[somit]

I heard, Express Path still exists in a limited form, but it’s inconsistently marked and can be easy to miss which is why many passengers end up in the general queue despite being eligible.

 

[QF4L]

Looping back on this to note that I've just gone through T2 arrivals and it looks like the Express Path is back! The layout has changed again so that the customs declaration queues are once again straight in front when you come down the stairs. The sign for the Express Path was right in the middle, at the end of baggage carousel 5.

 

[aspro2]

Yep, I can confirm the above from @QF4L . Down the stairs and pretty much straight ahead. However, I read somewhere that it is not necessarily available outside of peak times. Can't confirm.

When flying back into MEL last October I saw the Express path for the first time, closer to the actual point where checking happens (basically at the far end of the same space where the Express path now begins). I had never seen it before and was glad for it! This time, remembering that I had been given an Express paper thingy on China Airlines last time, I asked SQ cabin crew about such things and they completely blanked. On arrival, seeing the new Express path, I just asked the path-dragon (who was friendly) and she said that you're meant to have some sort of paper thingy and she didn't know why some airlines don't have them, but she would let me through with my J-boarding-pass anyway.

It's worth noting also that if the Express path is unavailable or difficult to get to because of crowds, it seems that the normal queue from the righthand side near carousel no.1 (if it's open) can be very quick at times. YMMV