Immigration and customs in Malaysia

Status
Not open for further replies.

asterix

Active Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2008
Posts
621
I've tried calling Malaysian Airlines and emailing them, but can't seem to get a straight answer.

We're flying Sydney to Kuantan, however we have a 4 hours stop in Kuala Lumpur before our connecting domestic flight to Kuantan. We arrive in KL at around 5AM and our connecting flight isn't until 9:15AM. We've got a 2 year old and a 4 year old, so we were considering booking a room in the Airside Hotel. What I am trying to found out is do we need to collect our bags and clear immigration and customs in KL, or do we stay within the terminal and wait for our connecting flight?

Has anybody stayed at the Airside Hotel at KL airport?

I've been told that our bags should go straight through to Kuantan for immigration and customs, but we "MAY" need to clear customs with our carry on luggage.
 
You will need to clear immigration at Kuala Lumpur (to get from the International part to the Domestic part).

Your bags will likely be checked through to Langkawi, and you shouldn't need to collect them in Kuala Lumpur. You should get both boarding passes, and luggage receipts showing Langkawi etc on check-in in Sydney.
 
Thanks oz_mark, I thought that would be the case. So KL airport has an international section, a domestic section and in a different location has the LCCT.
 
I have only done one international to domestic transfer on Malaysian airlines and it was a four years ago, so things might have changed. So please take this as a rough guide, try to confirm when you check in. Anyway...

When you check in at Sydney they should check you through all the way to Kuantan. Your bags will be tagged through to Kuantan and you should be given boarding passes for both segments.

At KLIA you will arrive at the satellite terminal. All long haul flights depart and arrive from there. From the satellite terminal you take the aerotrain to the main terminal. Regional (level 4) and domestic (level 3) flights depart from the main terminal. Also customs and immigration is there just follow the signs down the escalator. You will have to clear immigration. Sometimes in the morning this can get quite busy, with a lot of international long hall flights arriving.

From my past experience if the bags have been checked in all the way to your domestic destination you won't need to collect your check in luggage. This is different to a lot of other countries. Customs in Malaysia seems to be a lot more casual than other countries. But please try and confirm it is still like when you check in.

There are both airside and landside transit hotels at KLIA. The airside one is in the satellite terminal, in theory you could get a room there but it is really intended for int-int transit. The landside hotel is the pan pacific it is connected via a bridge to the main terminal. I would say a 5-10 minute walk. As you have to clear immigration anyway the landside hotel is probably a better option for you. Although you might only have an hour or two. I haven't stayed there so can't give much more advice.

When you are ready to depart, you should already have your boarding pass you won't need to check in. Just go to the domestic departures area.

Enjoy your time in Kuantan there are some great seafood restaurants there.
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Wonder why I said Langkawi. Must have something on my mind!

What Richie9x said was still how it worked in January, so I would not think it has changed.

One thing with KL airport though, is keep an eye on the gates. I have never been to an airport that has as many gate changes as KUL.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..
Back
Top