Melbourne transfer

[davidll]

Hello,

Some of my wife’s family members are travelling to Perth via Shanghai and Melbourne on China Eastern Airlines flight MU8433 arriving in Melbourne on 28 March 2011.

I was hoping to find out some details about their arrival in Melbourne and transfer to the flight to Perth.

Do they go through customs in Melbourne and then their flight to Perth is a domestic flight arriving at the domestic terminal in Perth?

Where can I find details about the process they will need to go through on arrival in Melbourne – terminal numbers, gates; which way to go etc?

These people have limited English skills and so I was hoping to be able to pass on this information to them prior to their flight to help make things go smoothly for them.

Thanks for any help anyone can provide.

 

[oz_mark]

They will need to clear customs and immigration in Melbourne. This follows the usual process Immigration -> Collect baggage -> Customs.

Once out of the arrivals area they will need to go to the Qantas domestic transfer counters to recheck their baggage for the flight acorss to Perth. It is eesentially just a domestic flight on Qantas from that point. (albeit on an MU flight number).

International is T2, and coming out of arrivals the Qantas terminal (T1) is to the left. The terminals are connected (they are adjacent to each other)

 

[thewinchester]

Do they go through customs in Melbourne and then their flight to Perth is a domestic flight arriving at the domestic terminal in Perth?

Yes, customs and immigrations procedures will take place on arrival at Melbourne. They will need to collect their luggage after clearing customs, pass through Quarantine, exit, then proceed to the check-in counter of the airline taking them to Perth.

Where can I find details about the process they will need to go through on arrival in Melbourne – terminal numbers, gates; which way to go etc?

Airport maps for MEL are available from:
Maps of Melbourne Airport - Airport Facilities - Melbourne Airport

Upon exiting customs and immigration, they will need to make their way to the terminal of the carrier taking them to PER.

• Qantas (T1) - Turn right once clearing customs, follow the signs and head for 1st floor to re-check.
• Virgin Blue (T3) - Turn left once clearing customs, follow the signs and head for 1st floor to re-check
• Tiger Airways (T4) - Exit terminal and turn right, follow signs along footpath for T4.

Gate numbers will not be known until a few hours before their flights.

Selected parts of the MEL airport website are in Chinese, but I don't know how useful this is as I don't speak the language.

If they get stuck at any point when moving through the terminal, simply have them head to the Travellers Information counter in T2 arrivals hall (http://www.melbourneairport.com.au/Flight-Passenger-Info/Aiport-Facilities/Travellers-information-service--banking.html) to guide them on their way.

 

[davidll]

Thank you oz_mark and thewinchester - helpful and informative replies. It's amazing and gratifying to find that help is all around!

davidll