QF PER visa requirements
QANTAS is informing agents of changes to its international ops taking place later this month at Perth Airport, coinciding with the debut of its new ultra long-haul services between Perth & London.
Changes will see all QF’s int’l flights operate from the Terminal 3 and 4 precinct at PER ( TD 10 May) instead of Terminal 1, where all other foreign airlines fly to and from out of the WA capital.
The move will see QF utilise T3/ T4 as its hub for international and domestic flights, meaning incoming pax transiting in PER to a Qantas operated flight will need to obtain a visa or electronic travel authority (ETA) prior to arriving in Australia in order to move between terminals, QF said.
“For example, international pax travelling on a non-Qantas flight from Auckland-Perth and connecting onto Qantas’ Perth- London service will require an Australian visa due to the distance between T1 and T3/T4.
“After arriving on another int’l airline at T1, connecting pax will need to go through Immigration, collect their bags and proceed through Customs and Biosecurity before exiting the terminal.
“The passenger will then take a Perth Airport shuttle bus from T1 to T3/T4 for their Qantas int’l flight, and vice versa,” QF said.
The Australian airline explained if overseas customers request to book connecting flights via PER which include one international flight operated by Qantas and one int’l flight on a separate airline, agents will need to advise the client they must obtain a visa or ETA prior to travel, in order to transit through Perth.
Qantas said, in the past, some nationalities have been eligible to transit through Australia without a visa if their int’l connecting flights is less than eight hours.
“Due to the location of int’l terminals in Perth, these customers will now be required to ‘enter’ Australia, and will require a visa,” QF said yesterday.
Domestic or international pax who would typically obtain a transit visa to pass through Australia will not be impacted.
T3/T4 will feature a streamlined immigration and customs area, “allowing for a faster transfer experience for customers on Qantas flights,” Qantas added.