Domestic to International Connection Japan Nagoya

Question

I would like to ask you for advice. In April I will be going back from Tokyo Haneda to Warsaw with a transfer at Nagoya Chubu Airport with Finnair.

According to the Nagoya Airport website, I will need to pick up my baggage from a carousel and give it back again in the International check-in lobby.

The time between arrival and departure is 1 hour 20 minutes. The ticket has been bought on Opodo. Do you think is it enough time for transfer? Am I right that the baggage must be picked up during the connection?

Thanks in advance.

Mike.

Answer 1

I am a bit surprised that the Nagoya website claims you will need to collect your luggage for a domestic->international connection. I suspect that is not correct. At other Japanese airports, domestic-to-international bags are checked straight through to their next international destination; there is no customs inspection exiting Japan. On the other hand, it would be unusual for a Japanese airport website to be incorrect.

In any event, you will be advised at check in at Haneda.

At the minimum, you will need to re-clear security for your international flight and pass through Japanese passport exit control. Japanese airports are normally very efficient, and 1 hour 20 minutes is a bit on the short side but not excessively so. For this connection, the minimum connect time is 1 hour, so you have twenty minutes on top of the minimum allowed.

Answer 2

Yes. Both Japanese airports have this annoying quirk. You must enter/leave Japan with your luggage, at the first/last Japanese airport. It is mostly an entrance requirement (all passengers have their luggage inspected when entering Japan, at the earliest airport possible), so they make you pick up your luggage after Immigration clearance, and pass through Customs for inspection. Once you're in Japan proper, you have to go to the domestic terminal, and check in again.

So of course, this being Japan, the reverse was set up the same way. Since there's no International to Domestic baggage transfer service, there is no Domestic to International transfer either. Besides, Japan Customs [supposedly] want to check that you're not exporting stuff they don't want you to. Shou ga nai.

OTOH, 80 minutes should be plenty. You just need to go upstairs, check in, and walk through immigration. You might not have that much time for shopping, but you'll be ok.