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Situation: I am flying via S7 Airlines from Pulkovo in St Pete to Tolmachevo in Novosibirsk, and another flight from there to Incheon, South Korea via S7 again. This is, to the extent of my knowledge, a singulr ticket deal that was purchased together in a single deal and payment. I have next to no experience in flights and transitions of this length, price and importance, and so would very much appreciate answers to the following questions I have:

  1. Can I use Duty Free Shops in Pulkovo before the flight to Tolmachevo, Novosibirsk?
  2. Is the first flight from Pulkovo, St Pete to Tolmachevo, Novosibirsk considered "domestic"?

Thank you.

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    Is there anything in particular you're looking to buy? I'm pretty sure the duty free options in Incheon are far more extensive than those in Novosibirsk (and yes, you can shop on arrival).
    – lambshaanxy
    Jan 20, 2019 at 20:10
  • Oh I was looking for authentic Russian Vodka (Russian Standard and Kremlin Awards), and to my (albeit faulty and fragmented) memory, ICN isn't that great in terms of buying the specific vodka I was looking for
    – Paul Kim
    Jan 21, 2019 at 15:03
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    Thank you all for your great advice! As expected, Pulkovo didn't provide opportunities for duty-free shopping, and I even kept that Russian visa that I needed to hand over when I leave Russia - to me, that's satisfying enough of an indication that such flight was domestic. I am also happy to inform that, although not much diverse in terms of quantity of duty-free stalls and shops, Tolmachevo duty-free shopping experience was quite satisfying and wallet-emptying for me to assure any who would pass through in the future that duty-free here is as robust as any other airport.
    – Paul Kim
    Jan 21, 2019 at 15:06

2 Answers 2

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  1. You will be able to access shops in domestic area of LED, but not Duty Free ones. You will only have access to domestic departures area in St. Petersburg airport.
  2. Of course, flight from LED to OVB is domestic. Then in Novosibirsk you will transfer to International waiting area with possibility of Duty Free shopping.
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    Well that's not the best of outcomes...I heard Tolmachevo isn't that robust in terms of duty free shopping. Thanks for the advice!
    – Paul Kim
    Jan 20, 2019 at 15:16
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    It's much smaller airport so I can imagine that.
    – alamar
    Jan 20, 2019 at 16:03
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As a general rule, you cannot shop in a duty-free shop and then hop on a domestic flight.

The duty-free shop is obliged to ensure you do not try to smuggle the item back into the country, and obviously if your next hop is on a domestic flight, they simply cannot ensure that.

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  • They might have options for you to buy but you'll need to pay the taxes (Ex CDG you can buy in the duty free on arrival)
    – Antzi
    Jan 21, 2019 at 2:23

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