JNB / Johannesburg Airport - Connections, Facilities, Layovers, etc.
 

Hi,
I'm wondering, if I have a layover at JNB and am booked on a SAA flight am I required to clear customs just to make it to my next international flight?

For instance, if I wanted to travel from Botswana to Namibia via JNB on SAA would I need to get my passport stamped upon arrival at JNB?

I am going to be traveling quite a bit in Africa and would like to use JNB as a hub for many of my layovers, but I don't want to be taking up 2 pages each time I pass through.

I will not have any luggage.

Thanks in advance.

I suspect you don't need to be stamped in and clear customs if you are in transit between two other countries (not sure though, so others might be able to advise). If you are travelling from Windhoek to JNB to CPT then you will need to clear customs in JNB and recheck your bags.

Unless you need a visa, the South African authorities will give you a half page sticker on arrival which allows you to come and go as you please. Then you get small square and round stamps on each entry and exit. You won't go through many pages, even if you do land.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3072/...fdfdcb354d.jpg

Thank you.
 

Thanks for showing how this worked for you - that makes my job a lot easier.

We won't be stopping in JNB, just passing through, so chances of going through customs are 50/50 (until someone else chimes in), but I'm glad to see that if we do have to clear customs it won't take ANOTHER 2 pages.

Thanks again.

Please don't confuse CUSTOMS (where they check if you are bringing unauthorised goods into the country) and IMMIGRATION (where they check or stamp your passport / visa), although in this case the answer is that you will go to an International transit desk and straight back into the departures are and should not need to pass through either customs or immigration.

Great point. Customs and Immigration are indeed different beasts though at JNB both are non issues best I can tell. I went through both yesterday with no issue at all (they do take your temperature now before allowing you to step up to the immigration desk btw). I have Russian colleagues arriving from London today transiting with no checked bags to a SAA flight to Lusaka. I'll note their journey and try to post back what their step by step journey is. I think it will be arrive, transit, check in for the future flight and head to the gate. No customs and no security. If that varies I'll report back.

Last time I transited at JNB there was.

Johan

Right you are:

When transiting, you...
Land
Go through immigration
Enter the transit area
Get boarding pass for your onward flight (if less than 3 hours before your flight)
Pass through security (though you don't need your onward boarding pass to get through)
Proceed to departure area

Very easy set up they have there. Made my first trip to Africa memorable for some very unexpected reasons (like sanity of movement).

JNB is relatively easy for international transit, IIRC 60 minute minimum connection time. (I issued tickets yesterday that were 65 minutes and didn't have a problem.)

Does anyone know minimum transit time when booked on separate airlines and tickets (i.e., arriving on SAA and departing on Air Bots? (I'm guessing the minimum transit time of 60 minutes may assume you're on the same ticket and therefore already checked in for your connecting flight)

Thanks!

I am also intersted in minimum connection times and transit. We are considering a British Airways ticket to VFA from JNB in August - will be arriving a 9:45am on an Air France flight and the BA flight departs at 11:25am. Does Air France and British Airways have a baggage check agreement? Would love to get out of JNB withouth having to stay overnight and leave the next day.

Look here http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milea...es-please.html

Johannesburg Connection Times
 

I'm flying SAA from Cape Town to Johannesburg, on a Wed in late Apr. Connecting onto Delta to the US. I can't check my bags through at CPT because flights were booked on separate itineraries. So I have to collect my bags at Joburg domestic and go check in at international. Delta recently moved their flight departure up so I now 2 hr 10 minutes between landing in Joburg and departure to US. Is that enough time to get the bags, make the walk, check in, and clear security? Thanks to anybody that can help with this.

Is your CPT-JNB flight on SAA? If so I think they should be able to interline your bags for you as my mom often does PLZ-JNB-ATL on different tickets but they still interline. I am not sure about BA or the other domestic airlines however. If your on SAA I'd get them to interline them in CPT, but you may need to ask to speak with a few agents before you find someone who is able/willing to do it.

2hr10min may be tight. Luggage claim should be quite quick but you never know. Immigration right before that evening bank of flights may be a bit busy but security and immigration I can't see taking more than 30min. I think the check in counter to drop off your bags though will be the wild card. I haven't flown DL out of JNB before but if its like SAA or LH can it can sometimes take a while even if just a few people are in front of you in line.

Personally I'd change to have a longer layover so I am not worrying about the connection on the way from CPT. Hopefully the domestic airline will be sympathetic if its a restricted ticket...

Good luck

My initial reaction was "no problem". I hate short connections and would not hesitate to book one of 2h10 at JNB. But then I started thinking about:

• What class are you travelling? Check-in will be quicker and smoother in J.
• What are DL's rules? Many airlines require check-in well in advance of flight time especially for flights to the US. It is usually less for J pax.
• You will get there in the thick of the evening rush.
• Any delay on your incoming flight would make it tight and you'd be on your own with separate tickets.

With all this in mind I'm less certain that I would be comfortable. Without a doubt I would follow Mbenz's advice and investigate the possibility that the other carrier will book your luggage through. Unless it is an LCC I think the chances are very good.

I just did the same thing this past week. Flew SAA CPT-JNB on a separate ticket, with a checked bag. Then had a separate Delta ticket JNB-ATL. We had 3 hours between flights at JNB. Our flight was a little late (10 minutes) taking off from CPT due to traffic control at JNB.

Checked bags came out quickly but then you need to change terminals at JNB & the signage to do so is not that great. You end up walking partly thru the garage. We were in BE so we had a quick check-in at the DL ticket counter. We went to the club & had about 25-30 minutes before boarding was called (about 5 minutes later than expected).

Now, what did throw us for a loop was the LONG lines at the SAA ticket counter in CPT. We had not done online checkin. But after standing in line briefly, we figured out that we could get out of line, do online kiosk check-in, then walk around to the other side to drop our bags. This was much quicker.

One of our friends stayed in the ticket counter line and was told that they could not get on the plane because it was oversold and it was too late prior to take off. If she had not made that flight, she may have missed her JNB-ATL flight. It all ended well after she insisted on speaking to a supervisor. Surprisingly, her checked bag also made the flight.

So, you may want to be sure you also get to CPT with some time to spare, and/or do online check-in or kiosk check-in.