straniero

hello all,
I thought I saw a thread on this topic but cannot find it. So here it is...

I will land in Tunis next saturday at 9:35 from Jeddah. I have a connecting AF flight at 5 pm which is a lot of waiting, and have the possibility to buy a ticket with AZ for a flight at 11:15 - boarding 10:45 approx, in J so with access to skyprio (I am also FB Plat so should have SP prio in any case).
As the flights are on two different PNR I cannot print the AZ boarding pass before I get to Tunis.

My questions,
1. can I pass the transfers with just the phone boarding pass or I I must show up at the counters to get a printed pass?
2. is there a ticket printer or a way to print the BP before the transfer security control?
3. it's risky, but is it doable to leave airside / go to the SP counters / go through security again in 70 minutes?
4. is there a chance security control will make a fuss about me leaving airside and getting back in straight away? I will keep the old BP as well to show it and 'justify' myself of course

I landed in Tunis yesterday and was out in 10 minutes, and today it took me 40 minutes to go from printing the BP to passing through security so I know that technically point 3. is feasible... but your feedback welcome. I know this also heavily depends on the incoming flight from Jeddah, it has to be on time.

In the worst case scenario I will just spend 6 hours in the lounge.

thanks!

michaeldovecharlie

I am doing this exact itinerary today (JED-TUN-CDG). Air France did not give me a boarding pass on the app unfortunately. I can’t find much info online about printing a BP airside in TUN but i will report back if i find something.

ozymandias24

1. can I pass the transfers with just the phone boarding pass or I I must show up at the counters to get a printed pass? & 2. is there a ticket printer or a way to print the BP before the transfer security control?

From past experience, you cannot print the boarding pass before transfer security control, and all the officials at TUN make a huge fuss about not accepting digital boarding passes under any circumstances. It is really annoying. However, I will defer to @michaeldovecharlie on these questions, as they will have more current information than me!

3. it's risky, but is it doable to leave airside / go to the SP counters / go through security again in 70 minutes?

I'd agree that it is risky. All depends how many immigration officials are on duty, and how many other flights are leaving at that time. I have been stamped out of the country and been airside in 15 mins before, but have also waited in a queue at immigration for 90 mins plus. I would take the 5pm Air France flight, head out of the airport and do some actual exploring. I contributed to a similar discussion with ideas for a less than one day layover in Tunis here.

4. is there a chance security control will make a fuss about me leaving airside and getting back in straight away? I will keep the old BP as well to show it and 'justify' myself of course

They are unlikely to care about this, as long as you have a printed boarding pass!

michaeldovecharlie

Hello from the (mediocre) TUN lounge,

1. can I pass the transfers with just the phone boarding pass or I I must show up at the counters to get a printed pass?

No. TUN does not do mobile boarding pass ever and AF wouldn’t even give me one. I did ask if I can print the pass airside to a resounding NO.


2. is there a ticket printer or a way to print the BP before the transfer security control?
I was told no.

3. it's risky, but is it doable to leave airside / go to the SP counters / go through security again in 70 minutes?

I did my whole process in 60 mins from gate open to lounge. My SV flight was 4.5 hours late and arrived at 1:30PM and i made it to the lounge by 2:30PM with having gone in and out of Tunisia and passed controls. They did pull me aside at customs (My Canadian passport drew suspicion of cannibis) and searched all my items for about 10 of these minutes.

Note: I did a RT CDG-TUN on AF and a TUN-JED on SV. When i arrived on the AF in the morning the lines for immigration where MUCH longer, and they airport is quite crowded in the morning.

4. is there a chance security control will make a fuss about me leaving airside and getting back in straight away? I will keep the old BP as well to show it and 'justify' myself of course

A chance ? potentially. Personally the just stamped it and that was it. I was prepared with my previous BPs.

Enjoy your SV flight (and cheap XPs)

straniero

thanks michaeldovecharlie ozymandias24 for your replies.

everything considered i will run the risk and try my luck. if it goes well... ok, if it doesn't i'll enjoy 6 hours in the TUN lounge (which I agree is mediocre at best).

cheers!

straniero

update / data point: landed at around 9:10, no one at border control, 1 person at checkin counters, 2 people in my queue at security control to get airside again, 5 people at baggage security. Took me in total 30 minutes from disembarking the plane to sitting in the lounge.
Absolutely great and well beyond my expectations, but I have the feeling I've been lucky. I was told it could be due to the ramadan (less people flying) but I have no way to verify that. Traveling in biz also helped (I was the first to disembark) although it has no effect if there are long queues at security control due to other airplanes landing before.

Overall a very good experience in TUN, too bad for the complete lack of lanes for business class or elite passengers. Not that it mattered this time - but it could other times.