drajknox

I personally find it a shame that members of this forum are not encouraging you to visit Auckland City, to experience a different atmosphere and some of the sights. We should want you to spend some of your overseas currency enjoying our biggest city and hopefully encourage a revisit. I wonder how many of those who so dutifully point out that you might be breaking a rule send the police voluntary payments every time they drive over the speed limit - If the authorities decide to charge you an entry fee when you return through security so be it but why should you go out of your way to change your ticketing when you were unaware of what is a relatively minor issue and booked in good faith. I hope whatever you do in New Zealand you have a good time

KiwiJC

I agree with Drajknox here - it’s incredibly unlikely you will encounter any issues leaving the airport and spending the day in Auckland. I’m sure hundreds of people do this every day & ive never heard or seen a case of someone having to pay a fee on a transit ticket.

Enjoy your time in Auckland and your trip it Business Class, I’m sure it will be great!

libertyuk

Exactly, it is officious nonsense.

Almost certainly nothing is going to happen to you, I've had long transits in various cities and gone into town instead of spending a whole day at ANY lounge. Go and have fun in Auckland, just fill out the arrival card for being in Auckland for a day, have fun in Auckland and when you get back go through the NZ premium check-in area up the lift to immigration and security, and enjoy the lounge.

ENJOY yourself, the Air NZ lounge in Auckland is not worth spending 14 hours (or half that)

deeruck

A question for those in the know: Is there actually an issue with checking luggage through and exiting the airport? I've done this myself when connecting in SYD to visit family for a couple of hours, and I can't see it being an issue in AKL. (Assuming that Carol Darby has a passport that allows entry to NZ without a visa)

sbiddle

I don't think anybody is discouraging the OP from visiting Auckland. At the end of the day the OP just needs to be fully aware that what they want to do is not technically allowed.

Continually ringing Air NZ and/or the airport to clarify everything that is posted on here is not going to clarify anything. It's merely going to create confusion and it seems the OP has only confused themselves by doing this.

As for checking luggage right through and exiting the airport the only issue is the fundamental one already discussed - that being in transit you technically are not allowed to leave the airport because you have not paid entry and exit fees as part of the airfare.

At the end of the day the chances of anything happening are incredibly minimal. Like anything else in life however if you do cheat any system you should (and need to be) fully aware of the consequences.

If I was in the same situation I'd certainly be leaving the airport and heading into the City.

kyanar

The main issue is apart from the technicalities of whether you've paid for biosecurity clearance or not (bearing in mind what I previously mentioned about how transit pax undergo the same security procedures but it isn't included in the ticket price, so what's the point of charging it to terminating pax) if you fail to get back in time, and the airline has to offload your baggage which has already been loaded into the hold, this can inconvenience hundreds of people.

Which is to say, yeah, be aware it's not technically allowed but noone is likely to stop you, and the chances of being hit up for the fees is infinitesimal (in NZ, anyway, some countries are very different). But if you do it, be very sure you can make it back to the airport and clear security in time.

Other points of note: larger shops take credit cards, smaller cards may not. So you might be advised to carry a bit of NZD out of the airport with you, as despite the signs saying "EFTPOS accepted" everywhere, that is not the same as the Australian "eftpos". Uber is probably cheaper than taxis. Be aware of frequent roadworks on the airport access roads, which may impact on travel times. There's no train to the airport, a source of constant complaints to Auckland Transport and Auckland Airport.

SeaProf

I know it's not convenient for everyone, but traveling with just a carry-on could alleviate some of the issues.

codyc1515

Echoing what is said at the bottom. I just read a report from MPI which states that the cost for processing of in-transit passengers is currently borne by passengers that are not. I have requested the numbers of passengers that entering in-transit, even though they theoretically should not be, under OIA. With that said, enjoy your trip to AKL!

curioustill

I've never seen any arrival cards at the airport. Where are they placed? Or do you have to make sure you get one on the plane?

Kiwi Flyer

The wall opposite immigration counters/smartgate kiosks has arrival cards if you did not get one from the airline. Almost always I have gotten an arrival card from the arriving flight (most airlines do this onboard and a few do this at check in or the gate when boarding). Sometimes (rarely) they forget to hand them out or run out.

Markhm

Ok, my advice. Carol, you are wasting time by asking questions on this forum and getting the best advice about AKL and then calling AIrnz, who are only as good as the person with whom you speak. You clearly have not flown often (and that is fine) but let's not get into a tango or else this thread will go on for years.

deeruck

In a number of places (here's an example), NZ state that "crew and transit passengers to international destinations within 6 hours would be exempt". This is different from what the Customs website says, but suggests that NZ collects the fee for transit over 6 hours.

kyanar

The underlying legislation does not include the 6 hour mention. It simply declares any passenger who does not report to a customs officer exempt.

Curiously, the Border Processing Levy account is currently in surplus, so I wouldn't feel too guilty about heading out and exploring a bit if you have the time (unless you're one of those people who doesn't like to break laws no matter how silly they are, in which case don't because it's technically unlawful).