Albeit the last few times I've been through the queues have been short and I've not even used the pass

Sydney airport immigration is always a disaster, with little care for premium cabin passengers.

Also, is there an Express Path at arrivals? The sign seems to be on top of the only exit that everyone else uses, so it all seems a bit pointless.

so its not my imagination, that so-called priority line gets very blurred with non fast track pax. those attendants that man the lines are the ones to blame, they just keep ushering anyone into the supposed priority queues.

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How can pax on already booked connecting via SYD Qantas flights (eg MEL-SYD-XXX) allow for extra time"?

My tix are issued, I can't change them without a costly penalty.

Thanks NOT SYD for making the process even worse than your existing process is.

At least I hope you have requested Qantas to allow connecting pax a free change to earlier connecting flight?

I always accessed the express pass lane through the main entry to the hall anyway (I rarely fly qantas so I’m coming from higher lettered check ins)

Have a look at your taxes and other charges on your ticket. Mine are often 3 digits. Some of that is what the airport charges us! The more expensive your tickets, the more your charges are.

I’ve ALWAYS allowed 2 hrs to transfer at SYD. If the airline website doesn’t show that option I call the airline. (No booking change because it’s their faulty website).

I also do my best to avoid SYD. One shoddy add on after another. Disgusting design, disgusting layout, disgusting airport facilities.

Do what HKG did. Build a state of the art airport woth enough capacity for the next 59 years of traffic growth AND with high speed train connectAND CLOSE KINSFORD!

The scene in the T1 departure hall after the check-in counters resembled something more akin to the throng at a train station in India. The “queue” started at the single immigration hall entry (near the rear of Row D counters), stretching all the way through the landside food court area, out to the far end of the departures hall after Row K Check-in counters to where a maze of temporary queue barriers had been set up, then back through the food court area towards the rear of Row C Check-in which was the end of the queue. There were hardly any airport staff assisting outbound passengers through the confusion, I saw many airport staff standing around bemused by the situation and taking photos, when they should have been helping?

Total chaos ensued. Rude queue jumpers attempting to cut in line were being shouted down by other people farther back in line.

My airport arrival timed to allow for breakfast and a chance to check and respond to emails in the QF lounge was cut to zero, necessitating heading directly to the gate just in time to board my flight.

Another #epicfail for SYD “International” Airport. Not happy Jan!

I have just confirmed with Qantas that despite them requesting at

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/travel-info/travel-updates.html

that eligible passengers should "allow additional time" at SYD international, they will not allow connecting (DOM to INT), even already ticketed, passengers to actually do that without charging a standard flight change fare penalty.

So: Request pax to "allow extra time" but don't allow transit pax to actually do that (by changing to an earlier connecting flight) without a substantial charge?

Great work Qantas! (not)

Here is the Qantas request:

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/travel-info/travel-updates.html#sydney-international-airport-

But if you are a Qantas domestic connecting passenger, that "allow extra time" request must be done at your expense. You can't change to an earlier domestic connecting flight for free.

Nice Qantas! (not)

Pretty poor of Qantas. They said "no free changes to an earlier domestic connecting flight to a SYD international flight unless it's airline initiated". I pointed out that the airline (Qantas) is actually asking their pax to "allow additional time" on their website - which seems "airline initiated to me".

Request pax to "allow additional time" but then charge them for doing that.

Absolutely shocking from Sydney Airport. How they can’t create a temporary express pass is ridiculous. To be greeted by police yelling at passengers has to be a new low for this airport.

I won’t even mention the usual traffic chaos (dam I just did!).

I am simply astounded by the lack of common sense from the airport aithority in planning all of this! And QF's response to assisting passengers with their connections, knowing that this going to be a huge problem, is sumply disgusting.

All that Qantas has do is to offer similar to this:

'Already ticketed Qantas domestic to international connecting passengers can move to an earlier connecting flight without penalty, subject to seat availability, in order to "allow additional time" at Sydney International Airport.'

But they have so far refused to do this.

Hopeless of them!

Thanks for the update David.

Im traveling on Wednesday 28/8 and would be eligible to use the express pass in the early morning.

When Sydney airport says opens next week, do you know if this going to be ready on Monday or Friday?

Small mercies. A softening of the blow the delayed QF Business lounge refurb delivered earlier today.

Reading the comments has been the highlight of my day.

I went through Sydney International Thursday 29th August and Express Lane was still not open yet

I went through on Aug 31 and it was indeed up and running that day. I couldn't find the separate Express Path entry for passport control and it looked like there was just a single entry point to get there (and it looked nice too) but the express lane for security screening was operational.

Has anyone been through in the last day or two? Flying Sunday and wondering what to expect.