What are the procedures for transferring flights at Ho Chi Minh airport if my baggage is not checked through?

Unless you are in transit you need to exit pick up your bag off the carousal and reenter. You should remain in transit if you are with the same carrier right through to SUVARNABHUMI. Ask someone if you are not certain.

@Robert *******

I need closure! Did you get to Thailand? 🤞

I came into SGN airport 2 days ago at 10 am. Big warning, the immigration queues took 1 and a half hours to clear, there was massive queues and heaps of people. Also if you need visa you can buy it online and it cost $25 usd for it. This is the correct site, I used it myself and all good.

You need to obtain an e-visa for Vietnam. After Covid things changed. I did the reverse trip to you 18 months ago. BKK-HCMC-MEL

Thinking again, there actually still exists one escape!! It doesn't save you the entire flight plan but it does save you the intercontinental flight from Australia to HCMC. Decide for yourself if you're happy with the following backup.

Vietnam actually has two types of via exemption. One is general visa exemption for the whole country, but as we have now established, you don't qualify for that. The other type, you DO qualify for: visa exemption for only Phu Quoc. It requires flights to Vietnam and then Phu Quoc in particular, and flights exiting Vietnam within 30 days. Interestingly, although international flights to Phu Quoc do exist, getting those is not the only thing they allow for. There is another option: having an international flight to HCMC or one of the other two main airports in Vietnam, and then having a separate journey booked from there to Phu Quoc. If you do this, an immigration officer will tag along with you after you arrive. He will carry your passport while you get your bags. Together you'll go to the domestic terminal, where he will check you in to Phu Quoc. You can't enter Vietnam mainland this way. But, you CAN get your bags without getting a visa for Vietnam.

So in your case, making this work requires booking a flight from HCMC to Phu Quoc, which is really close, and then another from Phu Quoc out of Vietnam. That might then as well be to Bangkok. So with this you'd not lose too much time and money getting to Bangkok.

The only thing that can save your flight at this stage is getting an agent with turbo speed. There are some that offer same day service. I think they have connections in the right place to be able to. But obviously you need $$$ to make it work.

Previously when the Vietnamese visas that are now evisas were still "on arrival" visas, many were caught out by the visa name. Some airlines then linked up with such a turbo agent offering passengers this option. Agent could guarantee the visa approval before landing, which in the airline could accept to allow boarding. I think however that this backdoor option no longer applies with middleman procedures no longer being the default. You now just need to show an approved visa. But as you don't have any other options either, you may as well head and see if they can do anything.

If it's the same booking for both flights, with the same airline on the same ticket, your hold luggage will automatically be transferred onto your connecting flight, when you check in at the start of your journey in your home country, just ask the airline check in staff if your luggage will be automatically transferred, they will confirm 100% yes or no.

sounds like you are traveling on 2 different airlines and no luggage agreement between the 2? maybe a transfer counter at SGN when you arrive....and see if they can set up luggage to forwarded to 2nd flight carrier.

If they're two separate tickets and you're an Australian national then you're not boarding the plane to Vietnam as you need an e-visa.

Yeah, don't panic it's with the same airline so just produce the 2nd ticket when booking in at Brisbane and they will check your luggage through to Bangkok 😊

If both flights have same booking reference then most be likely can be forwarded without collection to final destination. You will be an international transit passenger

But you if not, you will have to go through immigration. Collect bags and reenter

If you have a flight in two steps you will get two boardingcards! Fi flying emirates paris to Bangkok. You get a bordingcard paris to Dubai and a bordingcard Dubai to Bangkok. !

I just came back from bangkok to Brisbane on philippine airlines transit in manila. I had to pick up luggage. And had to do security again.not happy.other major airlines I have been with no problem.

You need a visa for Vietnam as an Australian - there are agencies that do “introduction letter” that enables you to get it “on arrival” but most are a couple of days. Probably some that can turn it around in a few hours - not sure.

@Hau *******

?

Around the world

Wow it's getting more and more complicated to fly somewhere . And I noticed I found a flight by the time I booked it it almost dubbled in Europe the more question i answer, the more money been charged

Tickets (plural) suggests that you have separate tickets, the likely cause of the issue on your chosen airline (also, it’s not uncommon for LCC’s to operate point to point only). Tonight when you check in, ask the staff to through-check you and your bags all the way to BKK. If they will not, ask them about the airside Service Desk location in SGN, where you might be able to check in for your next flight and arrange for your bags to be grabbed from the Arrivals carousel and reunited with you (I have no experience doing this in SGN, however most international transit airports have such a process, to allow you to remain inside the airport, but it will still depend on whether your airline uses this facility). Failing that, yes, you will need to arrange for a visa on arrival in SGN, exit, grab your bags and check in again. Good luck.

I'd check with airline asap about baggage. So did they or you book 2 separate tickets?

Presumably a discounted ticket. Some agents will sell these, where you have to recheck yourself in, and so you do need to go throught Vietnam passport control, collect your luggage and recheck in. But it gets worse. You need visa on arrival to enter Vietnam. And how long are they giving you in Ho Chi Minh? If you have more than, say, 3 hours before your next flight after getting your luggage, you won't be able to check it in, because the desk will be closed. So, you either need to sit with your luggage for a few hours, or check it into left luggage, and decide if you have time to venture outside of the airport. I looked at the times for the overnight flight; it arrives at 5am, so FA will be open.

I have no idea why your baggage wouldn’t be checked through to your destination because usually using a transit airport they would be.

If your purchased two separate tickets Brisbane to HCMC and another onto Bangkok then that would explain it, but on one ticket it should be checked through.

If you are certain it won’t be then you may have a bigger issue in that you will indeed need to pass Vietnam immigration to collect the bags - which means you would need a visa. Assuming you have an Australian passport, Australia is not on the list of visa exempt countries. Your airline almost certainly will not let you board the plane if you don’t have a correct visa.