Domestic To International Transfer At Saigon

As I said in the previous article, let us continue my travel, this time just transiting at HCMC to get out of Vietnam, onwards to Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia.

Note: I keep saying Ho Chi Minh City or HCMC or Saigon, they're one-and-the-same! Saigon is the old name, Ho Chi Minh City is the new name, HCMC is the abbreviation.

But the 3-letter IATA airport code did not change. It is still SGN.

Anyway...

My DAD~SGN flight was a bit late, so transfer activities didn't allow me enough time for my usual chechebureche (shooting pics here-and-there) as I transferred terminals!

Per ticket, ETD DAD was 1125H, but at DAD airport it became 1150H. That's already a 25-minute delay. When you have connecting flights, 25 minutes is already serious.

Well, we sometimes just include in our prayers that "sana lang" there would be a tail wind to push the plane faster. I did just that (nagdasal), for what else can I do, di ba?

Ah, the winds-of-change did not hear my prayer this time hehehe. Per ticket, my ETA SGN was 1250H, but our actual touchdown was about 1315H. Still 25 minutes late.

Did I misconnect? No naman. Ako pa! But it became a critical transfer period, that I did not have time to wander around. ETD of my flight from SGN to PNH was 1440H.

Remember, as I said above, actual touchdown SGN was 1315H. Touchdown pa lang yun e maglalakad pa sa arrival. Buti domestic flight ito, no arrival immigration to do.

I only had an hour and 25 minutes from touchdown until takeoff of my international connecting flight, that was on a different airline, at a different terminal, na nilalakad!
There there! That's a screenshot from google maps! Look at the red line I drew. That is approximately a 300 meter walk. If you ride, it will even take longer (kasi iikot pa).

Note: Domestic (T1) is all ground level, International Departure is at 3rd level (T2).

Kuyaw and kulba moments! Sayang, no pictures nor videos. Critical brisk walk!
That's another screenshot from google maps. Domestic is at left; International is at right (the red arrow); and you walk via that handsome covered walk (white arrows).

Listen to this my dear travelers: my issue was not actually the departure time of my connecting flight. It was the check-in counter closure - which is an hour before ETD.

Qatar Airways check-in counters close at one hour BETD (Before Expected Time of Departure). Since ETD was 1440H, they should be closing those counters at 1340H.

Therefore, I only had 25 minutes from Vietnam Air's touchdown at 1315H, my walk from domestic arrivals to international departures, up until I reached their counters!

Gosh! And that.., was why I needed to rush. Whew! Umabot naman. Ako pa!

Let's review for some lessons learned:
Most airlines recommend at least 3 hours if you are transferring from a domestic to an international flight. Did I follow that? No hehehe! Per tickets, my total connection time was not even 2 hours - it was 1 hour and 50 minutes (ETA:1250H ETD:1440H)!

It was "a gamble". Huwag tularan!

But if my flight from Danang to Saigon was not delayed by 25 minutes would it have been fine? Yes! Kaso nangyari ang di inaasahan at pinaka-iiwasan. Ayan, muntik na!

Besides, you should only dare do what I did if you already know your way around all the airports involved. Never book shorter transit times if you're not sure of your way.

Will I do it again? Sa dami ng causes of delay nowadays... probably no, not again!

All was well and ended well anyway.

Let's talk about my flight from Saigon to Phnom Penh.

Next!

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