I'm flying to Sydney via KL next week.Staying in the airside transit hotel for 4 hours. Can I buy duty free gin or should I buy in Heathrow?
It's cheaper at Heathrow or was last year.
ok thanks
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38,987 posts
360 reviews
413 helpful votes If you do buy in LHR, where you can normally get more deals and more choice as well, don't take it out of the sealed bag when you are in transit.
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58 reviews
57 helpful votes Unless you are packing it away in your checked in luggage you won't be able to bring anything more than 100ml from Heathrow. You can purchase from KL though and have your duty free delivered to you at the gate. Australia has a strict policy on liquids :) sorry.........but there is a great selection of alcohol and cheap at KL (we found this out when we came from Rome back - all that limencello and not one drop we could bring back via duty free)
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How is it ok for OP to buy in KL and not Heathrow?
If you buy your alcohol in Heathrow AND if you collect your luggage at KL and then check it in again before flying to Sydney, you will have a problem getting your duty free through security. As far as I am aware ALL international flights have a limit of 100ml of liquid at the security scanner (not just Australia). Therefore you would have to make sure you put your alcohol into your checked luggage or you will have it taken off you.
It would be easier to buy the duty free in KL airport as you would already be on the other side of the security check when you purchase it. I think the current allowance into Australia is 2 litres per person.
We were on a flight last year which was cancelled due to mechanical problems after we boarded. We had our duty free with us and everyone had to leave the plane and collect their luggage. We were put up at a hotel overnight and the next day before checking in to our new flight we realized that we could not be able to take our duty free alcohol through the security scanner and onto the plane with us. We had to put it into our checked baggage and it was fine.
" As far as I am aware ALL international flights have a limit of 100ml of liquid at the security scanner (not just Australia)." - not the case. If you purchase Duty Free in, say, Heathrow, leave it in the sealed package with receipt attached, you can take that on board as hand luggage through to, say, Kuala Lumpur, then, again as long as it is left in the original sealed bag, on again as hand luggage to, say, Phuket. We do that every year. Oz, I understand does not allow this on incoming flights. We've seen Aussie passengers buying Duty Free at KL and Bangkok only for it to be confiscated at the gate. Now I think Duty Free shops won't sell it in KL if you present a boarding card for a flight to Australia.
Sorry Arandora but we travel extensively and were in KL last year and on every trip we bring duty free alcohol back home. Always declared, never had it confiscated.
Of course you can take it on board your flight as hand luggage if you have already passed through the security scanner and purchase it in the duty free stores on the other side. Which is what we always do.
If you are in transit with a connecting international flight and do not leave the boarding areas then yes, you can take it onto your next flight. However if exit the area with your duty free alcohol, you would not be able to take it back in through the security check because you are only allowed 100ml of liquid at any international airport.
I would certainly be interested to know on what grounds anyone arriving in Australia has had duty free alcohol confiscated.
Thanks to all for comments. Will report back in a few weeks.