As anyone from USA travelled through moscow SVO airport recently?

Question

I am wondering how long I should allow to get through baggage claim and customs when I arrive In Moscow. I am trying to plan a domestic flight once I arrive and need to know how much time to allow.

Answer 1

You have three major airports in Moscow, Sheremetyevo 1 (SVO1), Sheremetyevo 2 (SVO2) and the new airport, Domodedovo. Do NOT go to Domodedovo. Your local flight is going to be out of Sheremetyevo 2 (about 20-30 minutes from the international airport Sheremetyevo 1 - depending on traffic). Domodedovo is on the OPPOSITE side of Moscow and will take you two hours to get to SVO2 from there. When you land, it will take you about half an hour to to an hour to get through imigration (it bottlenecks a lot and tends to get crowed with other airline passengers). Baggage is delivery is quick.

YOU WILL NEED TO LOCK YOUR BAGS WITH A TSA APPROVED LOCK BEFORE YOU FLY THERE. Doublely make sure that your bags are locked before you check in at SVO2. Thievery is rampant there. If you don't have a lock, they have a shrink wrapping service that will wrap your bags in theif proof plastic wrap for 10 rubles. So far, I have only ever lost a CD player that I had stuffed in a hurry in an outside pocket of a suitcase.

You will need to take a taxi to SVO2. You will need to understand some rudimentary Russian. Very few people speak English in Moscow and NOBODY speaks English inside the country itself.

You will need to be at SVO2 an hour before your flight. So allow an hour to get out of SVO1, 30 minutes for a taxi ride, and an hour before your SVO2 flight --

Answer: 2 1/2 hours minimum... Best to make it 3 and sample the "peeva" or beer while you're waiting for your flight at SVO2 and to cover any delays.

Check in is wierd at SVO2. They have stricter weight limits and quite often your bags will be over these limits. You can often work a deal with the baggage handler for extra rubles (the person at the ticket counter will do this for you - she'll speak some rudimentary English). They start boarding your russian flight as early as an hour before takeoff because it's a bus ride to your plane. Don't carry a lot of carryon for this flight... perhaps your laptop bag (if you have one) but nothing bigger. There's not a lot of space on the Tupelov planes.

Tip: Upgrading to first class on Russian flights is cheap. Go to the ticket counter for your airline and aks how much first class is:
"Skolka peervoy class?" -- this may not be grammatically correct, but they'll understand. If you don't understand Russian numbers, tthey'll type it out on a calculator for you. First class is worth the money.

If you're on Aeroflot, quite often you'll get boeing aircraft. If you're on another airline, you'll get the usual Tupelov aircraft -- loud and fly like fighter jets -- really fun. The windows are also bigger. If you fly at night, look for the northern lights, they're dazzling from 35,000 feet. Economy seating is a little rudimentary on the Tupelovs, but adequate. Make sure you go to the toilet before you get on the plane. The one on the plane isn't very sanitary at times.

I hope I answered your questions... To finalize once more.. make sure you land three hours before your domestic flight.

Good luck and enjoy Russia if this is your first time... Keep an open mind. You'll find the Russians have more in common with us than you think. They're a little stand-offish at the start, but become lifelong friends when they warm up to you. Never turn down hospitality and never turn down alcohol at a dinner party. It's customary and considered impolite if you do (unless you're muslim or have a heart condition).

Answer 2

I haven't travelled recently, the last trip I made was in the end of May. That time (the flight from China) the buggage arrived fast enough. But there is another thing to worry, I think. If you will need to change to domestic flight, you should know that there two SVO's : Sheremetievo 2 is int'l, Sheremetieveo 1 is domestic airport, the distance between them is 30 minutes by car, if there are will be not so many traffic jams. But Moscow has 3 more airports( 2 of them domestic, and one is domestic+int'l). They are Vnukovo, Bykovo, Domodedovo (domestic+int'l). I recommend you to come to Moscow at least 4 hours earlier than your domestic flight departure. The issue is not luggage, but Moscow traffic jams to switch from one airport to another.

Answer 3

Although not very recently, but my mom travels regularly and she says that time varies dramatically, but you should count for 1 hour at least and it can be more than that - depending on the number of flights arriving together with yours.

I guess you know that domestic flights leave from another terminal, even if it's SVO too.

Answer 4

arsnalups description of shery is incorrect i think of. i in my opinion discover the airport no longer too undesirable. As for leaving the airport you will decide for a russian visa, yet no longer that confusing to acquire, yet no longer properly worth it while you're basically staying for 9hrs. it takes approximately 1hr to get from the airport to the centre of city counting on site visitors