ADELAIDE AIRPORT review : 29 April 2008 : by Andrew Scott

Customer Rating : 4/5

For a small city airport, Adelaide's new Terminal 1 is great. I have been to many airports in the US, big and small, and they are all the same. Adelaide stood out to me, it is new, light and fresh. A small selection of cafes, newsagents and shops makes killing time possible. The airport is very easy to navigate yourself around: Check in upstairs, Baggage Collection Downstairs. A small Qantas Club Lounge is available for members and is quite nice, although small. Check in is easy with many staff around to help. Security lines were minimal.

ADELAIDE AIRPORT review : 1 November 2007 : by Teresa Tyler

Customer Rating : 4/5

We have only used the domestic terminal at Adelaide but found it very light, spacious and clean with good facilities. A nice experience.

Adelaide Airport by Mike Young

23 October 2007   Customer Rating :

Arrival international still just as bad as the old terminal. Forty minutes for luggage to arrive on carousel. Overzealous customs staff repeatedly asking questions to same passengers including myself and travel partner due to us waiting 40 minutes for our luggage and foregetting who they spoke to! Queues for the exiting customs x-ray too long and with trolleys became disorderly and many impatient people pushing in or not joining the queue. Complete lack of on ground staff besides customs to direct passengers.

Adelaide Airport by Gerry McGuinness

25 July 2007   Customer Rating :

The long term carpark is an absolute aberration, apology signs everywhere saying there is no more room, the payment machines dont work and there are no boom gate staff. Add to that the fact that you have to go to Departures to pick up the Arrivals shuttle bus otherwise you have to negotiate traffic, roundabouts, landscaping etc to find your way to and from the car park in the event that you can not find the bus - millions spent on the airport and the long term carpark is something out of Fawlty Towers.

Adelaide Airport by Henry Tib

25 May 2006   Customer Rating : n/a

Had my first experience travelling on a regional airline from the new Adelaide terminal. It would seem that when they designed the new terminal, they forgot about the regional air passengers. The departure "gates" for both the regional airlines are situated at the extreme end of the terminal, requiring a fair walk, although you can enjoy for part of the way a 50metre travelator ( though not sure it works) . When boarding you have to be escorted by the flight crew down a number of stairs to the exit for boarding. Regional air passengers returning to Adelaide airport again have to be escorted by the co-pilot to the terminal building, through a concrete passageway, then go through airport security and return to the upper level departure area, through a door that is well away from the designated arrival area shown on the monitors, to depart the terminal. nterstate passengers have to walk down two ramps to the aircraft, and it would seem for speedier boarding, passengers seated at the rear of the aircraft are directed to walk across the the tarmac to the rear steps of the aircraft. A procedure no different from the old terminal. Adelaide airport had a great opportunity to build a 21st century air terminal, it would seem the opportunity was taken up!

Adelaide Airport by Donald McKelvie

6 May 2006

My first visit to the new Adelaide airport and what an improvement on the old one. The only thing I found to be annoying was that there is no Qantas Club in the international Lounge, and I could be wrong but I could find no monitor relating to international flights in the domestic Qantas Club. I assume that there is no QC in the International lounge because there are not a lot of international flights. Other than that, very nice and spacious with plenty of views of the airport and city. A big improvement.

Adelaide Airport by Anil Kattula

6 May 2006

There have been many complaints by regional passengers about the new Adelaide terminal. Long walk, up and down stairs and through long claustrophobic metal walkways which are not airconditioned and flood in wet weather. REX (regional express) is in a big fight with Adelaide airport management about this and has threatened to move back to old domestic terminal. REX have also proposed bussing arriving passengers to the old international terminal but Adelaide airport wont let them! All regional councils in South Australia are demanding Adelaide airport does something quickly to fix the situation. Until then strongly suggest that unless you are young and fit avoid flying regionally through Adelaide!

Adelaide Airport by P Major

18 March 2006

The new Adelaide Airport Terminal opened on 7th February, not a moment too soon after several months of delays due to a contaminated refuelling system. The new terminal integrates regional, domestic and international flights all in the same building. The new design is light and airy with floor to ceiling windows along the southern side gate lounges. These boast outstanding views to the Adelaide Hills and city, undoubtedly the highlight of the building. The terminal also boasts fourteen Spanish built aerobridges, the first of their kind in Australia and the first aerobridges to be used by domestic passengers in Adelaide. All in all, an excellent new terminal that will provide a great new gateway to South Australia

Adelaide Airport by Ben Williams

13 March 2006

The new Adelaide terminal in finally open and a lot better than the old domestic and tragic international terminals. This new terminal is well sign posted and easy to get around. There are a few tenancies still being filled. Checking in is painless as is collection of luggage when arriving. Overall a vast improvement of the pervious terminals.

Adelaide Airport by Michael Smyth

21 November 2005

What a missed opportunity! After all the hype leading up to it's official opening, it was disappointing to use the new Adelaide terminal for the first time last week. The "International Arrival experience" is just as frustrating as it was in the "old tin shed'. It took 40 minutes to clear immigration, with further queues for customs checks. I realise that Adelaide is not a major international destination but surely some extra capacity could have been built in the new terminal's design.

Adelaide Airport by Penelope Hackett-Jones

21 April 2005

I love the old-fashioned feel of Adelaide's domestic terminal, specially getting out of the plane and finding myself in fresh air at last. This is all going to change, I'm afraid, when the ubiquitous airbridges are installed, making arriving in Adelaide the same as arriving anywhere else. It isn't so long ago that they had a cattle grid at the entrance to the car park! The international terminal is simply vile at present (April 2005). A huge queue at the check-in section, even though all counters were operating - a total of about 10 altogether. Could they be just terribly inefficient in Adelaide? Or super-security conscious? Arrival back at the international terminal is similarly dreadful: exhausted pax who have hung around at Darwin or Sydney for a few hours in the middle of the night have to wait in another very slow queue with those hard to steer trolleys . Let's hope all this improves when the new terminal is completed at the end of 2005! Personnel there are amazingly friendly and cheerful, given the difficult working conditions that they have to put up with. And the airport is really close to the city, a big plus these days.

Adelaide Airport by Jeffrey Abbott

19 January 2005

Adelaide International airport is a very small airport. Upon arrival, it always take me up to one hour for Customs clearance and quarantine check-up. The belt is too short in the international terminal. On departure, check-in was ok. But the customs clearance took quite a long time. As what other has mentioned, there is no enough seats in the terminal. Ground officers are friendly, kind and helpful. Looking forward for the new terminal.

Adelaide Airport by James Short

5 December 2004

Check-in for QF flight took under 5 mins and Qantas staff were very helpful in checking baggage through to LHR. Terminal is small, but functional. We passed through 9am-10.30am on a Thursday. Clean, ample toilet facilities, small cafe and bookshop. Good facilities for size of Airport. New Terminal building well in progress and I believe set to open 2005.

Adelaide Airport by T Dames

31 May 2004

Flew into ADL from MEL - found ADL domestic to be somewhat outdated compared to other Australian airports. No aerobridges in domestic terminal and only a handful of gate lounges - pax have to board / disembark via airstairs. Poor signage on arrival and only a small baggage claim belt. Old check-in counters and a small whiteboard at check-in area for flight information.

Adelaide Airport by Benjamin Lau

23 March 2004

Adelaide International Airport is very small (one aerobridge only; but that's going to change very soon). There's not much to do at this airport. The one advantage of this airport is that it is just 5 minutes from the CBD. So usually I go to the airport just one hour before departure. Check-in can be quite long if you arrived 2 hours before departure. The airport is clean (due to the size). Adelaide Domestic Airport is pretty average. The airport is actually quite dirty, probably due to the influx of people in the airport every hour. There isn't enough seats though. Check-in is quick. The only disadvantage is that the international and domestic terminals are far apart. It takes a short ride to either terminals though. Can't wait for the new merged terminal.

Adelaide Airport by Neil Harvey

12 February 2004

Adelaide International is like a big bus station with just 5 gates and no airbridges. It's quaint and friendly and beats big brother Melbourne hands down.

Adelaide Airport by Janet Harcourt

22 August 2003

Adelaide International is a small airport with very personable, Aussie-friendly staff. That includes the immigration, customs, quarantine and airline officials. Adelaide's small size makes life just fine for the traveller - the staff all seem to know each other and I'm sure that if anything did go wrong in this very efficient little place it would be sorted out with good humour and co-operation between the officials. The time taken from leaving my aircraft seat to being seated behind the drivers wheel of my rental car was a mere 15 minutes. It was a further 15 minute drive to my downtown hotel where the staff were equally friendly. If you are planning to visit Australia, plan to arrive in Adelaide - but don't tell anyone else about this little gem! It's a pity that international flights into Adelaide are limited and only arive from SIN, HKG and KUL. ADL Domestic, like most Aussie airports, is very efficient. There are flights every hour to SYD and MEL and plenty of non-stop flights to many other Aussie cities. Officially, you need to be there 20 mins before your flight time but I checked in at the QF Club Lounge (carrying only hand luggage) just 10 mins before flight time. Unlike other Aussie airports, ADL Domestic has no airbridges and really needs a complete rebuild - something the staff told me is about to happen. That said, it is very clean, comfortable enough and the QF Club Lounge is just fine. It has 54g wireless access points for web surfing on your laptop - a nice touch.

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