LED - ST PETERSBURG AIRPORT

Page 1 of  1

  Add a Comment to Airport Forum

St Petersburg Airport by Sally Fraser

31 July 2007   Customer Rating :

Pulkova 1 and 2. Arriving at Pulkova 1 from Frankfurt by Lufthansa. Many pax without baggage and total chaos ensued. No English speaking local or Luft. rep. to explain procedure (ie first fill in customs declaration for your missing bag and only afterwards they will attend to it). One tiny little office with a long queue where they log your suitcase and give you a printout with a telephone number on. However, this number is never answered and even if they find your suitcase, no one bothers to let you know. On the occasion when this number is answered, if you cannot converse in Russian, they simply put the phone down. You have to keep going to the airport to see if your case has arrived. These people do not speak any English and couldn't care less about your plight so if you cannot speak Russian, do not lose your suitcase! Leaving Pulkova 2 for flight to Moscow was a total joke. There are no signs to tell you even how to get into the airport or where to go once inside and checking in to Aeroflot is a free-for-all. Airport is dingy, grim, very confusing and to be avoided if at all possible.

St Petersburg Airport by Yevheniy Kahanovych

17 July 2007   Customer Rating :

Arrived to and departed from Pulkovo 1 on domestic flight. The facility is old, shabby and very disorganised. It especially concerns to security staff and procedures. Non-working sliding doors, lots of steps up and down on the way of people with luggage, no understandable signage, no escalators, outdated fleet of buses, no airbridges, dark and tiny departure lounges... My bag arrived damaged. Lost and found desk gave no explanation on how to claim for compensation, just asked me to wait for about 30 minutes, because they had "shift handover", then they told me that I shouldn't fly to Russia with expensive bags. On departures you can only find a tiny bar airside with lots of vodka, but with no apple juice. Two coffee machines were also working. Very poor building condition, very poor management, very shabby facility from old soviet era. This is the only big airport in the city, so you have no choice but to use it.

St Petersburg Airport by Hartmut Grünheid

6 September 2005   Customer Rating : n/a

As i travelled on regular base nearly 30 years to Russia, i see the development of "Pulkovo Airport" very positive. Dont worry if you see long lines in front of the passport control: when you'll ready there it takes only a few steps behind them to get your baggage from the belts, take just the green way out and you will be in Russia and in a Brandnew Receiving Hall. Small ist beautyfull in the way that it is a airport of very short distances.

St Petersburg Airport by Eric Norton

6 September 2005

The international departures hall in use at Pulkovo-2 before 2003 was smaller and more cramped than desirable for one of Russia's most-visited cities, but operations were still efficient, despite the lack of space. In 2003, a brand-new departures hall was built for the airport, which is stunningly beautiful, clean, and efficient. Security is done before checking-in and passport control, but all desks (even passport control!) were quick and easy to get through. Ample space for everything, and beautiful construction inside. The arrivals hall is well laid-out and easy to follow, even for travellers worn out from their journey - it's impossible to make a wrong turn, even on your first visit. (Of course, those who don't understand Russian may have more of a disadvantage.) Passport control can be long, but manageable, because at least the line keeps moving. Luggage pick-up is immediately beyond passport control, and from there, it's a short journey to the exit hall, which is smaller than it should be, but still fulfils its purpose. There are three entrances at Pulkovo-2. On the far left is the arrivals hall where you wait for the passengers. In the center is the entrance to the old departures hall, and on the right is the direct entrance to the brand-new departures hall. The only major complaint I have is the road to the airport itself - once you turn off from the main prospect, it is only a two-lane country road that desperately needs to be expanded to deal with all the traffic that uses it. Also, micro-bus drivers will stop only at Pulkovo-2 if specifically asked; otherwise, they will simply drive only to the domestic-flights Pulkovo-1 terminal instead.

St Petersburg Airport by S Jackson

9 June 2004

St Petersburg airport is quite unlike any other airport I have used. The unfamiliarity is intimidating, but in fact it is well organised, once you get used to the system. The system is back to front: the key lesson is that you cannot do anything until your flight is called. You pass through passport screening and security checks before being allowed into the departures hall, and then go direct to the check-in desks where you will be processed immediately. There are only 6/8 desks which means a queue - but you don't have to walk far, and the queues are always moving. Russian border controls have a bad reputation, so the feeling of disorientation adds to a feeling of nervousness. Add to that the characteristically brusque and sullen staff and it all feels quite intimidating. But don't panic. It's actually very well planned, and efficient: just unlike anything you've done before.

ADD YOUR COMMENTS BELOW

IMPORTANT NOTE

Comments and opinions contained in these pages do not represent the views of Skytrax. All features contain unsolicited input from site visitors, and we seek to exercise the minimum level of editorial control and censorship to ensure the widest debate and platform for customer opinions. We will not publish submissions that contain abusive language. We do not guarantee to publish all opinions submitted.

ADD A COMMENT

If you want to make a comment about this Airport, please use the box below. This is only published if your name is supplied.