NICE COTE D'AZUR AIRPORT review : 5 July 2008 : by R Mwangi

Customer Rating : 1/5

My experience at this airport was traumatic. I arrived at around 1:15 via an Emirates plane from Dubai on the 23rd of June. My passport was duly stamped, I proceeded to customs. I am from Africa so I guess my colour called attention to me. The customs officers took me to a separate room where they emptied my bags, read all my documents, asked me all questions that could come to their mind, stripped me, made me pee in cap as they watched, tested me for drugs without my permission and later gave me a form to sign (by force, to say that I had consented to these tests). My experience at this airport has made me hate the French - that was my first encounter with these country. I am not surprised the French have to invest so heavily in counter terrorism activities - they bring on themselves.

NICE COTE D'AZUR AIRPORT review : 7 June 2008 : by Erich Koller

Customer Rating : 3/5

Arrived and left from NCE this week in the old terminal 1. Overall the airport has improved a bit from a couple of years ago, however the check-in is rather chaotic with only a few counters per flight, leading to long queues. Restaurants in terminal 1 are okay, nothing special though. Also went to terminal 2, newer and better with less congestion and better restrooms. During peak times, certainly NCE airport is no place to stay for long.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by Tom Halpin

1 November 2007   Customer Rating :

I fly through this airport regularly and find it perfectly OK. A tip. If there is no queue at the non EU passport line we always use it and have never had a problem. We use online check in with both Easyjet and BA as the Easyjet lines can be long and the staff can have a somewhat Gallic couldn't care less attitude. After queuing for half an hour for Easyjet I was told no hand baggage, not even a mobile phone, because of a security alert. Luckily I was able to call my wife as checking in a computer and a cellphone are not really an option. I can recommend the Paul stands at T1 and T2 for excellent sandwiches and amazing macaroons and pastries. We usually stock up there as the BA and Easyjet food is nothing to write home about. Both terminals are clean with working AC, and my wife loves the free champagne in the lounges. Worth keeping the Priority pass going just for this she says. We usually find Alamo the cheapest and easiest car rental.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by R Lindsay

6 July 2007   Customer Rating :

T2 is inadequate for the volume of people passing through. There are insufficient seats, only one cafe (again with insufficient seats) which with typical French bureaucracy has a queue all the way to the poorly stocked Duty Free shop. Car Rental desks would be a joke if you didn't have to queue in them - taking 10-15 minutes per customer to process.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by B Wainwright

3 July 2007   Customer Rating :

Flew into Nice T2 from Liverpool to have a 45min wait for passport control, the problem was only one person checking the EU only queue and two people checking the non EU queue but there was no one waiting for non EU?. The baggage to a further 20mins to arrive so over an hour for luggage. The return wasn't much better - firstly security was poor with a lady in front allowed to take liquid through, which is banned. After passing security T2 is very poor with no seating available and a very poor selection of shops / dutyfree. The only positive was the swift easyjet check-in.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by David Chown

20 June 2007   Customer Rating :

The new Terminal 2, really makes Terminal 1 look "tatty". Much less crowded and smooth handling. My main criticism is that the "kiss and fly" drop-off lane has a concrete kerb on both sides so you are stuck in it until the cars in front leave.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by Mike Preston

26 February 2007   Customer Rating : n/a

Things have improved. Terminal 1 in particular is a better and less claustrophobic experience now that many carriers have moved to T2. However T1 is showing its age, many of the seats in the airside holding area are still so filthy that I would not wish to sit on them. If there is a problem in keeping them clean, then the covering material should be either something cheap and replaceable, or plasticised for easy cleaning. Luggage delivery and check in are both faster. Boarding announcements are often inaudible or unintelligible or both. The prices of the catering facilities in both terminals is a scandal, about €3 for a small bottle of water. This is daylight robbery particularly now that one is not allowed to take one's own water through security. Why can't they have drinking water fountains? The answer is obvious - rampant greed. This should not be allowed.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by Mark Wadham

5 March 2006

It is always a pleasure to transit through this airport. I've seen it improve over the years. The management of the Paris airports should come here and take some lessons on how to run an airport. They certainly need to. Or even better they should be sacked and replaced by the Nice management, but then perhaps Nice wouldn't be so good.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by Michael R Preston

6 November 2005

Nice Airport, 2030 last Friday night. Three Easyjet flights to UK leaving within 20 minutes of each other between 2130 and 2150 from T2, plus at least one other international Non Schengen departure, so perhaps close to 500 people. Queue stretching halfway across the terminal and back again. 25 minutes standing in queue. ONE passport official on duty. This is a fairly normal situation and one I am told the airport authorities have taken up with the Police (who provide the passport officials), and who refuse to do anything. could probably live with that if it were real security, if they were checking passports, if the process made us safer. Our passports are all in leather covers, as I handed them towards him he waved me through without even looking inside - the covers could in fact have been empty. Is this security? The seats in the departure are filthy and tatty. Not surprising when you see how people use them. I saw one man sitting there picking his feet in full view of everyone. Non smoking zones are treated as a joke, and this airport, supposedly the gateway to one of the world's prime tourist areas, is pathetic. Luggage delivery times are unacceptable too.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by W Pierson

8 August 2005

The airport is fine, fairly clean, and easy to use. I fly out of here once about once a year. My only current complaint relates to a pre-check-in security inspection on a recent international departure. We had purchased a small (12 cm across), very fragile ceramic plate on our trip. We carefully packed this plate in our carry-on luggage. During a hand inspection at security the inspector demanded that this plate be placed in our checked luggage since it could be used as a weapon (she motioned how you could hit someone over the head with it). Believe me, it seemed an incredible concept that you could injure someone with this small, thin, incredibly fragile plate. Yet, the inspector persisted and we anxiously placed the plate in our checked luggage. The amazing thing was that in the duty free store in international departures (long last the final inspection), the place is selling huge, strong appearing ceramics which one really could use to cause damage.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by Michael Bruter

23 May 2005

Nice has always been my favourite airport because of the beautiful views (both when you land/take off and from the terminal) and its friendliness and lounges, but now, they show they are innovative too. Their 'Airport Premier' system puts to absolute shame larger European airports such as LHR and CDG which I use most often. Now, if you fly at least 10 times a year out of Nice, you'll get a speedy (separate Airport Premier line) and extra-secure (biometric tests etc) security control as well as number of discounts in the shops and restaurants and reserved parking areas close to the terminal entrances. This is what I call intelligent and efficient customer service. By contrast, I fly out of Heathrow at least 20 or 30 times a year and never feel privileged in any way: queues tend to be long at security, food is expensive, etc. CDG where I transit most often is hardly better.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by Inez Priestley

11 May 2005

In the terminal which deals with flights to and from Edinburgh the number of shops and their contents are very few. It is also disappointing that in a French airport the selection of French beauty products and French perfumes is so poor. On the positive side the airport is both extremely clean and comfortable which is one of the reasons that I will be passing through it in three week's time.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by Andrew Bennett

26 April 2005

I agree with the (mostly) positive comments about this airport which, despite its size, feels friendly and is clean, well-maintained and beautifully situated. My only small gripe is that a long wait at car hire offices is often necessary - the numbers of staff do not seem to relate at all logically to periods of high activity. but once you have the car - and have negotiated some eccentric signing around the roadworks close to the airport - you're quickly on your way on the excellent autoroutes du sud.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by Wilhelm Henke

2 September 2004

Overall the Nice airport offers good facilities. The homepage is good, you can get a lot of information there. The only thing I have to criticise are the restrooms. In the Schengen-Area I found only one small restroom, there is another downstairs but without a hint. So passengers sometimes have to wait.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by Michael Bruter

7 June 2004

Nice is undoubtedly my favourite airport all round! Both terminals are lovely and offer beautiful views of the runaways and sea, the airport is only a short 20 minute cheap bus ride from town, the lounges are great, staff surprisingly pleasant across airlines. The airport is both large enough to offer many services and small enough to be pleasant and friendly.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by Alessandro Severi

2 June 2004

The main problem with Nice airport, which is a major problem with many french airports is the fact that some of the luggage reclaim area is open and it is even easy to get inside the closed one. I saw a passenger simply opening a door and getting in (no staff around) and getting back out with the trolley. Terminal 1 has not got this problem but believe me it is very annoying arriving with a flight and picking up luggage with a lot of people around. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of stealing went on, a person can simply get in the open baggage reclaim area and pick a piece of luggage up.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by Mark Evans

20 October 2003

The extension to Terminal 2 is an outstanding piece of architecture - spacious and airy, and bathed in the Azurean sunlight. Even this jaded cynic was impressed, for the horrors of CDG have engendered a particularly virulent cynicism regarding French airport design, but much thought has gone into making the NCE T2 experience a genuinely uplifting one. From the waiting areas, one has a clear view of the Promenade des Anglais. Indeed, if one is travelling lightly, it's only a walk of 70-80 minutes between emerging from the airport and sitting down to a cocktail at the Negresco Hotel.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by M Devor

15 August 2003

The immigration hall is too small for non-Schengen flights, which are few in all fairness, and they had 2 officers clearing everyone. One passenger with a visa problem could be catastrophic for everyone else coming off a long flight from NY. Baggage was fast and customs, as usual in France, was easy. I felt that the cost of the taxi to the hotel was too expensive - I definitely felt ripped off. The taxi back to the airport upon leaving was much cheaper. Be warned there are taxi touts in the arrivals hall trying to get you to take their more expensive ride to the city. The airport is a perfect medium size and is easy to get around. The lounge airside (non-Schengen) was quite nice with good snacks. As they have divided the airside areas into 2 components: Schengen and non-Schengen, they have created 2 small and confining areas. I would prefer one large departure hall with access to all the shops and lounges vs. being restricted to one area where I wouldn't want to spend too much time. The int'l passengers enter the airside via the Schengen hall and then enter the int'l area via passport control. The Schengen pax have no access to the int'l area. I am curious to see what the new terminal will be like.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by M Gorissen

18 September 2002

It is always a pleasure to arrive at Nice airport. Luggage always quick and then off to the palm trees. Check in facilities are very well. In the busy period the main departure lounge seems to get a bit crowded, but the C class lounge is beautiful, with many choices of snacks and drinks.

Nice Cote d'Azur Airport by Luigi Vallero

09 September 2002

Nice-Cote d'Azur Airport is the ideal gateway to enter the Riviera. Located in a beautiful setting of gardens and palm trees, and overlooking the Baie des Anges, a few other airports can boast such an exceptional location. The terminals are very compact and rational, though Terminal 1 is now showing a little bit its age, and doesn't offer many shopping possibilities. Soon, anyway, there will be a new extension to Terminal 2 and I'm looking forward to see the amenities this new facility will offer to passengers. The airport is very close to downtown and you can actually access it in 5/10 minutes by taxi. If I have to mention an inconvenience, well that's the schedule of the direct bus to the city centre - if your flight lands in Nice after 10.30 pm - and there is quite a number of flights arriving then - you'll be possibly waiting the bus for 45/50 minutes as it's only running at hourly intervals then. Pity, for such closeness to the city to waste all that time waiting!

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