PISA AIRPORT review : 9 September2008 : by A Macdonald

Customer Rating : 2/5

I have to agree about the chaos at Pisa Airport - both arrivals and departures have been the worst airport experiences of my life. On arrival, we had to wait in a queue for 40 minutes on the tarmac, in baking hot temperatures, to get to security. Then another 45 minute wait to get the shuttle bus to the car hire terminal, then another 45 minute wait to get to the Hertz desk. On departure a week later we made it through check in, no space in departure lounge so went straight to the gate, then sat at the gate until an hour past our departure time with no word as to what was happening. Eventually a passenger who spoke Italian found out that the baggage handlers had gone on strike. After another half hour we were told there was a 4 and a half hour delay to our flight. The lack of communication, as well as the airport being too small for the number of flights using it, means I will think very carefully before using this airport in future.

PISA AIRPORT review : 19 August 2008 : by John Gawthorpe

Customer Rating : 2/5

I wish I had read these comments before travelling. The facilities are sadly as grim as others have described. The infrastructure is simply inadequate for the volume of passengers. The arrivals / baggage reclaim experience was hideous - we feared the worst when we saw the queue to leave the tarmac and enter the building, then bags were assigned to carousels seemingly at random: too many bags, arriving so slowly for too many people in too small a space. Then we too suffered the horrors of the interminable queue for the shuttle bus. Airlines should pre-warn their customers of what to expect. The best advice would be to ensure all your bags have wheels, then walk round to the car hire place. Only about 350 - 400 metres I reckon. Over 15 different firms operate from far too small building; our experience leads me to recommend Europcar: they had a ticket based queuing system, so you could dive out of the melee for water etc. Departure was similarly fraught. The air of nonchalance of the check-in staff, as check-in time came and went with no clue as to which desks were about to open was irritating. As was the overcrowded departures hall and the bizarre repetition of the Ryanair embarkation route announcements over the PA. We were on Easyjet, but the hordes responded with random queuing etc as others have reported. A good word for Easyjet - their service was impeccable on both journeys - but they and the other carriers should play hardball with the Pisa airport authorities.

Pisa Airport by Steve Darby

14 August 2008   Customer Rating :

Mixed views of the airport - the queue for the hire car bus in 33 degrees and followed by an even longer 1.5 hour queue at the Budget car hire desk was not a pleasant experience, (Avis and Hertz seemed better at clearing customers through the process) but is that the airport's fault or the lack of customer care from the hire car companies. The airport itself was east to get in and out off- the facilities land side were good for a regional airport (have you ever flown from the shed at Coventry!!) but a little disappointing air side - so called 'duty free' was rip off! Not as bad as I was expecting based on other people's comments - just wished I'd known it would have been quicker to walk to the hire car building rather than wait in sunshine for the bus!

Pisa Airport by N Richardson

3 July 2008   Customer Rating :

Great location. There is a rail station outside with trains to Pisa central and on to places such as Florence. Buses also stop outside. The motorway down to Rome and the Tuscan coast is also very close. Announcements were in Italian and English. A few shops and cafes and toilets dotted about the place. All the car hire outlets are a five minute shuttle bus ride away in an air conditioned building.

Pisa Airport by John McGorman

28 May 2008   Customer Rating :

Pisa airport seemed small and a little old but generally fine - my main concern was security; I accidentally ripped up my boarding pass (confusing my outbound & return e-boarding passes). Somehow I managed to get through security until that point with the wrong boarding pass.

Pisa Airport by D Matters

10 March 2008   Customer Rating :

Pisa Airport road construction is still not finished. The parking station is always full - there's simply too little parking available. The hire-car pick-up and drop off is via a bus service and check-in is slow. Very helpful lady at the help desk but the terminal has few shops and little food. If you're flying EasyJet back to Gatwick as we were doing, make sure you buy your in-flight food well before you arrive at check-in. Of course no water is allowed through security - but don't buy any more bottled water after security or they'll take it away too! Toilets at the gates are abysmal - one toilet to service all the passengers waiting for a 737.

Pisa Airport by S Chantry

4 October 2007   Customer Rating :

Pisa Airport on arrival the luggage collection area was a total sham. Crowded with no information it became an adventure game to try and find which carousel the luggage arrives. The toilets are to small and the queue was long so if you need to use the toilet you are in for a treat. The car rental area has now moved and is about 250 yards from the main terminal building and is accessed via a free shuttle bus service, expect long queues here also. Forget the shuttle bus if you drop the car off early, it's an obstacle course of a walk in the dark. Will they ever finish the road works? On departure also expect a long queue as the customs and baggage search fiasco starts where rules are made up depending on their mood. A total farce in my opinion. If you are buying cigarettes and drink get them in the supermarkets prior to departure.

Pisa Airport by M Maude

11 September 2007   Customer Rating :

I flew from Pisa Airport in July, the flight was two hours late departing. It was a Saturday morning and busy with scheduled and budget carriers, the place was chaos - the reason for our delay? 'they didn't have enough buses to transport passengers from the terminal to the aircraft'. I flew from Pisa again on 8th Sep - late again - the place was chaos, again. Reason for delay? 'they didn't have enough buses to transport passengers from the terminal to the aircraft'.When are the carriers going to get a grip on the airport management? They accept the fees from the passengers/carriers but do little to improve the service, why? because the alternatives are so limited and they don't care? - Florence is too small, Bologna too far away, as is Rome - the place is a nightmare at busy times.

Pisa Airport by Dave Wharton

28 February 2007   Customer Rating : n/a

Small but convenient. Almost in the town near the rail station. Word of caution, when you pass immigration etc. to go upstairs the only facilities are vending machines and toilets, don't expect bars and duty free shops.

Pisa Airport by Tim Mortimore

21 November 2006

Just a note on arriving. If you are going to Florence or anywhere by train and your not on your own. The queue for train tickets soon builds up, so while one of you wait for the bags the other one should shoot out and get the tickets to save queuing for 20-30 mins. Train service is excellent.

Pisa Airport by Sam Simpkins

27 October 2006

Pisa airport has good connections, but is too small for its traffic, and totally disorganised. If you are leaving from there, do all your shopping/eating land-side, as once through the security there is very little, and even less in the way of seating accomodation. One lady last weekend was loudly bragging about the bottle of spirits she has got through security, and just as loudly sharing with her friends. Another was soulfully relating how security had relieved her of several bottles of olive oil she had been bringing as presents. Patchy security service, then. We were due to leave from Gate 22, but access was restricted until 30 mins before departure, when we were allowed through to an upstairs lounge with no shops, but loads of space and seats! Why didn't they just do this earlier and relieve the crush downstairs? As a final fling, our departure was delayed 15 mins because it was raining - apparently the ground handling staff were taking longer to move things about!

Pisa Airport by Arjan Klijnsma

25 September 2006

Pisa airport is far too small for the number of passengers using it. Upon arrival, we found the queues at the car rental desks horrendous (at least 2 hours waiting time). The departure area was totally overcrowded, the number of the check-in counter(s) for each flight were only announced two hours before departure, which resulted in passengers running and pushing towards the counters the minute the number appeared on the screen. Seating was insufficient, especially before security check. We were travelling with two elderly ladies with walking difficulties, but nobody could tell us where we could get our reserved wheelchair until we queue-jumped at the check-in counter. At security check we were asked our destination (Amsterdam), then all our carry-on bags were searched and I was lectured about having a bottle of sunblock in my bag ("didn't you read the notice: no liquids if you travel to USA or UK!"). Patiently tried to explain that Amsterdam is not in the USA or UK. On the plus side, I found the staff very helpful, wheelchair handling was excellent and access to the airport is good. However, overall the airport is too overcrowded and I certainly doubt if I would want to use it again.

Pisa Airport by Daniel Mori

8 February 2006

Pisa was a fine airport in the 1990s, when only a few airlines served it and the Italian Air Force was the largest occupant. The facilities have quickly become obsolete as civilian air and passenger traffic increased rapidly in the past 5 years. Easyjet, Ryanair, Windjet, Hapag Lloyd Express and a number of other lowcost carriers have added numerous flights and destinations. Security lines can be frustrating - though many airports share the same problem. The gate area has recently been expanded but seating is still insufficient when too many flights leave at once. Sometimes overcrowded, the sense of confusion and chaos is often conveyed by the boarding process of airlines with no seat assignment, with passengers standing in (questionable) lines well before boarding starts. Luggage delivery times are ok if there no more than two flights arrive simultaneously. Otherwise, the small carousel in a small area makes the long wait very unpleasant. Overall, an obsolete airport, but it could be a lot worse: ground transportation is very good. Pisa city center is nearby, a train and a bus service link the airport to Florence.

Pisa Airport by John Dobson

19 December 2005

Pisa has an excellent location - just 2km from the town. Connections exist to Florence by bus and train (just over an hour) while locally the bus number one goes through the centre of the town for just 85 cents. There is also plenty of clear information with regard to this at the airport. Check in was rapid and the organisation of flight boarding good.

Pisa Airport by Cristiano Rosetta

1 July 2005

Pisa is a lively and nice airport; even though it isn't very big, it is very busy. Especially during the summer period. There are a lot of low cost airlines serving there connecting Tuscany with all Europe. The airport is just a few minutes by bus from the town centre, and has its own train station from which it is possible to get to Florence in just one hour. Despite the fact the the airport is quite busy, the flights are usually on time; check in may last a bit, so I suggest to go to the airport at least one hour and half before the flight is due to take off. Definitely one the best way to travel from U.K. and the centre of Italy.

Pisa Airport by Michael Mulholland

11 May 2005

Pisa remains a very user friendly airport in many ways. However, beware of one thing. There are now a large number of flights departing to the U.K mid morning and, as at early May 2005, neither security nor passport control was ready for this. The upshot was that there was such queue at passport control that passengers on the Ryanair flight to Liverpool could not respond quickly to the last call or boarding, the flight missed a slot it had for an early departure and, in fact, left 20 minutes late. A very small glitch as the flight actually arrived only a couple of minutes late. However, as the number of flights and passengers increase through the summer, this looks like a problem that is going to increase rather than decrease.

Pisa Airport by Rob Weeks

27 July 2004

Small airport with a surprising amount of cheap flights from UK (and elsewhere). On arrival, luggage was delivered efficiently, and on departure everything went smoothly too. The restaurant/bar landside has a nice outside veranda. Only complaint is the length of the queues at the car hire desks.

Pisa Airport by W Jackson

26 May 2004

Pisa has a railway station with connections to most of Tuscany. This makes it the best airport for most things in the region, with regular connections to Luca, Florence and Pisa itself. Moreover, because it's at the end of the line, there's no chance of missing your stop on the way back. That said, the shops and restaurants are lack lustre and the railway station could be better signed (turn right for tickets and left for the trains, and don't forget to validate your ticket).





 

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