SHARM EL SHEIKH AIRPORT  Passenger Reviews and Traveller Reports

SHARM EL SHEIKH AIRPORT customer review :  22 March 2010 by R Josey   (UK)

Customer Rating :  1/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Always get transfers arranged, on arrival with two or three dozen taxi's outside trying to arrange a trip of 8 km fights broke out between cabbies] fighting to get the fare, charging between 100EL and 400EL - about £13- £45 for this short trip. Even the local buses try to rip you off, and every one expects to be tipped heavily.

SHARM EL SHEIKH AIRPORT customer review :  18 March 2010 by David Newson   (UK)

Customer Rating :  1/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

If ever the term 'Hell on Earth' was a fitting appellation for an airport lounge it should surely be most aptly applied to Sharm el Sheikh Egypt. The queues for the check in desks seemed to be endless and hardly moved. We timed our wait at just two minutes under one and a half hours and this on a Sunday night at 10 pm. Then there was the charade of security, which the Egyptians approached with their usual laid back, casual manner. The men at the scanners barely glanced at the screens which meant that bottled water was waved through as were cans of beer. The body scanners were constantly bleeping due in my case to a brass buckled belt and in my wife's to a metal knee plate. This seemed to cause the operators much amusement as they again waved us through with a charming smile; all this before the unsavory toilets and departure lounge. After a brilliant holiday at a five star hotel this shock to the system decided us never to face this degrading experience ever again.

SHARM EL SHEIKH AIRPORT customer review :  20 January 2010 by A Willis   (UK)

Customer Rating :  1/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Our first experience and one not to be repeated. We arrived at 3am and for a flight of 240 people there was one person on passport control, despite others just hanging around. It took for ever to get through. Return much worse. No info as to where to check in, boards were out of date, we were told to join one queue which turned out to be wrong. It was total chaos despite staff hanging around everywhere doing nothing. Surprised that we didn't get asked re liquids etc and we all took water etc through. No-one picked up on it. The endless queuing was a farce and there was no-one supervising anything. Departure lounge looked like a scene from a horror movie with people covering every inch of the floor space. All departure boards were wrong and we had to rely on occasional announcements that were in very poor English and other passengers to find out what was boarding where. The toilets were more than disgusting. Its a shame but I cant see myself ever wishing to visit Sharm again.T he authorities need to sort this out and soon.

SHARM EL SHEIKH AIRPORT customer review :  17 January 2010 by M Wood   (UK)

Customer Rating :  2/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Total chaos from the moment we entered departures. No indication as to which check in desk to use and people slipping up on spilt water. The queues at each desk were at least 50 deep. Toilets disgusting. No one person seemed to want to take charge, and more worryingly our luggage was not weighed or searched as we boarded the plane 10 mins after handing it over.

SHARM EL SHEIKH AIRPORT customer review : 7 December 2009 by M Robinson

Customer Rating : 2/5

The lines for passport control and in and out much better than I have experienced in the past. However the shops and catering are appalling. the shops have no or little prices on them. The best bit is that everything is priced in US dollars. What's that about other than to rip you off as no flights go from Sharm to the US. It is profiteering of the worse kind and the Egyptians need to sort that out. Often people take the first and last impressions of a country as their binding memory, being well and truly ripped off is what they will remember.

SHARM EL SHEIKH AIRPORT customer review : 29 September 2009 by P Simpson

Customer Rating : 4/5

Travelled on the dreaded "mad Thursday" but it was quick and efficient. Arrived and there was a queue just prior to getting into the terminal building but went straight to the queue for no visa (Sinai Only) then went straight through Passport Control. Waited about 10 minutes for suitcases to start and arrive. All in all about 30 minutes to leave the building. On return journey, a slight queue whilst going through detectors (with suitcase as well as hand luggage0. No queue to obtain flight ticket and leave suitcase. No queue through passport control although it took around 10 minutes to get through security. Word of advice, Sham airport has also adopted the no liquids in hand luggage policy. Only problem we did encounter was the information monitors showed our flight had departed when it had not boarded and panicked us slightly. A pleasant experience and a lot less hassle and kiosk than other airports have travelled from. Staff very keen to keep everyone moving to keep things moving quickly.

SHARM EL SHEIKH AIRPORT customer review : 23 June 2009 by Lynda Johnston

Customer Rating : 5/5

Just returned from Sharm El Shekh and experienced no problems at all. I think this might be due to arriving/leaving on a Wednesday. Thursday seems to be worse day. Too many flights arriving/leaving at the same time. We were through passport control within 5mins. Be prepared when you arrive tho' - you're greeted by a man in a mask/white gloves etc asking you to complete an H1N1 flu Form, declaring you have no known symptoms. Otherwise, no problems at all.

SHARM EL SHEIKH AIRPORT customer review : 11 May 2009 : by Paul Bunker

Customer Rating : 1/5

I wrote about this airport in February 2008. It was bad then and it still has not improved. I travelled from Newcastle on a Thursday with Thomsons and I suspect a previous contributor was right when he called it 'crazy'Thursday. The Newcastle flight was fortunate in being the second to arrive but with 30 minutes some 6 or 7 other planes landed and everyone behind us was snared at the visa desk and it was bedlam. I have never seen a scene like it in my life. I understand some people stood for 2 hours or more waiting for the entry visa. Fortunately we went on a cruise and came home from Ebiza airport a much more civilised experience. Sharm is a shocker so be warned.

SHARM EL SHEIKH AIRPORT customer review : 12 March 2009 : by P Blakey

Customer Rating : 3/5

We have travelled to Egypt now for 7 years and have noticed a gradual improvement every year. The most important thing at Sharm is on departure be aware of what time your flight departs and be aware that flight calls are not always made clearly and gate info is not always displayed accurately on the screens. Go through in departures at least 3/4 hour before departure and keep an eye on whats going on.

SHARM EL SHEIKH AIRPORT review : 21 November 2008 : by K Wills

Customer Rating : 5/5

Having just missed a check in with Easyjet, one of the airport officials kindly managed to get us on a flight with another passenger carrier one hour later to London. He also helped to carry my bags. He was so courteous and polite and a credit to the organisation.

SHARM EL SHEIKH AIRPORT review : 10 October 2008 : by June Wilkinson

Customer Rating : 2/5

Very nice airport, but ladies toilets look like they have not been cleaned since the building was opened! Not the best memory of my holiday - due to the fact that our departure was delayed six hours you had no option but to use them. The men on plane said that the gents was just as bad.

SHARM EL SHEIKH AIRPORT review : 7 August 2008 : by Paul Harvey

Customer Rating : 4/5

Arrived and return to LGW via this airport (Terminal 2). Was pleasantly surprised - arrival was an example of efficiency and speed, visas dealt with quickly, bags arrived equally fast. Customs check on exit was hardly noticeable. Perhaps this speed was assisted by the fact that we were the only flight arriving at 10 pm on a Saturday night. Check-in on departure was fast although they were trying every method possible to find charges for excess baggage. Short queues to get airside, plenty of space, sufficient so that one could get away from the smokers. Duty free prices are in US Dollars and not really worth the cost or effort - stock up on the way out. Only complaint - water airside costs 24 times that landside and they work the "I have no change" fiddle extremely well with a polished "take it or leave it" attitude.

SHARM EL SHEIKH AIRPORT review : 29 July 2008 : by Vittorio Tenerini

Customer Rating : 1/5

Very busy airport. Despite recent modernisation, the airport is still too little to contain the tourists. Queues at the check-in are terrible - it's all a mess. At the gates the same scenario : too cold because of the conditioning and a crowd too chaotic.

SHARM EL SHEIKH AIRPORT review : 16 July 2008 : by Arthur Mahieu

Customer Rating : 1/5

If there was "no star" to fill in, I would take that one! Customs, not polite, rude etc. Buying in duty free shops = mob practices. They say they don't accept Visa and you have to pay cash. Then they take a currency rate which is sky high! Don't let them get you!

SHARM EL SHEIKH AIRPORT review : 3 June 2008 : by S Hill

Customer Rating : 1/5

Sharm El Sheikh is an airport full of bureaucracy. In order to fly out from Sharm El Sheikh you need to go through not one but two x-ray machines. Your passport is checked twice and stamped. The staff in the airport can be rude and unhelpful. Baggage handlers do not treat your cases with any care or respect. If you pay in anything but Egyptian Pounds expect the total sum to be loaded - just because they can.

SHARM EL SHEIKH AIRPORT review : 29 April 2008 : by Lynn Mayo

Customer Rating : 4/5

Including getting the visa we were through the airport in about 25 minutes, from landing to getting into our coach. The staff were very friendly and polite and beat quite a lot of other airports I have been through. Just one word of warning for the smokers! Whilst waiting for the luggage I spied a door to the outside world and went through it for a cig, leaving my daughter to watch for the cases. I wasn't allowed back in. A lot of people were kicking off about it but when you think about it - if you left the baggage collection area at Manchester, went outside then tried to get back in, you wouldn't be able to. So, my feelings are - just go with the flow, don't fret about the airport and enjoy your holiday!

Sharm El Sheikh Airport review by J Kennedy

23 April 2008   Customer Rating :

From reading previous reviews I can only think it is luck or the day you travel. We arrived 9pm Sunday and departed 5pm Wed. Avoid Thursdays if possible as it is known locally as 'crazy Thursday' with 25 UK flights alone. Arrival experience was 10 mins max from leaving plane to getting into car including getting a visa! No queues or crowds. All thanks to the swift service of Sylvia Tours guide. Departure experience also swift check-in, passport and security. Duty free and departure gates not crowded. No hassle. Toilets not brilliant, several loos out of order, but have seen much worse in UK. Asked by Ministry of Tourism rep to fill in a long questionnaire which we did so they are trying to put things right.

Sharm El Sheikh Airport review by L Norman

11 April 2008   Customer Rating :

Arrival was lots of shouting and pushing around. Departure very overcrowded both before and after security. Go into the departure lounge all seats taken and people all sat on the floor - didnt end up buying any duty free as far too cramped. The toilets had no loo roll and not very clean and the departure boards were showing the wrong information (flights showing as left when they hadn't).

Sharm El Sheikh Airport review by M Scott

28 March 2008   Customer Rating :

Just arrived back from Sharm El Sheikh and found the airport a very pleasant experience going in and coming out. The airport staff were very niceand we had no trouble getting a seat in departure.

Sharm El Sheikh Airport review by Sandra Asher

19 February 2008   Customer Rating :

Departure marginally worse than arrival. Waited almost an hour for luggage to appear and told several different carousel numbers. large numbers waiting to get visa's and through passport control. On departure long wait at check in, duty free shop and departure gate. No seats available, filthy toilets. Never want to repeat this experience.

Sharm El Sheikh Airport review by Paul Bunker

19 February 2008   Customer Rating :

I travelled through this airport going to Newcastle on a charter flight, - just about the worst airport I have had the misfortune to use. The crowds to pass through security, checkin, passport control are disgraceful and you don't have hope of getting a seat in the terminal or cattle market as it can be described. The cost of food and a drink is also outrageous, use this airport at your peril.