MOSCOW SHEREMETYEVO AIRPORT review :
15 April 2009 : by Sergey Chikmaryov
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
Simply terrible. I hate this airport, it's dirty, small without any comfort, there is no place
to sit, you have to wait for ages for passport control or luggage than you fly in. Rude and
useless staff. Of course, you can use Domodedovo but what should do unlucky ones who (like me)
must use SVO because there is no other way to fly from Moscow to some destination?
MOSCOW SHEREMETYEVO AIRPORT review :
15 April 2009 : by Yevheniy Kahanovych
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Customer Rating : 1/5 | |
T2 is like return to old Soviet times. Dark, claustrophobic, inefficient, overpriced, tired
and not clean. The only place which is bearable is their new railway station with direct rail
link to the city. The station is airy and has some places to seat down and relax (Starbucks
etc.), so would recommend to stay there as long as possible. Then give yourself 10 mins to
reach terminal 2 and at least 2 hours to check in for shorthaul flight. Remember not to rush,
because their security is incompetent, very slow and become too happy if they can delay you
somehow. Layout is idiotic, especially on arrivals, and nothing can be easliy found there. The
pluses were fast immigration with no lines, train link to the city and Aeroflot check in staff
who were nice.
MOSCOW SHEREMETYEVO AIRPORT review :
15 April 2009 : by C Dunlop
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |  |
If you like looking at tall beautiful women, this airport is great, as you will see many of
them working in the duty-free stores. If you enjoy being ignored by said women and anyone else
who works here, you're in for a treat. As other reviewers have said, this is an airport to be
avoided at almost any cost. Dull, dirty and expensive. The coffee shop girl gimped us on our
change when we paid in euros, giving us rubles and making up her own conversion rate it would
seem. The only people who even tried to be service minded were the 2 little old ladies selling
newspapers. Ground crew shouted at us as if we were naughty 4 year olds. Our gate number was
changed 3 times in less than 2 hours, with no real explanation why or if it would change
again.
MOSCOW SHEREMETYEVO AIRPORT review :
12 February 2009 : by R Hayes
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Customer Rating : 1/5 | |
I am based in Moscow and have to use Sheremetyevo airport on a weekly basis to travel around
Russia and to destinations in former soviet union. It is an absolutely loathsome place and to
be avoided if at all possible. It is without a doubt the worst major international airport I
have ever been to. Immigration at terminal two can often take one hour. Terminal c is somewhat
better. My advice to anyone coming to, or passing through Moscow is use Domodedovo airport in
the south. It is overcrowded, but much more user friendly. It also has a good, frequent and
cheap train connection to Pavaletskaya station in central Moscow. If you do have to use
Sheremetyovo at any time except the weekends you are also advised to use the railway to
connect to down town area. I have frequently spent in excess of two hours trying to get in to
Moscow on the dreadful traffic clogged Leningradsky highway.
MOSCOW SHEREMETYEVO AIRPORT review :
12 February 2009 : by Hector Torres
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Customer Rating : 2/5 | |
I am a frequent flyer to Moscow, specifically SVO 2: These are my tips and hopefully they
help. When Arriving to SVO2, make every attempt you can to get to passport control before
anyone else does. I say this because the lines are painfully slow and if your lucky you do not
get stuck in the line in which the passport control official decides to go on break and leave
you standing there. typical line wait time is 10 minutes per person in front of you, try to
get there in the begining of the line. SVO2 has two corridors for you to choose from either
green or red, green if nothing to declare and red if you have something to declare. Tip: Dont
bring anything you have to declare becuase you are in for a long wait, typically the green
corridor is a straight walk out into the recieving area and you will see friends and family
immediatly. RED a very long wait depending on how many officials you have working, most of the
time its one person. Be prepared, dont go outside I say this because you will be overrun by
hundreds of taxi drivers, each trying to grab your bag and take you to moscow or scare you to
get in there cab, they have no concept of space when coming at you. They speak barely any
english and will typically overcharge you. Just go to the taxi desk inside airport and pay the
guy a fee and he will get you a cab at a reasonable price. Reasonable being typically about 25
to 30 US, or 1200 rubles or less. Exchange some money before leaving airport, they will hand
you a reciept that reciept you can use to exchange money when you leave plus its good to have
some rubles before heading out into moscow, typically have your bank card with you, your more
likely to find an ATM more over than a travelors check cashing place. A lot of people do not
speak english. The younger generation learn it in school but forget it as they do not speak
english all the time unless they work in a job that requires it. Show them respect and learn
the russian language or at least learn key phrases, you will be surprised how a few key
phrases help you out. As a tourist if your in a city more than three days you must register,
typically the hotel will register your tourist visa and passport. But if traveling outside of
moscow know the local laws of each of the cities specially if you plan to stay there with
friends, know where you can register and understand this without connections politically or
economically domestically in that area, be prepared for it to take a while for the
registration if your a tourist and your local friend does not have connection to cut the line.
Departing - We all like getting to airport early, dont do it. Dont come to airport until two
hours before because not allowed to check in before schedule departure. A lot of smoking areas
before the gate checkin TGIF and so forth. Get rid of your rubles becuase once you enter your
gate all they will accept is EUROS. Western Union has a good exchange rate in that country
when it comes to RUbles. ATMS will vary greatly in fees, if you do not understand the ATM do
not use it. Each ATM will charge a different fee based on the amount being withdrawn. Use bank
atms and limit your use of stand alone atms, the fee is percentage and will vary. Try to use
only bank atms if you can. Always carry cash, I noticed one thing outside of MOSCOW, alot of
places do not take visa or American Express, Most of the time its Master Card. Carry rubles
always.
MOSCOW SHEREMETYEVO AIRPORT review :
26 January 2009 : by Farouk Mogheth
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Customer Rating : 2/5 | |
Arriving from Prague and connecting to Bangkok by Aeroflot. I guess my criticism will not be
as painful as before since this time I was ready for what to come. But after 1.5 years I saw
only partial positive developments and the main issues (serious ones) still stand. Had to use
bus to get to terminal (Aeroflot attendant informed that this is due to lack of available
gates) where visibly we see that 80% of gates were free and remained so for the duration of my
5 hrs transit stay. Bus remained closed with a fully packed A320 passengers jammed in one bus.
Transit gate that welcomes you with a lady officer devoid of human emotions but did her job,
then going through tedious security gates that need (without exceptions) you to take off shoes
and belts. The terminal of SVO2 is very small, was small and became even smaller. New shops
that look clean and selling rather expensive stuff. This time there are several ATMs available
which was great since last time none was available and no one accepted cash for food -
otherwise nothing real to talk about. The upper floor was spacious where so many were sitting
on the ground - now technically almost non available since its been eaten out by some
offices/storage? Nice to see how the officials think that walking and buying can assist
passengers to spend their time in the Terminal. None of the magazine stands sell internet
cards or credit (Ads for www are everywhere). Found by chance that only next gate 20 there is
a free www wifi transmission. Log on, you will see a clock ticking (24hrs free access per IP
address). Keep the page open and open a new one and you have www - saved me from death by
utter boredom. Cannot wait for the new terminal as this one is still a great embarrassment. As
mentioned here by most passengers, no smiles and do not expect any customer service - at best
you will be barked upon if you dare ask anything.
MOSCOW SHEREMETYEVO AIRPORT review :
20 December 2008 : by Dave Molinari
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Customer Rating : 2/5 | |
I consider Sheremetyevo 2 airport close to the worst international airport I've ever been in. It is
ugly, people unfriendly, few places to sit, and annoying taxi drivers everywhere in the arrival
area. It's also amusing to me that they have a book shop there that has "Books" and "Magazines"
written in English on the sign, but there are no English publications there. However, since I have
been there many times, I can offer some tips to make it more bearable. First, there is a TGI
Fridays restaurant there and it is pretty good. They have English menus and the servers can speak
enough English, as well. Secondly, there is a lounge on the upper floors that is not obvious to
find. Take the elevator up there (I can't remember what floor) and you will have at least a
reasonable level of comfort. The furniture is worn and the place has a dirty feeling to it, but
there are places to sit, you can order food, play pool, or sit in front of the huge windows that
overlook the runway. There is also internet there. The bathrooms are not great. As mentioned by
others, delay going into the final gate after passport control as long as possible since there is
absolutely nothing to do there and hardly anywhere to sit. Check the departure boards to see when
your gate is open since it won't be available until about 90 minutes before the flight. Passport
control is better than it used to be, so I've found that you can get through it fairly quickly.
Plus, if you get stuck in line and your flight is about to leave, just start shouting your
destination to the workers there and they will often help you to the front of the line. Another
peculiar thing I finally resolved for myself is that since you must wait for your gate to be opened,
there are doors to that section that you must go through first. There are always a lot of people
standing there and it looks like you are in for a long wait, however, I finally noticed that most of
those people are friends and family of travelers and their just saying goodbye to them. You are
able to walk right past them usually. I've never found the information booths to be very useful, so
I don't have any helpful hints for you there. The English level of workers is abysmal for an
international airport, so be prepared for that. For arrivals, I agree with previous comments that
it is best to have arrangements made for someone to pick you up. It relieves a huge amount of chaos
for you after a long flight. The passport control, while inconsistent, has become much faster than
in years previous. I've never had trouble with baggage claim. If you need to take a taxi, use the
official desk that has black and yellow checkers on it. There is one in the baggage claim which is
quite handy, but there aren't always people working there for some reason. Still, there is an
equivalent desk once you get outside customs. It is not cheap, but at least you get a guaranteed
price up front and the cars are new and comfortable. If other taxi drivers approach you, don't look
them in the eye or they won't leave you alone. Just keep walking and say "nyet" over and over until
they walk away. If you need cash, there are ATM's everywhere. That's all I can think of for now.
I always use an extremely useful line that serves experienced Russia travelers well. It is "you
should have seen this place 5 years ago." Any newcomers have to believe that they are seeing a much
improved airport, though it will probably be hard to imagine.
MOSCOW SHEREMETYEVO AIRPORT review :
21 October 2008 : by Jose Vazquez
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Customer Rating : 1/5 | |
Last September I flew in as a transit passenger to go to Ukraine. I knew that I had 6 hours to wait
for my flight. Aeroflot Transit desk check me in and told me to return in 4 hours. I had to wander
around the narrow corridors of the terminal due to some contraction going on there and no place to
sit. Full of smoke all over the airport, being an international terminal nobody could speak English
or any other language other than Russian - not to count the rudeness of the personnel at the
terminal. The lounges and restaurants are a complete ripoff lousy food, and lousy service poor
ventilation and plenty of smoking people. Finally the 4 hours are up headed to the transit/transfer
lounge and they took the group of people downstairs and if felt like transfer of prisoners.
Now getting into terminal one - you have to go though security even that you came from a secure area
of the terminal as transit passenger - obviously logic is not functional here. Once I got in I have
to say that Terminal impressed me a lot more that terminal two. Good areas for sitting good
restrooms, and places to eat and drink - language was a problem but terminal ok. On the way back
transferring from terminal 1 to terminal two was more efficient since it was 4 hour delay, still
felt like exchange of prisoners. I read promotions about terminal two as being a premiere terminal
for the russian people - if they call this premiere they can keep it and advise international
passengers to find another way to enter Russia or go to other countries. My wife and I have agreed
the next trip to Ukraine we are changing planes somewhere else in Europe.
MOSCOW SHEREMETYEVO AIRPORT review :
13 October 2008 : by Michael Ryan
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Customer Rating : 1/5 | |
The worst airport I have been to in my life! Toilets are a shame, no paper, no running water, very
dirty. Long line at the check-in counter and no one seems to care, no staff to handle problems and
no chairs to sit on while waiting for your flight. Everything on the airport is a rip-off, from
taxi to food - its a bit better now that there is an aeroexpress connection to Savelovskaya station
but hopefully we will see a much better and efficient terminal 3 very soon.
MOSCOW SHEREMETYEVO AIRPORT review :
19 August 2008 : by Alonso Fernandes
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |  |
Transit via SVO 4 times last 3 months. No seating, awful lounges, terminal under construction so
it’s full of dust and not very clean, feels claustrophobic. Very efficient for short connection (you
can manage it in 15-20 minutes if you let the transit staff know) as gates are very close to each
other, but totally unsuitable for anything over 1:30 hours as simply there is no space to rest. On
tight connection the transfer desk people were paging me to let me trough the transfer checkpoint
immediately and it took me less than 10 minutes from deplaning to boarding, Impressive. As for the
staff, the dragons at the crystal doors after the transit desk usually let you wait there till a
group forms before letting you out to the departure areas. If they make you wait for too long use
the bell by the door to annoy them and they will let you pass. I forgot a suit bag on my incoming
plane, and the agents at the departure area Aeroflot transfer desks did everything they could to get
it for me before my next flight, including running all over the airport, once again impressive and I
really appreciated. 0 stars for hardware, 3 stars for transfer convenience and staff. Looking
forward to use the new SVO 3 terminal.
MOSCOW SHEREMETYEVO AIRPORT review :
14 August 2008 : by Vadim Makarov
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Customer Rating : 1/5 | |
The worst airport I've been to. It has taken me four hours from the moment the plane touched the
runway to check into a hotel in Moscow. First, one and a half hours waiting for the baggage to
appear on the belt. Then half an hour to figure I am not going to get a taxi at any sane price (ie.
less than EUR 80), about an hour in a city bus to the outskirts of Moscow (bright point: the bus
cost EUR 1, but it was all full and I had to stand the entire hour), then another hour in a taxi to
the hotel. I wanted to speak at the Aeroflot desk about my frequent flyer membership, but the desk
was closed for half-hour break, with a waiting line in front of it. I ditched it, too.
The whole comedy seems to be an insult and a problem to Aeroflot. Being the major airline using the
airport, at the very least they could run a regular bus service to the downtown Moscow. I would be
quite willing to shell out EUR 20 or so to have a seat in a bus that did not stop twenty times along
the way and took me to someplace closer to the city center.
MOSCOW SHEREMETYEVO AIRPORT review : 7 June 2008 : by R Brizzi
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Customer Rating : 1/5 | |
I have been flying in and out of this airport for the past two months and I think it is great! If
you love suffering and misery that is. It is without a doubt the worst airport in europe. It is
drab, inefficient to the point of ludicracy and an absolute nightmare to get to and from. Leaving on
a flight at 10pm, you will have to leave the city at around 5:30pm and be prepared to spend 2-3
hours in traffic. You will go through 3 security points - customs and passport control. Everything
takes twice as long compared to anywhere else - you will need the full two hours before your flight
to get through all the hoops. Past passport control there are a few duty free shops - nothing
interesting and some restaurants on a raised level that has no lift - so if you are not good at
stairs - forget about them. This airport is an embarassment to Russia.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by M Jackson
5 May 2008 Customer Rating : 
I was laid over in terminal 1 for 6 hours between Vienna and Bishkek, and I don't want to be
overdramatic, but I will: this terminal is like one of the levels of hell. It was like spending a
day held hostage in a branch of H Samuels. The whole of the waiting area is geared towards selling
expensive goods, like kalashnikov-shaped bottles of vodka, and chunky wristwatches. All of the food
is overpriced. Whenever I saw passengers with a problem, the staff treated them as though they were
7-year olds who still couldn't tie a shoelace. Although there are windows, there were no windows to
look out of and the inside is so drab, so it has a timeless quality to it (in the Limbo, rather than
the Righteous Brothers sense). Very worst of all is the lack of seating; The raised balcony level
is wide enough for a two-lane road, and yet there's nothing there but people sitting or lying on the
floor, some of whom who have had the foresight to bring a piece of cardboard as a seat. Insane.
In summary the general impression that I got from Sheremetyevo Airport is that the architects and
staff hate you and have made a concerted effort to make your realisation of this hatred into a well-
rounded day out. Thank goodness I didn't have to leave the airport and get a taxi.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by Walter Sun
23 April 2008 Customer Rating :
Avoid this airport if you can. If you need to get into Moscow, then be ready to either get ripped
off by the taxi driver and or get stuck in traffic and or take like 3 different modes of transport
just to get inside Moscow. There is no excuse for such a pitiful airport because if you fly into
Domodedovo, the service, transportation link (direct rail) into Moscow and everything about it is
almost on par to other international airports.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by Robert Long
15 February 2008 Customer Rating :
Terminal 1 - to blow it up is too easy a way out. Staff are most non helpful people there is - whole
building is disgraceful. Dont get a boarding card for the next flight from terminal 1. The woman
wants a ticket to stamp, and a boarding card is not acceptable, and she is ignorant that she does
not know that they take the ticket when issuing a boarding card. So shout as loud as you can for a
supervisor, then she throws the ticket at you - then happiness you have got past the security desk.
Dont ask for information at an information desk, even if your flight is delayed and there is no
announcements in English or Russian as to what is happening, they turn their back and walk away.
Terminal 2 works quite well, but terminal 1 is only for Russians who accept anything from some one
in uniform. Dont try writing and complaining, no one answers. Dont have a short connection from 1 to
2, because the transit has never worked. If you have an SU flight and its code share, with SAS for
example, they will not assist and tell you to get a bus, its not the 25 rubles it costs, its the
time and lost flight. Then try explaining why you want to check in after the check in is closed,
they either dont believe or dont care. Terminal 1 is the worst. They complain and say its the bad
country they live in, its not - its the people who accept this service. I am told that 1000 rubles
helps as a bribe. They take this to expedite the service.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by Damion Heersink
15 February 2008 Customer Rating : 
Flew through in transit. Upon landing the customs agent wouldn't open the transit door for those of
us just passing through (he chuckled at us for 20 minutes). I had a slight problem with my business
class Aeroflot ticket, and to fix it I was sent on a run-around to 3 desks. I finally called the
ticket office in New York who then called (3-way) to the desk in Moscow (with me standing right
there!). It seemed there were more of these stores selling Rolexes, nice vodka and perfumes, etc.
than there were gates. Paid 30 Euros for a pretty bad piece of salmon at one of the upstairs
restaurants, but the server was actually very nice. In fact, aside from the Aeroflot people and the
transit door operator I found most of the local shopkeepers, restaurant staff, and fellow travelers
to be helpful and friendly. One man saw I had no Ruble coins for the vending machines so he kindly
bought me a bottle of water. But that's the only good part: the place exudes depression,
indifference to passenger comfort and convenience, and a kind of black-hole. Many people were
sitting/lying on the floors with looks on their faces as if they had been there a while and didn't
know when they were leaving. Flight to Beijing was delayed 5 hours but we were never told why. A
relic of the Communist past, the only reason I'm giving S2 a 2 Star rating and not a 1 Star is
because the locals I met made the stay bearable and interesting. This is the Detroit Greyhound Bus
station of international air travel.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by R Alexander
8 January 2008 Customer Rating :
I have used Sheremetyevo airport many times over the past few years, and now terminal 2 is being
upgraded and made to be more customer friendly. I think that there is a terminal 3 being built
mainly for Aeroflot, hopefully International and domestic flights that will save having to go to the
disgraceful terminal 1, which is a hangover from Soviet times, to catch a domestic flight.
Terminal 1 ought to be blown up to a zillion pieces as it is very bad.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by Kenny Andreasen
30 November 2007 Customer Rating :
I have been through SVO many times when flying Aeroflot, and even though conditions have improved
over the years after all, it's simply not good enough. When I tell people about SVO I often hear
"come on, it's Russian", but why is that an excuse? When flying from Europe to Asia, the transit
times are often several hours. There is nothing to do, no nice places to rest if you don't want to
pay far too much for a small cup of coffee. All staff look tired and as if they don't want to be
there (which they probably don't). The atmosphere is old and dirty (and who got that brilliant idea
with the world's ugliest piece of art in the ceiling). So why do I keep flying Aeroflot? Because it
is cheap, and the airline itself is fair . But come on, with very little improvement conditions at
SVO could be raised drastically.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by L Hopkins
26 October 2007 Customer Rating :
I was stuck in the airport for 9 hrs and it wasn't a bad experience. It is very true that you should
take toilet paper and a lawn chair because there are maybe 30 seats in the entire airport. Just beware
the vendors are not very helpful. If you need help proceed through the airport and you will find two
small windows with Aeroflot employees that will guide you very slowly. It is an experience you will
not soon forget, but interesting just the same.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by A Durukan
2 September 2007 Customer Rating :
Don't use it if you have other options, it is worth the money, even extra waiting hours. Bad colors
make you feel you're in a den, non-smiling, unhelpful, unkind, non English speaking personnel. People
eat, sleep and rest on the floors. Avoid this airport.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by Greg Galik
25 August 2007 Customer Rating :
Never again. Terrible, no place for rest, people sit, eat, sleep on every available square centimetre.
Not many of them left as the airport is packed with shops selling the same stuff. You will be well
informed where to buy grog, cigarettes, perfumes, but you will never find a sign where is the only one
information. Friendly advice to the airport management, there is some spare spaces in the toilets, you
can put some shops there.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by R Rees
10 August 2007 Customer Rating :
Arrived at Sheremetyevo on a 12 hour flight from LA and all of the horror stories I read about this
airport were true. The plane was parked on the tarmac and we were bussed to the terminal and passport
control. At passport control there were about 1000 people all trying to get through only two lines for
foreigners and one line for residents - I was in line for 1 hour 45 minutes. After passport control is
the baggage claim area - the only way I can describe it was "complete chaos"! The conveyor belt that
carried our baggage was broken and so the workers were crawling back into the unload area and dragging
our baggage from there and then throwing in on a huge pile! Luckily I spotted my bag and was able to
get a Russian worker to retrieve it for me from behind the wall where it was sitting. I left the
airport as quickly as possible, thankful I made it through such an awful place with my baggage.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by Sally Fraser
31 July 2007 Customer Rating : 
Sheremetyevo 2. Flying Lufthansa to Frankfurt on a Friday afternoon. We
found this airport to be pleasant and efficient. The layout is good with
lots of places to eat and drink and many duty free shops to wander
around. Security, customs and check in all went without a hitch and took
about 15 minutes in total although we did see longer queues later in the
afternoon. Toilets are not the best and mostly without paper. Two
problems we encountered are no escalators to the first floor and also
once you check through your departure gate, you cannot come out again.
Once inside this area, there is very limited plastic seating and no
other facilities, so stay outside in the duty free area until your
flight is ready to board. There are illuminated signs at each boarding
gate displaying the flights leaving from it and you don't have to walk
miles to get to them as they are all off the main area in a circular
fashion. Would use this international airport again.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by Nick Fortuna
27 June 2007 Customer Rating :
I've had the misfortune of travelling through Sheremetyevo 2 on a
variety of Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa and Aeroflot flights at least
once per month over the past 10 years. While announcements were made
with much fanfare regarding various facilities upgrades, not much has
happened. Sure, border control staff got new cubicles, the dreadful
copper ceiling features were removed in the arrivals area, and a couple
of plasmas installed - nothing made this airport any more appealing.
Morning departures on weekends are the pits - mainly Aeroflot flights
leaving and pax queuing well into the main terminal just to get through
customs and baggage screening. Check-in is flight-specific and only
starts two hours before departure. Once past Customs, one cannot get
back into the main terminal building. Not that there is anything to do
there. Avoid mid-afternoon arrivals if you can - most of the European
flights arrive then. Avoid weekends during summer - charters galore and
arrivals queues right up the stairs can take hours to clear. There are
no defined queues and processing speeds vary among the border control
staff. Duty free shopping overpriced - and in Euro to boot. Irish pub a
disgrace - soggy microwaved ham/cheese croissants for around 5 euros. On
plastic plates. Draft beers often unavailable. Lots of locals smoking
under no-smoking signs. Most lounges upstairs, but no
elevators/escalators to get you there. Only one shop sells foreign
language reading material - and only accepts rubles. No seating until
the gate area. Beware that this is a one-way trip through hand-baggage
screening. No toilets, no way back into the main area and no
refreshments. What toilets there are scattered around the airport are
terrible. Once you've collected the baggage and head out into the dingy
arrivals hall, the entire Moscow taxi mafia is there to greet you and
offer an 'official' taxi. Best strategy: arrange your pick-up in advance
otherwise you'll cop the foreigner surcharge. One bright spot: when it
is not busy, I've managed to be in my car within 15 minutes of stepping
off the plane. Unless you can't, avoid!
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by J Icban
14 May 2007 Customer Rating :
To be blunt this airport sucks. The other airport across town,
Domodedovo, is slightly better, but not by much. Getting through
passport control takes anywhere between 5 minutes to an hour, depending
on how busy it is. Best way to get through is just not smile, don't say
a word unless asked, get your baggage, and get out of there. Staff are
unfriendly and unhelpful. Getting out of their isn't too bad. You go
through passport control, and into the departure area. There are a
couple of decent duty-free shops and a couple of overpriced restaurants
and bars there. But while waiting there is no place to sit down, other
than a few uncomfortable seats. Nasty bathrooms, too. It's already hard
enough as it is going to Russia, with their strict visa regulations.
Going through their airport in Moscow-Sheremetyevo doesn't make things
any better. In sum, if going through Moscow and through Russia, try
going through Domodedovo Airport instead. They have international
flights coming from a few countries in Europe, such as Switzerland and
the UK. And one more note, if going to Russia, be sure that you
thoroughly do your research, much of this information can be found
online, as to how to get through customs, how to get into town from the
airport, how to transfer from one terminal to another, etc. Because
unless you have a friend picking you up there, if you've never been to
Russia and don't know anything about it, it will be very difficult as
there will be no one there to help you.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by Neil Allison
9 May 2007 Customer Rating :
Aeroflot from London LHR to Bangkok via SVO return. On the outward
journey I was issued with boarding cards for both sectors (only after
insisting at LHR check in where the Air France handling staff were not
helpful). On arrival at SVO I was faced with a huge queue at the
transfer desks manned by 2 personnel. There were at least 200 people
from several flights crammed into a totally inadequate space. I had to
persuade a security guard that it was unnecessary for me to queue up as
I already had my boarding card for SVO-BKK - she eventually let myself
and several other passengers through a side door into the departure area
- I only just made the onward flight to Bangkok. My luggage did not make
the transfer, but was delivered to my address in Thailand the following
day. On the return journey I only had a boarding card for BKK-SVO so had
to collect a boarding card for SVO-LHR at the transfer desks. About 75
passengers all in a similar position - no one appeared at the desks for
15 minutes after our flight landed. Then 2 personnel appeared - luckily
they dealt with the London passengers first, but a lot of pushing and
shoving - no proper queue etc. Quite stressful and totally unnecessary -
I normally fly Glasgow to BKK on Emirates via Dubai - an absolute
breeze as you are always given boarding cards for both sectors and pass
swiftly into the departure lounge at Dubai Airport. Why can't the
Russians get this right! My luggage also did not make the transfer on
the return journey - I am now back in Scotland waiting for it to arrive
by road transport from LHR!
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by Norman Sutherland
4 April 2007 Customer Rating :
Arrived and Departed both through SVO 1 and 2. On SVO 2 arrivals was
slick and quick - through in 20 minutes. Departures in SVO 2 was less
efficient. I found the Restaurants landside very expensive, and airside
poor in quality and in selection. Although flying Lufthansa Business
Class I was not allowed to use the Lufthansa Lounge, which was virtually
empty. Gold Card Members only. SVO 1 Arrivals was very crowded,
congested and disorganised - about 45 minutes to get out of the
terminal. Departures as evidenced by other posts here is the worst part
of this airport and the worst of any Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by . About 15 minutes
from SVO 1 to SVO 2 in mid morning.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by David Pryer
29 March 2007 Customer Rating :
Transferred SVO 2 international to SVO 1 domestic. Complimentary minibus transfer between terminals
was easy enough and as I was through ticketed MAN-AMS-SVO-KZN I could travel luggage free. My bag
however didn't make the transfer, and, although found quickly enough by SVO staff, it didn't arrive
in Kazan for another two weeks. SVO 1 is the pits.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by Szabolcs Mihalyi
26 March 2007 Customer Rating :
4hr stay at SVO on my way from ZRH to BOM. Clean and functional with the
charm of communist eighties architecture. Had to present my passport and
boarding pass for SVO-BOM (that I already had received in ZRH) at the
transit desk, before I was let through to the transit area. This is one
big narrow path with shops left and right. Upstairs on the arcade are
several lounges and restaurants. No place to sit, except in the
restaurants or the waiting lounges next to the gates, where you don't
want to spend several hours of waiting, as there is neither shops nor
bars nor toilets inside. Given the missing places to sit on I decided to
do like all transit passengers seem to do: camping on the corridor's
floor upstairs after having bought beer and water for the waiting time.
As an experienced rucksack traveller I did not mind, but I am sure
others - eg. business travellers in economy or people jetlagged from a
longhaul flight - might perceive this situation differently.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by Vincent Daniele
26 February 2007 Customer Rating : n/a
My first time in Russia, I don't speak Russian and understand less! I
had arrived at the International airport and had a 13 hour layover. So I
stayed there for 5 hours and then went to the other airport for my
domestic flight. Here's my tip, stay at the international as long as you
can, it has everything you need. I found it delightful, plenty of food
and seats, if you smoke you can sit, eat and have your smoke at your
table. There are shops, internet, I think it was great. The domestic
airport is different, nothing to do and not many seats, and not as
clean. And a $20 cab ride door to door is well worth it. If you have a
long layover you can check you bags for a few bucks and don't have to
drag them around with you. So forget the horror stories and look forward
to it! Oh, one last tip, put a roll of toilet paper in your carry on!
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by John Marchant
29 January 2007
An absolute dungeon. I have to fly through here 10x year due to my job
location (Bishkek, KG). Connecting layovers can easily hit double digits
in terms of hours. As I write this I am going on 11 hours waiting for my
connecting flight to Bishkek. Priority Pass will let you into the
"lounge" but it is marginal at best. I would recommend taking only carry
on luggage. Those of us that travel through here frequently have renamed
the airport Shitemetyevo. Better yet, route through Istanbul, a
wonderful airport and if you have a long layover Turkish Air will
provide you with a nice hotel room, unlike here where they want $300 for
a hotel room. I love the sign hanging outside duty free "Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by - It's Another World". Yes, it is! Please bulldoze this airport.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by Rob McKenzie
20 November 2006
I use Sheremetyevo airport about once a month to return home to Athens or London. Getting checked in
is always a pain. Travelling with Aeroflot, they don't open the check in for each flight until 2
hours before departure. So everyone queues up and clogs the security while waiting. And of course
the queue is just a mad dash from all sides to get a seat. After that passport control is usually
simple. Arriving is another matter. There are plenty of duty free shops, and prices are reasonable.
They've recently installed further security at the gate. Be prepared to take off your shoes.
Arrival can be a completely different matter. Early morning arrivals appear to be much easier.
Getting through passport control can take as little as 20 minutes. Evening arrivals can mean an hour
and a half wait. But don't worry, your bags may still not be there for you. So allow about an hour
on average to get landside. On the whole the airport is a pit. It had seen better days 20 years ago, and is nothing like a
modern airport.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by Yevheniy Kahanovych
17 November 2006
I use SVO about once a month flying usually to and from T1. Immigration
lines on arrivals are ok, about 20 minutes or so. Immigration staff are
polite (if you greet them, they respond what they didn;t do, for
example, 2 years ago). Everything else is just as bad as it was during
old soviet era. Dirty restrooms, dark halls, long lines everywhere. If
even departure from there is a sort of torture, I can't imaging what
transiting through there (especially changing terminals) is like. The
airport continues to be shabby and badly managed place. Avoid it if you
can.
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport review by Roseanne Sherman
15 November 2006
I fly into and out of Sheremetyevo 1 and 2 at least 6 times a year, and
I absolutely dread it. The immigration lines are ALWAYS incredibly long
- I have had to wait up to 3 hours in line at times. Luggage seems to
always survive, though. This airport is always incredibly noisy and
people are generally unhelpful. It is true that getting to Terminal 1
from Terminal 2 is interesting and the cab drivers will rip unsuspecting
passengers off. The only positive thing I have to say about this
airport is there are plenty of duty free shops and there is no charge
for luggage trolleys at Terminal 2. There are no luggage trolleys at
Terminal 1. SVO-2 has 2 business class lounges; I have only been to one
of them. They are nothing special. They just get you away from the
noise of the airport.
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