Aberdeen Airport

✅ Trip Verified | Refurbishment big improvement to departures. First time been through new security space, bigger but didn't seem to actually have more scanners than the old one. But professional polite staff. Usual walk through brightly lit duty free, new bar and Restaurant a huge improvement - the old bar still seems to be there but the new - great, relieves the huge queue that was always at the old bar. More seating for eating and drinking so much better. Old gates the same but no real complaints - just the idiots that form a queue 20 minutes before a short haul flight due to board? Why people? Why? The drop off charge is a ridiculous unashamed rip off. The baggage carousel on arrival has been moved so a bit of a trek, its no bigger, theres no others just moved so annoying. For a small city airport it is ok.

Not Verified | I have just realised the the money-grubbing little management now want us to pay £3 to drop off or pick up a passenger. Oh well, there are ways around this and I for one will be implementing it.

✅ Trip Verified | I'm pig sick of the hour wait (at least) when you fly on a late flight to grab a taxi. This isn't conducive of a 21st-century international airport. Get your life sorted out Aberdeen airport and do something to fix this issue after a 22-hour flight the last I need is a long wait for non-existent taxis.

✅ Trip Verified | I have to use this excuse for an airport every once in a while as my family resides in Aberdeen. For years the airport had terrible customer service starting from grumpy check-in staff to security personnel acting like prison wardens. The rules are made up on the go and seem to get bent depending on the staff mood. The last visit I had a genuine customer query as to the interpretation of baggage allowance regulations. The mere attempt to rely on my statutory consumer rights to inquire about the service ended up with me being shouted at by check in staff. That followed by a police man acting like a thug, threatening not to allow me to take my flight and basically telling me to shut up. This mistreatment was the final straw and I decided to leave a review here and warn others. Based on a number of experiences at this airport, I can honestly say it is the worst airport in the world!

Not Verified | Absolutely shocked at the cost of short stay parking. £6.50 for 21mins! Picking up my wife after her flight. Completely unrealistic time frame, 15mins to park, walk to the terminal and back. If I had a choice I’d never use this airport again. A more realistic charge and time allowance is needed. With the ever increasing costs of travel this is an added and unnecessary burden and no justification for this charge. Shame on you this is out and out robbery.

Not Verified | I thought this airport had finally come of age. Check in was quite quick, the new security suite is vastly improved, and finally they have renewed the seating in the main departure lounge. Not luxurious but acres better than what it was. However, when we came back, the plane arrived on time, but they could not let us disembark because 1) there was only one set of steps available 2) to prevent the plane tipping they would have to offload some of the luggage. So then begins the long trudge to passport control. This is a small airport, why so long a trek? Passport control efficiency personified. Luggage reclaim not so. They have created an area twice the size of the old baggage reclaim, but there is still only one carousel. Ok its a bigger carousel, but why not two? There is certainly enough space. Then again, a rather long trek to find the exit. So, much improved but can do better, though probaly not in the immdeiate future, judging by past experience

✅ Trip Verified | Although I was not flying out of Aberdeen International Airport on this instance, I was there to see off my Son who was leaving on the Bristol BM1804 flight due to take off at 15:35 on Sunday the 30th September. The check-in desk for the BMI flight was due to open at 13:35, and we patiently waited in the forecourt for the desk to open. Due to inadequate seating in this area we were forced to stand, waiting in front of the Departures screen to check which check-in desk to use. 13:35 came and went, and no check-in desk number appeared. No BMI check-in desk was commissioned. My wife went and enquired at one of the other desks to be told to check at the information desk even though the desk she enquired at was empty of passengers and the person manning it had nothing else to do. We enquired further of a ground staff member in passing, who told us it was an IT problem. When my wife asked at the information desk she was told that the check-in desk should have been announced on the board, and the person manning the desk did not know why it had not. He eventually discovered that the desk *should* be check-in desk 13/14. We moved across to that desk, but it was unmanned with no one in charge. By this time it was 25 minutes past the time on the departures screen that was still advising that the check-in time was 13:35. Eventually some ground staff arrived and started commissioning the desk, but we were still not invited to check-in as "The plane had not landed yet". What this has to do with being able to check-in is a mystery to me. My son was eventually able to check his bag at 14:15. There were no announcements. There was never any change to the departures screen to advise passengers. The ground staff were monumentally unhelpful to the point of being rude. I have lived in and around Aberdeen all my life, and have travelled extensively across the world on business and pleasure and can say with hand on heart that Aberdeen "International" Airport is the worst I have ever had the misfortune to use. The toilets were disgusting, dirty and unkempt with one of the stalls taped off. My wife had a similar experience in the ladies and out of interest checked the board that advises when the toilets were last checked and cleaned. All the boxes for that day were ticked, but there was little evidence that any remedial cleaning had been attempted. The parking charges are a complete joke. £2 for the privilege to drop off a loved one? We were charged £10.50 so see my Son off to join the Army. Pathetic. The new multi-storey car park is a disgrace. The signage is all but absent showing where the exits are. The ramps are so narrow that larger vehicles struggle to make the turns. The path to the exit cuts directly across the main ramp leading in to the parking area, it is a recipe for disaster. There has been absolutely no thought put into the design or construction. It is apparent from the damage to ironwork that many vehicles get caught out. Some of the minimally placed exit signs are obscured by parked cars. It is beyond a joke. And to add insult to injury they charge £10.50 if you stay over an hour. If they had sorted out the check-in desk we would not have incurred this extended charge. I could go on, but I'm starting to lose the will to live. Good luck to all who use this "improved" facility. I for one will be flying from Edinburgh or Glasgow in future.

Not Verified | I recently departed from Aberdeen airport with my daughter and son, and as we arrived home, we realised my 10 year old son had left his coat at the gate. My parents (who we were visiting) offered to collect it from the airport and mail it to us. However, when they contacted the airport to ask if it had been found, they were informed that to collect the coat, they would have to pay an £8 collection fee on top of parking money. The parking cost £2 for 10 minutes, but after that, you would have to pay a minimum of £10, which when put with the collection fee, is almost the price of a new coat. I was extremely disappointed that when my parents were the ones that collected it, they had to pay so much to simply collect a young child's coat.

❌ Not Verified | Aberdeen Airport has long been the local go to choice for myself. Sadly I feel many of the reviews it gets are unjustified for two reasons. Firstly the ongoing works to the terminal. The Terminal expansion project will of course cause delays in any airport, not least a smaller airport such as Aberdeen. However, this expansion focuses on the most important areas needing improvement at the airport (security, seating, lounges) which have been asked for by passengers for years. The expansion will be very welcome and once completed will be highly beneficial for the airport. At my last time travelling through Aberdeen, the new Domestic Baggage hall had opened. It was already much more professional, modern, spacious and quick compared to the old reclaim area. The second thing that people seem to neglect when writing these reviews is that Aberdeen is a small airport. It is a regional airport and actually primarily serves short-haul regional flights and business flights for the Oil Industry, hence the large helicopter activity. It is not designed to be state-of-the-art and equipped to the max. It is designed to be adequate enough for a stay of up to 2 hours for onward flights of no more than 2 hours. It simply does not have the necessity to be on such a large scale. It is there for quick domestic commutes and business trips primarily. The airport is already incredibly well kitted out for its size, and the new expansion will add much more seating, and massively increase the security, as well as add new food and shopping facilities. It must of course be noted, that most people are unlikely to bother writing a review unless they are going to rant about something, such is the nature of the internet. I myself am guilty of that, ranting at airports such as Heathrow and Paris CDG was why I created this Skytrax account in the first place. My experience with Aberdeen airport over the years has always been pleasant. Staff are always friendly, and despite its tiny size, security is always quick, even during peak times and with multiple flight delays due to the Scottish weather. The shops are usually well equipped and prices are certainly fair for such a small airport. The toilets are spotless and boarding and unloading of the aircraft is always quick and efficient. Out of the airport in under 30 minutes, even when having to go through passport control (which is very large for an airport of Aberdeen's size). The parking is very expensive, but much better than other airports in the country such as Glasgow or Edinburgh, and much simpler and easier to use. Buses connect to the city very efficiently and frequently and the bus and taxi stops are easy to find. Overall, the Airport is quick and easy to use on 9/10 occasions. It is spotless, well staffed, and copes really well under overcapacity. It is a small airport, and serves its purpose, and is expanding to meet extra demand. You will seldom hear praise for the 9/10 times your journey through Aberdeen is pleasant, but the one time it isn't, most likely due to weather delays than the airport itself, will give it a bad review. The overall 3/10 it scores on Skytrax is an insult and completely contrary to what the real passengers using the airport on a regular basis think. It does it's job perfectly and is setting itself up well for the future. Compared to other UK airports, it is brilliant and user-friendly. It just has to be respected that it is a small airport where no more than 2 hours should be needed.

❌ Not Verified | In the last hour I dropped my daughter for her flight to London and as she has a medical condition which causes constant sickness always carries a covered cup. Despite having taken a number of flights in the UK in the last year once she has explained her situation, the cup accompanies her through security with no problem until now. It appears that security staff at Aberdeen have rules that differ from elsewhere and as a result were unhelpful, uncaring and downright difficult and adamant the cup would not go without offering a solution. I only hope that the individuals concerned do not suffer the same way as my daughter has over the last year in suffering constant sickness and being unable to keep any food or liquid down to the point of regularly having to visit a hospital staffed by caring people who give her a drip to rehydrate. Daresay had I been due to fly then these jobsworths would have prevented me for protesting. Very sad how people can treat others and would suggest someone at G4S? get their act together.