Adelaide Airport

Great little airport well laid out and easy to navigate. It is bright and spacious and there is free wi-fi which is painfully slow. Arrivals is a bit of a let down with you being forced to go through an arrival duty free shop. There is only one baggage carousel for international flights which makes it a problem if a large aircraft lands let alone multiple long haul flights. Customs is slow with numerous people asking you the very same questions. Perhaps they should consider having more people man the immigration booths and less customs staff. They obviously have little to do in such a small airport so are overzealous. On return check-in facilities were good friendly staff. There were many shops in the departure area which is a communal area for both international and domestic departures. The actual immigration and customs for international flights is a small area which is hard to miss! One other drawback is the pick-up and drop-off area what a mess! Overall I would give this airport the thumbs up but they need to make improvements to some of their services.

I was travelling economy to Brisbane with my 85 year old mother and found it a pleasurable experience due in no small way to the helpful staff who greeted us in the check-in area providing us immediately with a wheel chair then later giving us priority boarding. The terminal itself was very clean and modern with good facilities and lovely views over the tarmac and Adelaide city in the distance. The taxi driver who took us to the airport an easy drive from the city centre was also very helpful and considerate. All in all a beautiful city with airport to match.

I live in Adelaide and travel a lot. This airport is a huge improvement on the one it replaced. However I have used the new airport at least a dozen times a year since it opened and in my view it is greatly overrated an opportunity missed reflecting the small-mindedness of the state of South Australia itself. The long straight layout may help plane movements on the tarmac but is a nuisance for passengers inside. The walk to a toilet can be quite long and the way some of the boarding gates are sealed off for international flights is cumbersome and must surely make future expansion of this business difficult. Signposting on the access roads outside is unclear and about the only plus is that the new parking station has made traffic movement better. The taxi rank can be very slow-moving when it is busy and the attendants are more of a help than a hindrance a waste of money in my view as they add no value at all.

I have used this airport for arrival and departure only once but found the experience to be quite alright. The building itself is aesthetically pleasing. It has that spacious feeling that has now become en vogue for airports. I arrived from Launceston in the early morning. The flight was on-time and the wait for my baggage was very reasonable. It was a facile airport to navigate and I was easily able to locate the person picking me up in the arrivals area. Upon departure that evening I flew to Sydney. We were late arriving as business kept us late. Hence I was in a rush. However I was dropped off and was able to check in very quickly. The security screening was relatively efficient and I made it to my flight in time. It seems like this airport is just large enough to provide the proper service but small enough to be far from overwhelming.

Just like the city itself Adelaide Airport has enough to make you feel welcome without being overly spectacular. I have used this airport many times before the building itself is stunning and relatively state-of- the-art though there is still clearly room for expansion. You can easily navigate the building with few queues and friendly staff on hand to help out. The facilities provided are minimal with enough to keep you entertained for a while but not adequate for those who may be needing to wait in the airport for a long while. I hope they choose to develop the airport further in the future.

It's not the biggest nor the busiest airport in Australia but it has to be one of the most beautiful and easy-to-get-around airports. The different browns and yellows representing the Australian landscape make for a relaxing experience for any first-time visitor to Adelaide. The best thing about Adelaide Airport is the way the early morning sun streams through the windows at the departures area. All in all it's a superb airport.

Arrived from Denpasar at 8am 30 minutes early and there were two other flights arriving at the same time QF from Singapore and MH from KL. Customs and arrivals hall a shambles. One baggage carrousel for three flights and a customs queue that snaked through the hall much to everyone's frustration.

The 'improvements' at ADL airport recently could not be worse. There is now only a single designated area for both pick-up and let-down which is in the new car park and is a shambles. No other airport I know of has this absurd arrangement. The upper level (departures) area was ideal and un-congested but now it is closed off completely. What a waste of infrastructure that functioned so well. The new overhead walk-way from the car park has eased the congestion caused by the old 'Zebra' crossing but one support for this walk-way is in the road underneath! That road is only 2 lanes wide but now is reduced to one just where taxis congregate. When one disembarks from a plane the air-bridge does not go to the correct floor level. Instead one must walk up two quite steep ramps. Levels should have been built to synchronise correctly. Again a unique and absurd feature of this 'new' airport!

My experience as an international arrival passenger was first class - walk from gate to customs was acceptable and baggage arrived quickly. I had some food which I declared and the inspection was carried out politely and quickly. Once I left the processing area I was looking for the shuttle service I had booked however I was unable to find it so took a regular taxi instead. My recommendation would be to make shuttle buses more visible as at most airports you can see the range of transport options when you exit the terminal taxis buses and shuttles. It became a bad experience for me when it should have been easy.

I think it's very telling that the only negative reviews have been regarding the long-term parking not being as friendly and helpful as the rest of the airport is! ADL was the best airport experience I had while visiting Australia and although not perfect it is a very commendable mid-sized airport. The terminal building is new clean and bright with a very fast door-to-gate process. The gate area does stretch on for a bit so you can wind up with quite a bit of hike not only in transferring but also in getting to the food or shop you need! All the staff I encountered were helpful and friendly and the airport is very close and accessible to the city. Highly recommend!