Auckland Airport

❎ Unverified | Auckland airport is very small for the number of flights that go through. There's not a lot to do - two bars and a handful of shops and nowhere to sit. Once you get upstairs there really are very few seats. I had to stand to eat the sandwiches I bought. The bar was packed with people watching a rugby game and it was nigh impossible to get to the bar with my hand luggage so I gave up and went to the other one downstairs. People who weren't eating sat at tables anyway to watch TV. I was not impressed. I was also not impressed that my brand new tubes of toothpaste and moisturiser were taken off me (I had travelled through Melbourne no problem and on previous visits through Auckland with just hand luggage without it being an issue). The really ridiculous thing was was that you could then buy exactly the same size toothpaste in the departure lounge. What was the point? I stupidly thought the restrictions was for liquids not toothpaste. It's just ridiculous. There was no gate number for my flight, so I had to wait around the central area not knowing where to go. Surely they knew which gate the plane would leave from. I could see it parked. Apparently they don't want people to go there too early? At least you could get a seat at the gate. Really not impressed.

✅ Verified Review | After reading the reviews, I was pleasantly surprised how fast we went through the queues. Everyone was pleasant and very friendly. Airport cleanliness was average. MacDonalds area was filthy as was door 11 area. We were back the next day and it was still filthy. Very disappointed WIFI is only 45 minutes. We travel a lot and WIFI is always free and unlimited, especially considering most people are waiting in the airport far longer than 45 minutes. Also, found food over priced and not a lot of options other than fast food.

❎ Unverified | Why do we not have undercover car parking? We were departing one afternoon and were unable to find a closer car park so we parked quite a distance away. On that day it was pouring down with rain and we had about 4 suitcases and a infant with us, by the time we arrived to the departure terminal we were soaked. In saying that it goes the same way on arrival, I am baffled as to why we do not have undercover parking?

❎ Unverified | Not a good review I'm afraid! Our plane landed here from Rarotonga at 2am we then got off our plane and proceeded to the international transfers which when we got there was closed so we called up security who then told us that the gates weren't opening until 4am (no food, no water) so we all (30 of us) had to sit and wait for two hours in a corridor until the lazy staff finally opened the gates. Never coming back here!

❎ Unverified | Arrived at Auckland airport at about 3am, 1/11/17 after a holiday in Fiji. I was travelling with my 2 daughters, their husbands and 6 grandchildren. Walking along the corridors from the plane was lovely with the pictures on walls and soft sounds of nature. Picked up our bags and proceeded to customs. The 2 men manning the desks at customs were rude, maybe they were tired at that time of the morning but so were my 6 grandchildren. Not a friendly welcome (as advertised around the airport) to our overseas visitors. The lady on the scanning belt however was very friendly. Shame about the 2 men at the desks.

❎ Unverified | The transit through the internal area of the Airport after departing the plane to exiting into the arrivals area was quick and trouble free. Staff very nice. Unfortunately I had to wait outside door 11 for the shuttle, this area could only be described as "grubby" more like the airport of a 3rd world country! Cigarette butts and litter over the ground, I didn't like to sit on the one available seat in the area. This was not what I would expect of Auckland Airport and not the best welcome for overseas visitors arriving in NZ.

❎ Unverified | DXB-AKL, 27/9/17; AKL-DXB, 12/10/17. Two different reviews here. For the inbound journey, the main difficulty was baggage collection, the baggage hall as it now stands was not designed for peak passenger loads of the sort Auckland is now handling (and a similar issue affects the domestic terminal, which I went through separately while in New Zealand). The passport screening was very quick, customs less so. Outbound, I was checked into my flight very quickly, and the rest of the process (border/security) was very prompt. The airport knows it has terminal capacity issues, but is still in catch-up mode.

✅ Verified Review | Queuing, queuing, queuing! I don't know how this airport gets so many good ratings and rewards. It took us almost 2 (!) hours from the moment we left the plane until we finally reached the exit of the airport. We had to queue for 45 mins at immigration (only three counters were open) and another 30-45 mins at the agriculture inspection.

✅ Verified Review | Departing at Auckland is usually a rather pleasant experience. Passport control and security are rather efficient. It never took me more than half an hour to pass through and it regularly takes less than 10-15 minutes. While waiting for the flight, the airport has a decent offer of shopping and eating opportunities.

❎ Unverified | Check in was a mission, helpers were unhelpful. Departure lounge was dirty, the toilets were filthy I went into four different cubicles to find a cleanish toilet! The food was disgusting and expensive. I had to ask for a cloth for me to clean our table. Service staff were sullen and sloppy. The duty free was more expensive (some things were double the price) than usual NZ shops. We had a 5 hour delay without any explanation from service staff or anything from the airline. The waiting and seating area was so uncomfortable and dirty. What is happening to NZ busiest airport? In my humble opinion its a disgrace! It doesn't need an upgrade, but a knock down and rebuild with new happy staff. Like myself, many of people I spoke to agreed, they just wanted to get out of there. Very bad experience.