Auckland Airport

I was very disappointed with the attitude of the security staff and the queuing times over the weekend both on arrival and departure. The queues departing through the scanning was so long that immigration had to stop processing people to let the scanning queue to stop impacting them. I was impressed with the immigration staff though - keep it up. The length of the queues is also impacting the shopping as event though I was at the airport with more than 2 hours to check in I had to run to make my plane and didn't have time to eat.

The half an hour limit on the wifi is enough to want me to rate the airport 0 for everything. EVen McDonalds will give you more wifi for a cup of coffee. We are paying the Airport much more than that in departure taxes, exhorbitant parking and high prices for goods (because of high rentals). I hate that they keep reducing the number of seats at the arrival. Finally most of the food is really poor quality.

As a kiwi heading home through Auckland Airport from visiting numerous tourism orientated countries, I concur with other reviews and cringe at the atmosphere for immigration entry. It's an embarrassment to NZ whose main forex earner is tourism. The customs dogs should be out the back - I have not seen this in USA, UK, France, Italy etc. The queues and scanning is pathetic. The whole somber feel, treating all entrants like criminals, sour demeanour of staff is just embarrassing. NZ is still a great wee nation.

I wish to express my appreciation for the help given to me, an 82 year old woman with mobility problems, by two of the ground staff at this airport on my arrival in Auckland on the 4th April. Not only did they take me in a wheelchair to get the bus to Domestic but they accompanied me on the bus with my three carry on items, found a trolley for my items and saw that I was able to get to my gate for the domestic flight. I have had wheelchair assistance many times over recent years but have never received such help and attention. I had been quite anxious before that flight but now when I return to Gold Coast next Monday 25th I will feel at ease.

Probably one of the worst airports I've visited - congested, lack of seating, little food choice (unless you want fast food), not particularly clean. This is us departing NZ after 6 fabulous weeks here where the service, beauty and people were phenomenal. A shame we're leaving this fabulous country disappointed.

What a difference 20 years makes. I cannot fault any aspect of the arrival, a full A380 to the Skybus in about 30 minutes. On departure all formalities were again extremely quick, the only small criticism would be 30 minutes of free wifi - for international departures 30 minutes in woefully inadequate and not up to standard.

Poor arrival experience every time. The agricultural agents are grossly under staffed creating unacceptable long queues in that area. Great letdown for arrival into the country. Modern scanning and more staff are needed to get anywhere near the experience of similar sized international airports. Customs have got it sorted. Time for agricultural to also get sorted.

Arrival was fine really. It was tedious in the fact that you have to go through immigration and then after you collect your bags you then have to line up for them to be x-rayed when you are just longing to get out in the fresh air. But the staff were all polite and patient. We know NZ is very strict on food with hefty fines for fresh food so we brought no food whatsoever to hopefully streamline the process. We were out of the airport within an hour of landing which wasn't too bad. Departure was a little more chaotic. Not sure why they have check in for international flights and arrival on the same floor close to each other. There just doesn't seem to be enough space between the lines for check in and the wall/windows/doors/shops which makes it difficult for all with trolleys full of bags weaving around each other. To actually depart you have to go up the escalators and fill a departure card. That part was fairly stress free. It just seems like this attractive little airport has outgrown itself and needs some expansion to cater for the growing number of passengers.

Having just come off a longhaul flight from Tokyo Narita I was tired. After getting off the plane I instantly noticed how run down and dirty the airport has become, not a very good first impression for a visitor to New Zealand tired from a long flight. Immigration was OK but could be more efficient for those who could use the ePassport gates. Customs had all X-Ray machine running but still could have been more efficient. After clearing customs I had to catch a domestic flight. At the domestic baggage transfer counter there were long queues so I decided to walk with my luggage to the domestic terminal. An absolute nightmare when you have come off a long flight the fact that you have to wait for a long queue just to drop your bag is rediculous and having to carry it to the domestic terminal, even more so. Once in the domestic terminal the seating is grimy and scarce. For once, I was actually looking forward to getting on a plane. Overall, Auckland Aiport is poorly managed and is in desperate need of refurbishment. For this reason I am avoiding Auckland next time I travel.

I travel 6-7 times a year through the domestic terminal for a meeting in the city. I have a 1.5 hour wait either end (because the flight times were reduced drastically with the Q300 entrance). There is absolutely nowhere to find a comfortable seat, unless you find a soft seat at the Bach coffeehouse. I strolled over to the international last time, remembering the soft seats at the atomic cafe but now they are all gone, so I pretended to be a customer at the bar in the corner. I travelled through Christchurch recently and was pleasantly surprised by the comfort and variety of seating provided there - way superior to any area in Auckland airport, either domestic or international. I've passed through Singapore airport on the way to Central Asia and Bangkok as well, and the airport experience in the former easily determines my preferred route. If I had a choice of landing and requiring to spend time in Christchurch or Auckland, my backside tells me which one to choose - as if plane travel wasn't enough discomfort. By the way, Air NZ is easily a preferred airline, but unfortunately it's service level is eclipsed by the airport's lack of comfort provided.