Edinburgh Airport

After reading so many bad reviews about Edinburgh Airport I was genuinely a bit apprehensive about using the place flying from here with Lufthansa to Johannesburg via Frankfurt, but overall both on departure and arrival we didn't have any major gripes. The security area is about half the size of Glasgow Airport, where we normally fly from, so if you were trying to get through there during the busy morning or early evening departure times, or god forbid during the summer holiday period, I could see where things could go badly wrong. There is a separate business class aisle, although it didn't include Lufthansa passengers, but as we had fast track parking we could use this aisle, a bit bizarre. The best thing to do is get there early enough if you can to avoid any stress if it's in the busy period. Fortunately for us we were through in about 5 minutes, and once through security you are into the duty free / shopping area. After spending some time in the Aspire Lounge, we boarded our flight to Frankfurt. On our return we were led down a few corridors to passport control, once through there you are into the baggage reclaim, which has 3 carousels. Our bags came through pretty quickly, so it was through customs, and back to the multi storey car park for the drive home. I think one of the factors in people's poor perception about the airport are the low ceilings, which gives the place a dingy feeling, compared to other airports. Overall not a bad experience through Edinburgh Airport

✅ Verified Review | My wife and I are frequent flyers from Edinburgh. The same points keep coming up on reviews by passengers. Security, although much improved since its introduction is still not a good experience. The design is wrong and no matter how much management tinker with it, it will never get better. Because someone has decided they want hand luggage in the trays, the trays are much bigger than the previous system, with the consequence that the conveyor moves too slowly and you cannot put your luggage and personal items in sequence with each other. At the end of the line, you get your luggage and then have to wait for the tray with your personal items, which is half empty. This creates considerable congestion. Somehow, you are then expected to balance both trays and take to a desk area to sort out your personal items. I retire this year after 40 years in management positions, and I can tell you that this system will never achieve the same levels of efficiency as the previous security hall. Airport management can put as much spin as they like on it, but they must know the system is fatally flawed. Arrival in the new secondary international area looks like it is a temporary facility but unbelievably it is the finished article. It seems that the airport management are more interested in spending money on the shopping precinct than on making sure there is a good customer experience. Another frequent comment over the years has been the long delays in getting luggage. The airport management keep saying this is not their problem but the airlines and their handling agents. But good airport management would realise that customers don't differentiate in who is responsible. It is the airport management's role to fix this. On our journey out on 7th January, there was a fiasco with disabled handling. Apparently, a passenger requiring assistance had been left onboard the incoming flight. Headless chickens come to mind in trying to sort this out. The result was that wheelchair users for the outgoing flight had to wait in the cold, outdoor perspex area for 45 minutes. In addition, it caused the flight to be late leaving and almost missed its slot which would have resulted in an hour's delay. Edinburgh used to be a great airport to fly through. But now the passenger areas are grubby and there is little interest in the passenger having a good experience. More often than not and in our case, we have to tolerate it as it is the closest airport to home. Like many on this review website, it would not be our airport of choice.

We are widely travelled and have to say this airport has most inefficient security system we have ever experienced. Leave plenty of time to go through or use another airport if you can. If I had a choice I would never use this airport. I have been several times and it doesn't improve.

✅ Verified Review | Have used Edinburgh airport at least once a year. On this occasion we were spending a long weekend in Edinburgh, travelling up from LHR. Our flight arrived slightly ahead of schedule and parked at Gate 11. We deplaned at 18:56, and had collected our baggage at 19:09. There are various ground transportation options. In the past we have used taxis and buses to get to Edinburgh City Centre. As our destination was on the other side of Edinburgh, this time we got a private hire vehicle from the office by the car park (plenty of signs from the terminal building). On departing Edinburgh, things were different. A global issue with BA's check-in system meant we were delayed in dropping our luggage off for over an hour. There are limited options before Security - most of the time was spent staring at the boards willing it to change. However, once we did get to Bag Drop, things improved. We were allowed to join the check in queue at 12:00, and passed through Security into Departures at 12:36. We used the No1 Lounge which provided a safe haven from the crowds (most BA flights including ours were delayed). With a very good selection of complimentary drinks available, plus ample reading material we were able to relax before our flight was finally called. The shopping selection at Edinburgh is better than most airports I have been to. More reasonably priced items that would appeal to the majority.

✅ Verified Review | I returned to Edinburgh on QR029 from Doha. Also on the plane were passengers who had come from Australia, using Doha as a hub. I had intended to write long detailed review of my experience but having spent some time reading other reviews dating back several months I have decided to keep it short and hopefully concise. Route from skybridge to arrivals is through an awkward emergency door which keeps closing, down steep stairs and along dank smelly corridors. Passport control was reasonably quick but the baggage collection area was awful. The gents toilets were only partly in use and the smell was terrible. Airport staff told us it was an ongoing problem, not an acceptable excuse. The baggage system was so slow and the indicator board was showing wrong info. The rate of delivery onto the conveyor was very poor with large gaps between small batches of cases. A Qatar Airways rep found out that only one person was loading the conveyor. All in all it took over an hour to get our cases, this is longer than we had to wait in several middle eastern airports. On other review sites the airport management always seem to lay the blame on the handling agents that they employ. Not an excuse. Responsibility ends at the top.

I pass through this airport at least 10 times a year visiting family. After passing through security with the invariable hassle of unpacking/repacking carry-on baggage, passengers are forced to transit through the Duty-free shop in an artificial U-shape which is intended to force you to contemplate their wares and to maneuver around gormless holiday seekers contemplating whether the bargains are real. While I understand that the 'clever' MBA managers wish that this will potentially increase sales, for serious travelers this simply creates an intentional hindrance and lowers Edinburgh Airport's already dismal service and useability rating.

Edinburgh airport has improved a lot but there are still many very poor aspects. The security hall looks like an industrial abattoir - one of the most unpleasant environments I've seen in an airport (must be even worse for the staff). If the awful look of it was compensated by it being really efficient then that might be a fair trade off. But it's not. The parts of the airport closest to boarding (the gangways, tunnels and stairways) are awful. They're dank, cold and smelly with old wet carpet. It's a pity that these aspects really let the rest of the airport down.

✅ Verified Review | Yet another unpleasant experience at Edinburgh airport. The airport terminal is dirty and the layout is shambolic. The check in hall is too small and crowded. However, the BA staff were really good at processing the queue. The low ceilings remind me of the old Terminal 2 at Heathrow before it was demolished. Security was a shambles. The security hall looks awful and half-finished as so much of the ceiling is left exposed. I much preferred the old security hall and regarded that as very efficient. Once airside I had an hour to wait. It was busy and after getting a coffee I had trouble finding somewhere to sit as so much floor space has been given over to retail. Eventually found a spot by Gate 9. The seats were all worn out and torn. Lots of litter lying around too. Not once did I see any cleaning staff doing the rounds airside. The flows of arriving and departing passengers do not work. People queue up at the gate and the arriving passengers have to squeeze past them all on their way out. Would be much better if a new terminal design could separate arriving and departing passengers. The whole airside area was a shambles and this wasn’t even the peak hours. The airport needs a good clean and better organization for the flows of people. Or even better – a brand new terminal design to cater properly for the airport’s growing needs.

✅ Verified Review | Edinburgh is a great airport. Small enough to hold your next birthday party - quaint and functional. The best thing was security. I really cool system of security means parallel processing is possible. What I mean is that 5 or 6 people can access security at same time on same belt. This stops just one person stuffing it up for everyone. BA staff were great on check in too. Arrivals from overseas also perfect. Fast processing. Perfect

I flew into Edinburgh from Canada and my brother came to pick me up which he has done many, many times. I waited outside the customs hall as arranged and eventually he appeared, very flustered. In turns out there are two international arrivals (who knew?) and he had been at the wrong one. Much worse, he had a devil of a job parking his car. He had gone round and round, back and forth, been forced to pay a quid just to keep going and finally parked. We figured maybe the poor old boy was losing it. A week later, my sister and I went to pick up my wife. Two pairs of eyes, how could we not find the parking? Round and round, back and forth, what a disaster! Plenty of signs for "Long term parking" but not one for "Short term parking". We drove into one entrance but there were huge white letters on the road which said "Buses only" so we backed out of that and went round the roundabout three times looking for salvation. We could see the multi-storey parkade but there is absolutely no way in. We finally got very frustrated too and parked, probably illegally. Oh Edinburgh, Edinburgh, what has happened to you?