Guangzhou Airport

Customer Reviews

4 star Skytrax Rating
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Queuing Times 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Staff 12345
Customer rating from 193 reviews
4/10
4 star Skytrax Rating
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4/10

"food courts very pricey"

(Australia)

Guangzhou airport is new but the design and management are both poor. Parked at a remote stand far away from the terminal. All passengers had to catch a bus to the terminal and we went through a long, dark hallway and upstairs to pick up luggage. We had to wait a time for immigration - the officers were cold and the same at customs. Had to walk a long way to the taxis. On departure I found out the food courts were very pricey and the food quality was pretty average.
Experience At AirportArrival Only
Date VisitMarch 2016
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
2/10

"food prices really expensive"

(United States)

Guangzhou Airport is a little like going back in time 15 years. I had an 8-hour transfer stop at CAN, and it was brutal. Definitely do what you can to avoid using this airport. Where I was, there were only two restaurants, both overpriced and dodgy. I ate at 'Blendz' cafe, which at least has free wifi. Customers were asking me the exchange rate in disbelief - I assured them they were correct and the prices really were that expensive. They serve weird sandwiches with the crust removed - the ham was very processed. I tried to kill some time at the stores but the staff in the store made that difficult as they stand right next to you as you browse. The customs lines are long and inefficient. If you have to go to Guangzhou airport, I hope you are good at meditation.
Experience At AirportTransit
Date VisitApril 2016
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
8/10

"clean and comfortable"

(Canada)

I've seen some poor reviews for Guangzhou (CAN) and I must say I found nothing to justify them. It is a bit unfortunate that at a newer airport there is the need to take a bus to/from the aircraft some times, but a very minor inconvenience and handled very efficiently. The airport itself is quite clean. I had a 5 hour layover at the beginning of my trip and a 7.5 hour layover on the return portion and while there are not a ton of amenities, there is definitely enough. I want to point out as well that I have seen several reviewers be upset about the fact that all of the seating has armrest, making it impossible to lie down. To me this is absolutely ridiculous, and shows the ignorance of some travelers. Of course they don't want people lying down and taking up 3 or 4 seats. All of the gates are used on a regular basis. If you need to lie down, throw a jacket on the floor and lie there. There are plenty of tucked away corners or areas behind amenities that are very quiet. That's what I did and had no issues. Got a few hours of sleep in fact. For international transfers there are 2 main wings of gates and I found the A01-A115 gate wing to be a much more comfortable temperature. For some reason the other wing is kept a few degrees cooler and it's a bit too cold. There is a Starbucks in the cooler wing though, so worth the walk if you're a coffee drinker or simply want a sandwich (which were very good). The warmer wing does have a Blenz coffee, but not much offered for food in Blenz. Both wings have several Chinese food restaurants and some convenience stores. Overall, a fairly basic airport, but clean and comfortable and had no issues with asking directions/questions from the mostly China Southern staff.
Experience At AirportTransit
Date VisitApril 2016
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Airport Staff 12345
yes
2/10

"lack of fast-food outlets"

(United Kingdom)

The long queues for foreign passengers were hardly the best start to this transfer. My biggest gripe is with the complete lack of fast-food outlets. How exactly is a passenger with 30 minutes between planes supposed to sit down and order a meal? Where is KFC, McDonalds or Subway in the departures lounge? Have they purposely banned them to ensure the local restaurants have the monopoly? Would a snack bar or even convenience store selling a few sandwiches really hurt? Please be warned that if you are changing plans and feel the need to eat in Guangzhou then you'd better think again.
Experience At AirportTransit
Date VisitApril 2016
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
1/10

"not enough seats"

(Singapore)

Guangzhou Airport does not act like an international airport at all. For a busy city in China, you would expect at least one restaurant to open. There was none. There are not enough seats in the departure hall, and even so guards started chasing passengers off the departures area even though the distinction between international and domestic sections is unclear. Security and customs do not open until 4am (the flight is 5.55am), and there were only two counters open when they do for hundreds of passengers. This is also the second occasion where I saw passengers fighting over queue disputes at this airport because of the long queue and waiting times. There is no heating at the airport, and everyone was cold, wet and hungry. It was freezing at the holding areas where buses were supposed to pick everyone up. There was again not enough seats to go around inside. There was still no shops open after passing customs, and so when a few hours delay was announced, there were many irate passengers who starting screaming and yelling at staff about the chaotic and appalling situation until something amazing happened - the budget airline is forced to bring a food truck to try and appease the irate passengers. There was a mad rush for the snacks. Now I fully understand why China Southern prefers to keep passengers inside the plane than outside during delays.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitFebruary 2016
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
6/10

"is the worst experience"

(New Zealand)

Transfer processes of Guangzhou Airport is the worst experience of my life. I felt I was traveling in a flea market rather than an airport. Go up and down with elevator many times, queue for mini bus. The process are not smooth or comfortable when you had a long-haul flight.. On the way to Passport Control, the light and the decoration are dark.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitMarch 2016
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
1/10

"enough said - awful"

(United Kingdom)

Arrived at 6pm into Guangzhou Baiyun Airport. Had to wait in line before passengers being allowed into Transit or Immigration for over an hour, before being called forward to jump the queue due to the departure of onward flight (a 2.5 hour transit time in the same terminal). Enough said - awful.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitMarch 2016
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
3/10

"will try to avoid"

(China)

What a nightmare this place is, long long lines, took me 2 hours to pass immigration. Saw many passenges missing their connections. Desk totally understaffed. Western food hardly available, except for a Subway sandwich place. Announcements in Chinese only. I will try to avoid next time.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitFebruary 2016
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
2/10

"few information screens"

(China)

Guangzhou is the most badly signposted airport I've ever experienced. There are so few information screens - it's really difficult to find them. When you do find one, arrival and departure info is poor and every time I come here, I have to ask for directions. The screens take ages to move to the next page. The baggage collection carousels are very small and badly designed and it's always chaotic collecting a bag here.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitFebruary 2016
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
2/10

"airport was freezing"

(United States)

We had 2 layovers in this airport. The first was for only 2 hours - we found the airport was freezing, all the employees had on over coats and those waiting for flights were under blankets. We thought the heat must be broken so we walked around to keep warm before getting on our flight. On our return we had a 6.5 hour layover and the airport still freezing. We were flying Business Class so we thought we would be ok in the VIP lounge but were we wrong. After 3 hours in the cold I discovered an unmarked door to a side room - it was warm with a floor heater. It did not last The lounge staff came in and said we could not stay in there as it was a VIP / meeting room. After some discussion her supervisor we were thrown back into the cold for another 3.5 hours. Would avoid this airport in the future.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitFebruary 2016
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no