Guangzhou Airport

I have transited at this airport twice, both times international. The biggest shock was the outrageously high prices at their small eateries and coffee shops. I chose not to eat or drink anything, and the second time I made sure to bring something to eat and drink for the layover. I was transmitting both times during December, and it was so cold inside. I had a long layover on one occasion and was so uncomfortable due to being so cold. I recommend not transiting here if it's possible to avoid it. If not, bring something to eat and drink and (if winter) a jacket.

A shocker. No signage or info when you in, so quite a few of us joined the wrong queue. It was 30 deg and smoggy outside. No aircon, but some windows were open downstairs letting in the hot smoggy air. Dirty, especially the downstairs. On the way through, a few places were open but really low quality stuff. A tiny pizza and a coke was $40NZ. On the way back, we arrived at 5am - nothing was open at all. Some areas even had the lights off. When a good place finally opened, a cup of tea cost me the equiv of 12 Euros. I'd learnt my lesson from the way through and brought food and a book with me. For an international transit airport it's really dire.

This airport is truly awful. We arrived at about 6am. It was December. It was 6 degrees outside, and they appeared to have forgotten to turn on the heating. Oh, and the lights. Everything was closed. The seating is specifically designed to prevent lying down (armrests between every seat). Even though we were in transit with boarding passes to our final destination, we had to queue (actually we were corralled behind a few hundred other passengers) to present our boarding passes and passports at two (two!) open desks staffed by bored China Southern girls. The girl at my desk snapped at me to open my family's five passports "to picture page". Delightful. It was amusing watching a couple of different uniforms arguing about our queue before Mrs Uniform won and opened the rope to allow us all through to the gate. It's dark, grey, cold, unwelcoming and impolite. Pay the extra, fly Cathay, and transit in Hong Kong.

We went through this airport in transit to Shanghai from Manila. Immigration took an hour since the officers were blocking foreigners lines to prioritize the Chinese line. We proceeded afterwards to security which took another 45 minutes, huge lines of very angry passengers trying to catch their flights and only one security gate open. We then had to take a mini shuttle to get to the domestic gate and almost missed our connecting flight. We have been living in China for the past four years and are fluent in Chinese, that's the only reason why we were able to catch our flight. No signs, no information desks, no English, in some areas the airport is so deserted and dark, it's hard to believe this is an airport. We travel all over the world and this airport tops the list among the worst ones we have ever been to.

Will never fly into this airport again. Signs and people very poor, no English. The transfer from International to Domestic took more than one hour wait at security. Leaving the immigration queue was a nightmare, and no APEC line open, I had to yell to get attention.

I arrived from Beijing at 0045. My next flight to Dhaka was after 8 hours. Once I entered in domestic terminal it was bit tough to find the international terminal transit area. There were no staff to help and no correct signage. At night the whole airport was closed - all shops and restaurants. This is frustating for a hub airport - how can everything close at night?

We had an unexpected four-hour transit delay at this airport. There was inadequate seating and limited facilities for transit passengers. Be wary about the exchange rate. I bought two very small tubs of Haagen-Dazs icecream at the only café selling them, using my credit card. When I got my credit card bill I had been charged the equivalent of US$35. I think that is the most I have ever paid for two ice creams, including at gourmet restaurants. The wifi can only be accessed if you have a Chinese phone number, it will not accept foreign phone numbers.

Baggage Clearance Area was chaos. There were three and four baggage carousels line together, just hard to find out personal belongs within one and half hours. When I came back London, it was only 20 mins to receive my bags at Heathrow Airport. Departure in Guangzhou from A01 gate to airplane, we need to climb up three-storey steel stairs. I wonder if we leave Guangzhou Airport in bad weather, raining days with a infant, or eldest person, how they can climb up the stairs,so slippy. There is no assistance around.

Just arrived at Guangzhou Airport. When I got off the plane and into the building, it feels damp and smells musky like an unused hotel room. Walking to customs, I noticed that the ventilation was not even on. This accounts for the damp and musky feeling. Waiting in line for customs, they separated us into Chinese and foreign citizens. Obviously, there were less Chinese citizens coming in. Despite that they still have equal numbers of lines for the two groups. We foreigners ended up waiting a long time while the Chinese citizens were already through customs. On the other hand, going through customs was relatively painless. After customs, I waited for my luggage and no one showed up. I waited and waited and still no luggages. I finally asked a stewardess. I was told that my luggage was already scanned electronically and I can pick up my luggage at my final domestic destination. I wished China Southern had told me about this when I checked in at the counter. What a waste of my time. After that I went to the domestic transfer point. What do I find, a very long line waiting to go through security again. It was chaotic. No one was directing the passengers who had just deplaned. As a result, people who were going to be late were forced to jump the line which caused upset to other passengers who obeyed the rules. Security have to check passports, boarding passes and rescan people as well as the luggage again. Problem is that you have at least 100-150 people who are waiting with only three security lines doing the checking. There was no air ventilation. For such a rich country and such a big airport, couldn't they afford to turn on the A/C so people can feel more comfortable? (I was soaked and sticky from my own sweat after reaching the Gate where they did actually turn on the A/C). All 3 lines, the metal detectors do not seem to work because everyone who went through them had to be checked again by the security personnel waving a metal detector wand. What a joke. Plastic containers for the computers were also in short supply. I noticed that the security girl had to wait for the container to come back before she can proceed with another customer. Once I got through the security check, I boarded a small tram from A to B terminal. It was a long bumpy ride. It is not a short walk. My recommendation is to avoid this airport at all costs. It is an embarrassment to China.

Airport was very hot, it looks like they do not have air-conditioning in the airport. Shops are really overpriced and not for international travellers (shops were most for locals). No WiFi if you are not using Chinese SIM-card. The departure hall for international flights (Africa and Europe) very crowded because many planes were leaving that evening. Very chaotic and dirty (passengers did whatever they want, threw rubbish on the ground, smoking outside the designated areas etc). No ground staff to be seen. Gates and other signs were good and clear.