Johannesburg Airport

Overall a pleasant experience and the best airport I found in Africa. The facilities are certainly comparable to any major airport in Western Europe. When we arrived from JFK I found our TSA locks on our luggage had been removed but nothing was missing. On the rest of our flights the locks and contents were untouched. Going through Customs and Immigration each time was quick and efficient and there were very short lines. The restaurants have reasonable prices and we found a lounge for about $18 each while we had a 3 hour connection wait. Very good food and facilities for that price. There are lots of stores.

I have not been to JNB for 4 years and was very pleasantly surprised. All staff I encountered were very polite and friendly. Shopping great. Distances are not too long for walking and signage tells you what you need to know.

Despite being a modern airport that has been upgraded recently due to last year’s Soccer World Cup there are many things that need serious improvement. The attitude of the staff leaves a lot to be desired especially at passport control. Who likes having their passport limply thrown back at them after being mumbled at? As a regular traveller to South Africa I’m used to it but for many people this is their first impression. There is a facility for international arrivals passengers with onward domestic connections whereby you can check in your luggage and receive your boarding card for your next flight prior to leaving international arrivals. It’s a good idea and reduces the chances of you being hassled by the porters when you enter the public area. However it’s not too clearly signed or easy to spot and only appears to be available for passengers travelling onwards with SAA or Express and Airlink. On our recent trip there was only one check in clerk with a small queue of around 7 people yet it took about 10 minutes to check the luggage and issue a boarding card. In our case the check in clerk didn’t even look at or speak to us. I managed to get her to speak by saying at the end “Is that it?” to which I received a whispered “yes”. However the same staff at South Africa’s provincial airports are completely different and are a pleasure to deal with. The two terminals are listed as A and B. With A being international and B domestic yet there is no indication of this. Domestic check-in is fine but international is dire. Too cramped dark a low roof and the attendants at the start of check in insist you check in at a self-service kiosk which doesn’t issue a boarding card but a slip acknowledging you are there. Then you still have to go through the normal check in routine. Each time I’ve travelled through this airport my bags have been tampered with. This is a problem that is widely known yet nothing seems to have been done about it. On one trip back to the UK starting at PLZ via JNB the check in clerk at PLZ suggested that I just checked my bags to JNB picked them up and rechecked them so that they had the least time unattended. I do this every time now. On the positive side facilities are fine with plenty of varied shops and places to eat both land and airside. A good thing to note is that domestic departures landside have much better shops and eating places than airside so if you have a long wait for your flight I recommend checking in and then get something to eat etc. before going through security. I would avoid this airport if I could but it’s not always possible.

I have traveled through OR Tambo numerous times. It is a very big airport now you don't feel cramped and crowded and the connection between Domestic and international is a bonus to before. Very clean inside. International there are a lot of shops & restaurants but they don't seem to cater for the normal person or taste all expensive lines and not much available for children. There is no play area inside the airport anywhere. Very long airport and my flights usually end up being right at the end so walking walking and more walking. I have never seen staff riding with golf-cars offering rides to elderly people with babies or even very small children. The biggest annoyance ever for me is the lack of luggage trolleys departing and arriving and then I don't even talk about that long walk from landing to get to customs - up ramps down escalators or elevator out of the way with 2 small children and 4 peoples hand-luggage including baby bag which we all have to carry because they thought it a good idea to bring our pram out together with the luggage collection and no trolleys! Check in is reasonably - I would suggest that they start international check-ins earlier than 2 hours before flight. I have also had my bags tampered with - checked in early waiting for flight down to DUR all 3 our bags locks were broken off and zips damaged.

As a shopping opportunity OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg is superior to that of most airports I've been in. Aside from the usual touristy places there are quite nice clothing shops and other stores. However as an airport where I want to actually check my bags and expect to see them safe and unopened again O R Tambo is one of the worst airports in the world! On two out of three occasions when my bag went through this airport it was opened and items stolen. The last time after I had taken out just about everything of any value except clothes and toiletries (my carry-on bag now weighed a ton!) they broke off the lock sides completely now making the bag just garbage. This was despite my having paid for the "security shrink wrap" they offer at check-in. These activities are well known at O R Tambo but the airlines and authorities don't seem to care. I am never going near this airport again!

Modern sleek airport. Only downside are the porters. Dressed in orange they approach you with a question of where are you going. Before you know it they've grabbed your bag and you find yourself in pursuit not knowing that there going to demand money even if they didn't succeed in getting you to where you really wanted to go. Be very firm even rude to get the message across to them if you don't want any help. We nearly missed our flight because they took us to the wrong terminal and on the way back to the right terminal when they asked us for more money I told them to drop the bags and leave.

The airport was quite spacious. However airport staff need to improve on their attitude and service. There was a long queue for the immigrations counter. When I reached the immigrations counter they demanded to see my boarding pass for my return flight to Singapore which is totally unnecessary at any other airport I've travelled to so far. However the boarding pass for my return flight was with the local tour guide whom had already checked out earlier. A tussle had to go on for about 20 mins before I was allowed to check out of the local immigrations after the return flight boarding pass was shown. There was another staff to guide the queue and the immigrations counter but she seemed rather lost once the queue started to get messy. A rather unpleasant experience. 1 week later I returned to the airport for a flight back to Singapore - this time round I didn't get pass the security screening because of my metal belt. I was given a body check by a local security staff and he was pretty rude. He started touching my entire body very thoroughly (not the usual body check) and was laughing and started talking to his colleague in the local language. He seemed to be making a joke out of the whole process. Yet another unpleasant experience. Waiting time to board the plane was not too bad though people had to board the plane in batches as everyone had to take a bus that brought us to the middle of the runway where we climbed the steps up the plane. No gateway.

I travelled to Malaysia in Mar 2011 and Arrived in Apr 2011. The staff were courteous check in times were minimal and the new immigration counter just after the KFC had no queues it was a hassle free experience all together. Keep it up!!!

Customs extremely quick - lots of counters manned with facilitator keeping the queue moving. Baggage out quickly. Airport very pleasant and neat. Check in at Domestic Terminal for 1Time Airlines quick. Lots of eating facilities and security pleasant and smiling. A pleasant airport to transit through.

First time at JNB since 2005 and I was really impressed. On the outward trip I followed flight connections it took about 5 mins. On return I went through immigration no queues inwards or outwards and security took about 30 seconds. A good range of retail outlets airside and we had a decent meal at News Cafe for R60 (about £5). The other positive thing is there are plenty of employees stationed around the airport able to help and point you in the right direction.