Sao Paulo Guarulhos Airport

Immigration process of the airport is very confusing and it takes too long. The baggage claim area is too small and stressful and I am always worry that my bags will be stolen. The airport needs better stores more variety of restaurants more interesting launch areas. The first impression is dirty dangerous and chaotic. More information in ENG and SPN is required. A tourist is most certain lost when the connection flight has delay. There is no child friendly area.

Standard 60s style airport with low ceilings and little natural light. Immigration was a bit slow partly because air crew push to the front of the queue and block several of the desks. Probably 60 minutes to get off the plane and out of the terminal. I took the bus into town R33 pay at the desk on the kerb side after arrivals. The immigration process was quick however I would urge people to avoid going airside until absolutely necessary apart from a coffee outlet and horrendously overpriced duty free there are no facilities at all (the prices were so ridiculous that no-one seemed to be buying anything). I did manage to get wireless running off my Skype account though.

Have been travelling to Sao Paulo 4 times a year for the last 8 years what's so surprising is that in those 8 years almost nothing has changed at what is possibly one of the worlds most uninspiring airports. Food prices have increased dramatically and it's now easier to get an airconditioned airport bus from outside the terminal. One company still has the monopoly on the taxi ranks outside the airport - rumoured to be owned by the local governor. No corporate car companies operate directly from the airport probably due to the monopoly mentioned earlier if you are looking for this type of service then try Sao Paulo Airport Transfers not much more expensive than an airport taxi but much higher quality vehicle meet and greet etc.

I have used GRU regularly for 3 years. GRU is not dirty just dingy and dark. It does have elevators! But I agree food prices are very high especially for snacks (the Viena churrascaria is expensive but not as overpriced as a pao de queijo and a beer) queues are long (get here 3h before your flight) and unannounced gate changes make it hard to relax (check screens at boarding time and regularly afterwards if your flight is delayed). I think the comments here are by and large fair. GRU is not somewhere you would choose to spend time but its not a bad place just struggling to cope with more people than it was built for and showing its age. GRU is a difficult airport to use if you speak no Portuguese. But whatever you do keep smiling stay positive and calm and staff will warm to you and try to help you. Being rude negative or angry will not help at all.

My first time in Guarulhos airport was 8 years ago. I have the feeling that nothing has improved since then. Now looks like an old bus terminal not enough parking not enough taxis very expensive taxis not enough public transportation long immigration queues flight delays etc.

Not many positives to be honest - check in with TAM was quick but only because I was travelling Business. The main check in area was hugely overcrowded (9pm at night). Queues at passport control were bad leaving (about 25mins) and horrendous when I arrived (1hr 30mins+) - for Brazilian nationals the wait was a lot longer. Star Alliance lounge was terrible - small and overcrowded - would have been better getting rid of the grand piano and getting a few more seats in. Flight changed gates but was never announced.

Frequently travel to GRU from various destinations in the Americas. The word that best describes this airport is ridiculous. First you need to allow two or three hours to get there/from there as traffic is insane (took me 4 hours once). Lines are unbelievable at all times but get worse close to 10pm when most flights depart to North America. Immigration and security a joke half the counters are open even when the lines cross the entire airport - twice. If you're taking heavy carryons bear in mind there's stairs and the escalators might be shut for maintenance (there's no elevator). I remember once that my flight changed gates and the screens still showed up the old one so had to drag my bags all over the place to find it. The screens at the new gate were off and the airline personnel were chatting behind a glass door: not speaking the language I could only hope I was at the right place. The whole place was dark and dingy even smelled bad. There's cigarette butts and smell in the bathrooms. My best guess is that this place was conceived as a military terminal but was then forced to accommodate tourists and businessmen. I have eliminated it as a hub but can't avoided when Brazil is my final destination. Hopefully they'll do something before the World Cup and the Olympics.

Not quite one of the most depressing airports in the world but close to it. Depending on what time of day you arrive you'll generally be faced with exceptionally long slow moving queues at immigration. Luggage usually appears on the conveyors quite quickly and from this point on clearing the airport is reasonably easy - and you want to clear the airport! The shops available are reasonably far and few between food establishments are slowly getting better and are no longer the mum and pop owned places they were a few years back but are quite overpriced and poor value for money (even for an airport) probably due to the lack of competition. Transport from the airport is ok with buses and taxis easy to locate. The local state governor is the director of the only taxi company that has a taxi stand at GRU which probably explains why they have the monopoly there. Airport buses are available near terminal 1 and are easy to find and pay for even if you don't speak the lingo.

We had to enter and leave GRU twice during our trip both with an 8 hour stop over. The times we arrived and left there were never any lines at immigration (on either side) and our bags came within 10mins of exiting immigration. But a tip if you have a long stop over you can use the Smiles Lounge (located in Wing C Terminal 2 Departures next to one of the entrances to the immIgration and xray lines. You pay 50BRL which is about 30USD and you can use the lounge eat the food drink shower watch tv for as long as you want. They will even secure your luggage with you. The food not the greatest but there is beer! And you can sleep along the seating. Better than hanging in the airport and paying 10BRL a beer -and free Wifi! (upstairs it costs $0.20USD a minute).

Starting from the immigration lines where normally only few officers are working the waiting time is very long. Don't worry the worst is about to come the luggage belts where we need to collect our belongings are absolutely awful an absolutely mess. Once your luggage comes out the lines to go through customs are indescribable - spent about one hour just to get to the lonely custom officer. A very old uncomfortable and very expensive airport. If you have any option do not make your flight connections here. Untrained staff foreign language skills very poor just to list few points. On top of all of that the airport doesn't look clean at all. The only real advantage of flying here is that you will never complain about other airports.