St Petersburg Airport

Flights from and to Moscow using Pulkovo 1 - inbound easy as I only had cabin baggage. Bus to terminal then straight outside. Note that the ordinary bus terminates at Moskovsky Prospekt Metro station - you also have to pay double (38 roubles instead of 19) if you have a suitcase (same on the Metro - 44 roubles instead of 22 and you get a different coloured token to operate the luggage gate). From what I could find out (but I may be wrong) there are no longer any buses from the airport right through to Moskovsky Railway Station. Outbound also easy - quick check-in unless you're using Aeroflot whose queues snake around the building. No-fuss security was quick (English-speaking security officers). Landside flight announcements are all made in English as well as Russian but airside I could only hear Russian. Landside has all the usual shops - news-stand gift shop cafes etc. Food prices are extortionate - 135 roubles for a croissant that costs 20 in any local bakery. Airside only has a bar gift shop (closed - my flight was 7.30 am) and news-stand. WiFi apparently available as plenty of people were using laptops. Be careful if your flight is from Gates 1 to 6 - these are in the satellite terminal in the middle of the tarmac so you have to go downstairs from the departure lounge use a travelator out to the satellite then upstairs into the gate area. There are escalators at each end but these were not working when I was there. From there it is a short walk to the aircraft.

The airports organization has improved lately and is now more efficient. The main problem with the international terminal (Pulkovo-2) is that is too small to handle all passengers especially during the tourist season. They have lately opened up more security controls before check in which speeds things up although long queues to check in and passport control remain a problem. After the passport control several new restaurants have opened up like TGIF big tax free shop and a new smoking room (to avoid smoking at the toilets). The biggest annoyance is the security check before boarding. Unfriendly inefficient to small and they shout at you that you have to take your shoes off. A very post Soviet experience not like St Petersburg itself which has changed a lot.

Inbound is still easy (although it was a little cold being bussed in from the plane). Outbound much easier this time. Mostly no doubt because it was the second week of March and the high tourist season was a couple of months away. The previous commenters are right that you have to know when to queue up (2 hours before flight is announced) and have to recognize the name of your flight in Cyrillic. On the bright side it was much cleaner this time around you could actually purchase snacks and drinks at 6 am and they actually offer free wifi. Pulkovo isn't paradise to be sure. But at least it's not a seething roiling surly hell like CDG.

If you want to retain your sanity avoid departing from this airport. The queues started outside the building when I was leaving yesterday. You have to go through security before you can even check in! I had plenty of time though and stood in line for an hour inching forward whilst people joined their friends in front of me a real case of one step forward two steps back. The sun was beating down through a glass roof and everyone was dripping with sweat. People told me of having had to wait outside in the winter in the snow! When I reached the security woman she growled something in Russian to me and refused to let me through. Lesson 1. You are only allowed into the airport if your gate has been announced. So I went back to the end of the queue and started again immediately the gate for my flight was announced. Another long session of queuing and I eventually made it through security the rest of the procedure was relatively easy for me but I bet they could screw things up elsewhere at this airport if they put their minds to it.

First thing to note is that there is no direct public transport from the city and if you are thinking of doing that allow plenty of time - you have to first get to Moskovskaya metro station (which probably means two trains) and then find the right exit near Macdonald's where you need to catch a #39 bus or mini-bus. Thankfully a kind person guided me because I would not have found it myself. On the mini-bus you will have to pay an extra fare if you have a bag. From the outside Pulkovo 1 looks quite imposing - there are only a couple of doors and I saw no signage to identify where was arrivals and departures but by fluke I picked the right door. Inside is quite dimly lit. There are just a few check-in counters and all the destinations are in Russian so if you need to catch a flight here make sure you can read your destination (or at least your flight number) in Cyrillic. My flight had only one counter open but it was very efficient and although the queue was long I had my boarding pass in just 10 minutes or so. Next security was very diligent and I was glad of this - everyone takes their shoes off no exceptions. The departure lounge has an open bar area and a few shops - beer is a little cheaper in the shops than the bar but expect to pay upwards of 100 roubles for a drink. It is a basic airport but it did the job.

Inbound is as previous commenters observe a snap -luggage customs and all. Outbound can be a pain especially for international flights which tend to leave between 5:30 and 8:30 am. I recommend you just hover around the gate until right before your flight is announced (two hours before flight time). Worked for me every time. You can expect surly attendants sparse and expensive drinks and nowhere to sit. The Soviet-era is somewhat of a downer too. All the same Pulkovo is nowhere near as expensive snotty or dreary as say CDG. No reason to look forward to it but nothing to be afraid of there either.

I could not believe St Petersburg airport terminal 2 is an airport it worse than a bus station in some countries. you can not check in unless you pass the security and security wont open until 2 hours before your departure time. so if you arrive early sorry you can stand outside in the snow. business lounge is nice enough for only an hour resting. the only problem is smoking everyone smoking inside the lounge. before boarding you have to go through security check again. two minutes ago you were doing the same thing i dont know why they have to check twice. probably people upstairs dont trust colleagues downstairs. such a weird process and strange airport experience.

LED Terminal 2 now holds my record for speed of disembarkation passport control retrieving luggage passing customs and getting into the car - 10 min from the moment the aircraft doors opened. Full marks. As for departure the rot sets in. For an early morning departure there was surprising amount of passenger activity. Everything is screened just to enter the check-in area. And they do insist on sighting your ticket whatever form it has. When I could not be bothered to dig in my luggage for the ticket the attendant finally let me in figuring I wasn't at the airport at 4.30am with luggage just to loiter. Check-in was quick enough but the airport offers absolutely nothing once inside. Overpriced duty-free hardly any seating expensive and poor coffee. And to add a gloomy pre-Perestroika Soviet interior ambience grumpy staff. Another security check at the gate in a poorly lit environment that can't cope with the nr. of passengers. An embarrasing way to leave such a stunning city.

Milan Malpensa airport held my vote for worst airport ever. But LED has now taken that dubious honour. The airport is a tiny shoebox vastly underprovisioned for security checks passenger numbers and any suggestion of passenger comfort is a joke. There are three security scanners for the whole terminal (Terminal 2) and the average waiting time was 40 minutes on a Sunday afternoon (I shudder to think about peak business times). After customs you are fed into a second security scanner (only one of these). In the waiting area for your plane there are only a few available seats nowhere to go for food or drink (you can look through the glass to the land-side cafeteria) or duty-free (that is in the previous area) no power points for laptops and no Wifi. On the plus side the arrivals area was ok (clean spacious and enough shops) but is also the only airport I've found that you need to go through a security scanner for the arrivals area. I'll make every effort to avoid this airport and advise anyone else to do the same.

Pulkova 1 and 2. Arriving at Pulkova 1 from Frankfurt by Lufthansa. Many pax without baggage and total chaos ensued. No English speaking local or Luft. rep. to explain procedure (ie first fill in customs declaration for your missing bag and only afterwards they will attend to it). One tiny little office with a long queue where they log your suitcase and give you a printout with a telephone number on. However this number is never answered and even if they find your suitcase no one bothers to let you know. On the occasion when this number is answered if you cannot converse in Russian they simply put the phone down. You have to keep going to the airport to see if your case has arrived. These people do not speak any English and couldn't care less about your plight so if you cannot speak Russian do not lose your suitcase! Leaving Pulkova 2 for flight to Moscow was a total joke. There are no signs to tell you even how to get into the airport or where to go once inside and checking in to Aeroflot is a free-for-all. Airport is dingy grim very confusing and to be avoided if at all possible.