Vienna Airport

If you are a long haul passenger you need to be aware of a few things. The luggage trolleys in the luggage collection hall are coin operated. You will need 3 Euros to get the trolley, and no, the nearby staff do not give change for your paper notes. Also, the airport does not provide any small trolleys for hand luggage, so commonly provided by other international airports. You need to carry your hand luggage during the long walk from the arrival gates. If you are entitled to an access to a lounge be ware that these are located before the security check. The lounges are within the duty free shopping area.

Travelling weekly from and to Vienna. Tonight, my flight was delayed and passengers were anxious to reach their connections. At the Even numbered gates at least 5 Jettys were free, at the odd numbes just 3 planes were at the gates. Guess what we had? A bus position, which took much longer. The rear door was opened with 5 min delay and the guy with the gangway was obviously in no hurry. One more example of the service attitude there. No comparison with ZRH or MUC. SIN is anyway in another league.

Transited recently several times in Vienna. Quite frustrating. Signs to find the lounge? Nope, either you know your way or forget the lounge or ask 25 airport staff to find your way. Gent's toilets - this is the first time I saw queuing men in front of it and not only once Security unfriendly and you have to go through it every time you change flight there (domestic-domestic, domestic-european, also european-european). They seemingly make it a good business. Arriving on business ticket, access to business class security check is on the other side of a packed hall with huge queues. Austrian books you on short transfer flights and then you walk a long way to enjoy a security check again half an hour after having been screened at another domestic airport - try to avoid this airport.

Terminal 1 B gates had no shops after security check, which was a small surprise/minus. Shop area had very pushy cosmetic sales people - watch out for those. Otherwise airport works well and free wi-fi makes your waiting more pleasant and efficient.

The airport is very clean and modern looking. I found the walk to the luggage claim a bit long but nothing serious and the shopping space at the arrival a bit crowded. Airport is very easily accessible by car, bus or train with the train station right underneath the airport. Staff were very friendly and helpful and although the airport wasn't immensly big, it had everything you would need. Places were well lit and information was enough. Check-in was a bit crowded but the process was fast and simple. The distance bettween gates was short and it was very simple to get to my gate. Bathrooms were very clean and the waiting room for boarding was confrotable, clean and quiet, it was a bit recessed from the main corridor, so you could wait there without having too much noise from people passing by.

The staff in most of the restaurants and stores are not very friendly. I had a wonderful experience elsewhere in the country but found the airport restaurant and shop staff to be curt and plain rude. If you arrive early, try to avoid doing any shopping or eating at the airport. Security however was very pleasant, I had no idea what to expect but they walked me through the process with smiles on their faces.

Vienna is a medium sized airport with old and new concourses. I experienced the new one on arrival and departed from the old one. It is a surprisingly quiet airport despite the level of traffic, with a variety of shops including two small supermarkets. One thing it lacks is adequate money changing and ATM service. I received inaccurate directions twice for the lone ATM in the new terminal. It's on the second floor hidden away from most of the other services. I did not see a bank. I would imagine most visitors come from the Eurozone which mitigates some of the need for money services, but Vienna also attracts a great many people from outside the Eurozone, as well. There are 2 ATMs before departure in the old concourse (one was out of service) and the money exchange is not open in the early morning. Immigration went quickly, coming and going. Security was slow--British has a small operation here and contracts out all of the airport services to a contractor who uses the same staff for check-in at the counter and at the gate. Because of the logistics to do this, the queue for security(which happens at the gate) is rather long. The gates in the old concourse are inadequate in size and the boarding process was relatively chaotic. I took the train service into the city (rather than CAT). The set-up is a bit confusing. The train turns into S-Bahn (a sort of commuter rail) at the Airport into Vienna and tickets are good for onward travel on the subway and buses, although this is not clear from the multi-lingual ticket machines. The station is staffed, so if you ask first, the system becomes more intuitive.

Vienna Airport is one of my favorites. Clean, not too big, many shops, comfortable seating at gates, good quick snack options and Vienna is one of the few airports providing real free WiFi which is very fast.

Arrival was good, we were bussed from the aircraft to the terminal, a short ride and no queues for passport checks. From there to the rail station was quick and links with the city centre are excellent - we took the S-bahn, it is cheaper than CAT (though a little slower) and links with other lines very well. Departure was not so easy, we had a long walk to Terminal 1 which I am not convinced was necessary as we had checked-in online, we then walked back to the departure gates. Queues for security and passports were not bad, about 5 minutes each. However, once in the departure area for non-Schengen flights there are very few facilities, a vending machine and small 'duty free' shop - both limited and very expensive. If you want something to eat and drink have it before going to your departure gate.

A truly dreadful experience. I travel all over the world and have never encountered a more confusing airport. Tried to make for the Austrian business class lounge. This is on the cusp of the Schengen and non-Schengen departure areas. Was travelling within Schengen but accidentally went to wrong area via passport control. Unsmiling officer made me go all the way back through immigration. OK, my fault. But getting back through immigration made me walk more than a mile (I checked it on my iPhone). Signage is extremely confusing. Worst I've experienced anywhere. To add insult to injury, the Austrian airlines business lounge was full, untidy and unwelcoming. Oh, and the wifi was down. Not a nice place to be. Avoid if you can.