Aruba Reina Beatrix Airport

Customer Reviews

No Skytrax Rating
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Queuing Times 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Staff 12345
Customer rating from 30 reviews
2/10
No Skytrax Rating
Sort Reviews by :
Show
1/10

"the worst, most miserable departure"

(United States)

Not Verified | I came here to see if it was just me, but I can see that all the issues - plus many more - have been reported by many already - going back several years. What is Aruba waiting for? This was by far the worst, most miserable departure we've ever experienced. What - they don't trust their own security that they make you go through it twice? And the biggest head-scratcher of all: checked luggage. Who thought of the ingenious idea of making you check your luggage, then search a huge room for it later along with everyone else? Just idiotic. I can't believe how bad and lacking in common sense their processes are. Like many others, we loved the island. However, just thinking about the hassle getting back home makes me think twice about returning.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitJuly 2023
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
2/10

"Terrible airport experience"

(United States)

Not Verified | This airport's organization is a disaster. Expect to wait in numerous, disorganized lines for up to 3 hours before you get to your gate. New this year is a "Fast Track" service where you pay a fee to get through the lines (I guess the long lines are by design to make extra cash). They were working hard at making the departure experience better for US tourists. I guess that ended when the new fee for service program came into play. The employees either don't know securities procedures or don't care. They give you the wrong answer to simply questions. They are super nice and helpful when you arrive but could care less when you are leaving. Never transit here on Saturday. Sundays are getting overcrowded as well, probably because of the time of year. Terrible airport experience. Only bonus is clearing US Customs so you don't have to at home, but some of those agents are just down right nasty and obnoxious.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitDecember 2022
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
2/10

"never go back because of airport"

(United States)

Trip Verified | Stood in horrible lines for more than 3 hours. Completely unnecessary! Absolutely no organization, staff never gave explanations or even good directions. One employee kept hollering for “customers, please keep moving!” As if we wanted to stand still? In several instances, we saw employees give special treatment to some by opening lines for people to bypass longer lines to join shorter ones that were completely blocked off except for this reason. The final time my husband and I saw it happen, which was opened, literally, just behind us, we snuck through too while said employee was busy looking for others (of their choosing) to go through. We were fast tracked through customs in minutes. We had not eaten before because we thought 3 1/2 hours in small airport would have left plenty of time to eat at a restaurant in the airport. Nope, I barely had time to get aunt Annie’s (while my husband used that time to take a quick trip to the bathroom, I had to use airplane toilet). We got to our gate while plane was boarding (ate on plane). As we were boarding plane I noticed people just arriving, that had been in line with us before we snuck out, 25 minutes later. Aruba, amazing time but we will never go back because of airport.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitAugust 2022
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
1/10

"worst airport I have ever been in"

(United States)

Trip Verified | The worst airport I have ever been in spent 4hrs waiting in line to get through customs. The gate agents just don’t care to help. Missed our flight tried to stop our bags from going gate agent said we would have to go back through customs. Never coming back
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitAugust 2022
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
2/10

"astonishing failure in customer service"

(United States)

Not Verified | Could not be worse run. The absolute model of inefficiency. The say allow 3 hours to check in, and they mean it. Line 1 - cue to enter, docs checked. Line 2 covid test verification Line 3 bag tags docs checked. Line 4 Aruba customs docs checked. Line 5 go through screening docs checked, Line 6 reclaim bags, Line 7 check bags again docs checked, Line 8 US customs docs checked, Line 9 go through screening again - I’m not kidding you have to have your carryon and yourself screened twice. You have to drop off, reclaim and drop off your bag again. My passport and boarding pass was checked no less than 5 times. I had to answer the screening questions 3 times. I booked a repeat visit and have now canceled it. The only reason for 2 stars not one is that there is a nice wine bar but chances are you won’t get to enjoy it as you waste your life away in hours upon hours of senseless lines. The airport process is an astonishing failure in customer service.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitApril 2022
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
1/10

"I spent 4 hours standing in line at this airport"

(United States)

Not Verified | I spent 4 hours standing in line at this airport to travel home. We arrived at 12.30pm for a 4.48 departure and the lines for American Airlines was unbelievable. We had 5 children and 4 adults. When I say standing in line it was every bit of standing for 4 hours waiting to get in the airport, waiting to get checked in, waiting to go through customs and security, waiting to get to our gate. I noticed this only happening to American Airlines customers. They don't tell you in the brochures how stressful and tiring it is to go through this airport. We had a wonderful trip in Aruba but the crowds and confusion were enough to make me think I will not return to this island.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitMarch 2022
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
1/10

"absolutely zero organization"

(United States)

Trip Verified | I have never had a worst air travel experience, our flight was delayed for more than two days, the staff was insanely rude. I had my passport checked 15 times within a span of 10 minutes while standing in 10 different lines, absolutely zero organization. The island is beautiful but I will never make a trip ever again simply because of this.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitMarch 2022
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
2/10

"the most disorganized airport"

(United States)

Not Verified | Aruba is a beautiful country, I cannot say the same for their airport. It is the most disorganized airport and I definitely did not feel safe. The amount of lines that need to be waited in makes people feel on edge because everyone is worried about missing there flights. People were causing scenes because of this and nobody should feel like that way before going on a plane. There needs to be directions and more organization as me and my husband would not like to return if this airport does not get it together. Because of the disorganization we then could not leave the airport without the 28 travelers we were missing due to the lines they were waiting for which is unfair.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitJuly 2021
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
no
1/10

"I would advise taking your vacation someplace else"

(United States)

Not Verified | My wife and I were traveling back home after our honeymoon, and unfortunately we had a fairly inconvenient ending to our honeymoon due to the lack of preparation of this airport. Unfortunately, we did not get the memo that it was advised to arrive at least 3 hours before our departure. We arrive two hours before. When we arrived to the airport, we had to wait in line for almost an hour just to get our bags checked in. Fortunately, there was a attendant that did allow us to bypass the line because he did see that we did not have much to check in. Throughout the two and a half hours that we stood in line, we had to go through at least 6 or 7 different lines, with a perceived lack of consideration for the fact that people were in a hurry to make their flights. Some people were allowed to bypass the long line while others weren't, with no explanation given. We had to go through two different security lines, as well as through passport control and customs. We also were not made aware that our luggage would be pulled aside in customs and just left in a room for us to pick up again, thinking that they were already on their way to our first flight. In the midst of at least a few hundred people who were also in transition as well, we were fortunate to be able to locate our bags so quickly, despite the fact that there was barely any direction or guidance given by the staff to help us locate our bags. One worker was just walking around at one point joking around instead of doing something to help those in need. There was a lot of restlessness from both kids and adults as a result, with many people have to come out of line to use the bathroom, one of them being my wife. However, probably the biggest let down at Aruba Airport was with U.S. customs. We were baffled when we saw only two people working to serve these few hundred people desperately trying to make their flights. When we asked an attendant why there were only two workers, all she said was that she was not involved with them. By the time we had reached the front of the customs line, we had unfortunately already missed our flight, and the process of answering the questions at customs took all but about 10 seconds. What is especially disappointing about this whole process is that there seemed to be no remorse by the staff for the fact that there were so many people that missed their flights. Not once did I hear a "we apologize for the inconvenience" or "we're sorry for the wait". We had to rebook our flight to return home the next morning. In all honesty, this was the worst experience that we have ever had in traveling in regards to customer service. I personally have been to airports smaller than Aruba Airport that have been more organized and efficient than this. Aruba is a really good vacation spot, but the airport experience makes it not worth traveling back to the island anytime soon. I would strongly advise everyone to avoid this airport at all costs if possible. If you have to go through this airport, be very early (at least 3, maybe even 4 hours) to accommodate any pushbacks that they may have. Otherwise, I would advise taking your vacation someplace else.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitJuly 2021
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
4/10

"In 25 years of traveling to Aruba I’ve never had a bad experience"

(United States)

Not Verified | We grabbed our luggage and left in single file line out of the airport, a few security people were standing around watching and chatting, someone broke a big bottle probably 5 minutes before exiting so they put a wet floor cone with no regard to people walking through the glass and the wet tile. Instead of putting someone there to tell the people to walk around they were too busy talking, my girlfriend walking behind me flies up in the air on her back and elbows and lands on all the glass. Thank goodness her beach bag went under her as it covered her back from all the glass, a security staff member came over and said if you want to file a report go online to do it. I flipped out on them because no one once said let me call someone to help you, after me letting them know how unprofessional they were only then they decided to make a report and have someone clean it up as I would not let anyone behind me go past us. In 25 years of traveling to Aruba I’ve never had a bad experience. This was totally unacceptable, 5 people standing there and not one was even trying to kick the glass to the side or stand there telling people to walk around, no she said oh it just happened.
Experience At AirportArrival Only
Date VisitMarch 2021
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
Airport Staff 12345
yes
1 to 10 of 30 Reviews