Athens Airport

✅ Trip Verified |   Flew with Easy jet arrival area before passport control had 1 male and 1 female toilet we were allowed to use. Staff sitting outside toilet chatting, horrendous queues. Passport control no better only two guys checking passports so really slow dealing with the flights arriving. Please bear this in mind when booking taxis, because it will take over an hour to get through and then a very long walk to the baggage reclaim. A lady walking up and down in high heels by the passport control, not sure what her job was but perhaps she could have helped with getting more resource for the passport area. This is worrying if you have another flight, ship or taxi to get it’s a complete shambles for arriving brits!

✅ Trip Verified | For the second time in the last 6 months I had to transit Athens Airport and both times was horrible. I am talking about transfer, connecting flights. Basically, there is no such option, as long as you have to get out (following all the procedures) and re-enter the airport (following again passport control, security check and everything). More than this, all the staff is absolutely anti-helping, showing a kind is satisfaction to see you taking it the hard way. I had this incredible situation today, 8th October 2023, around 18:00, when after running all this stupid get-out/get-in fiasco, my wife asked the woman police officer at passport control if she found normal to wait in all these queues when transferring, she said: “yes, is normal and hopefully the lines are long!” On the other hand, it was absolutely non-sense to be in front of the sign “Gates A1-23”, try to enter as long as we were supposed to board from an A gate, and the police officer (a woman again), very arrogantly told us that we are in wrong way, we should follow the signs (which we obviously did), and told us we are not allowed. We could literally see the gate behind her, but no, she refused our acces. So we had enter Greece (follow all the controls, we arrived meters away from the street and nothing would stop us to leave airport) and immediately try to leave Greece, as we were in transit only (by the way, only 1 hour, thank God the first flight was on time). And instead of 10-15 minutes transfer , we had to literally run 50 minutes and make it to our connecting flight in the very last moment. And absolutely all the airport staff was constantly rude. So sad! So, if possible, try to avoid transfer in Athens, and if not possible be sure to have at least 2 hours transfer time and be prepared to suffer. Both physically and mentally (humiliation, without any exaggeration).

✅ Trip Verified | Definitely the worst capital city airport I've ever been to, you have to walk about a km from the entrance to get to security. Then, there was a huge queue which took us around 40 minutes to get through because out of the 8 security lanes only 2 were open. Finally get into the lounge to see that there's only 2 restaurants. Absolutely rubbish, fly from elsewhere.

✅ Trip Verified | The music played was the best choice of music in a public space I have ever heard. Great jazz, funk, regular quality pop. Excellent. Please pass my compliments to whoever chose the playlist.

Not Verified | This airport is a logistic catastrophe! Baggage lost, so many people around us lost the baggage, I was told by the workers in another city that they have at least 400 bags delayed/lost there. They lost 2 of ours bags (business class btw) on a transit flight, I can track them with an airtag. And are doing nothing. One bag was sent to a different location without even checking. They don’t use the tracing system, do not document or update any data, just send belongings of other people here and there. This is the worst experience of my life with lost baggage, so much disrespect and such an insane incompetence. They do have time for posts on instagram and fb though. And are always the ones to ask for DM to “clear things out”. You never get any response though. Never never plan a trip via Athens!

✅ Trip Verified | This is without doubt the worst airport ever. Very rude and lazy staff members. We needed to catch a transfer flight to Santorini and they make us go through passport control, exit the terminal and re-do the security control. There was no one willing to help and no one speaks English and at the moment you ask them in Greek they just ignore you. Poor organization.

✅ Trip Verified | What a horrible place, nowhere to sit and eat or drink, when you do find a table two hundred meters away from the bar it's sticky and disgusting. Layout and service suck, each time I'm stuck at this place I regret having to be here.

✅ Trip Verified | Everything is extremely slow, leading to problems for everybody. More than an hour to collect luggage, it got after 12, and I had to pay double price for the taxi. Tried to complain and I found a huge queue with people trying to find their missing bags. There should be a penalty for such low quality service during the touristic season. Very unwelcoming.

✅ Trip Verified | We were traveling from Egypt to Norway. The passport control was very slow and crowded. The officers were very rude and unprofessional. The security check was very slow.

✅ Trip Verified | Avoid this airport at all costs if you care for your mental sanity. It is a real life nightmare. Never has there been such incompetent people allowed to run airport operations. What a scandal.