Auckland Airport

Not Verified | The Biosecurity check at Auckland is a shambles. Our son, daughter-in-law and toddler grandchildren have been queuing for two hours. We had a similar experience a week ago. What impression does this give to visitors or for that matter NZers?

Not Verified | Got to the airport 2 hours before departure. As I write this review I have been in a queue for passport control (via machines) for 1 hour. I have yet to go through security. I have been through 70pc of airports in the world and this one is the worst. Appalling waiting times.

Not Verified | Really impressed. I was in the security queue for about 5 minutes and a guy came up and apologised for the slowness - it was the speediest I have been through any international departure in years! Nice terminal, with good facilities. Especially liked the water bottle stations and big screen showing international sport.

✅ Trip Verified | Really impressed. The vibe at Auckland Airport is super serene with smiling staff at all points. I was in the security queue for about 5 minutes and a guy came up and apologised for the slowness - it was the speediest I have been through any international departure in years! Nice terminal, with good facilities. Especially liked the water bottle stations and big screen showing international sport.

Not Verified | What a terrible experience. Plane arrived on time, fine. Baggage claim, fine. (A handy hint - if you're busting to go to the loo, do NOT go to the first loo on disembarking as it will be like a bunfight. Go to the very quiet and hardly used one just before baggage claim!) Immigration, fine. But customs - there were about seven planes that had arrived. There were three queues snaking all the way from baggage claim. It was appalling. We were in the middle queue that did not move at all, however the first and third queues seemed to be moving? We had had enough and ducked under the rope to get into another queue (sorry for that, people in that queue). There seemed to be absolutely no reason for the delay except under-staffing. We were in the queue for over an hour and one chap beside us was in danger of missing his domestic connection. It would also help if there were signs before you get to immigration, customs, X-ray screening, etc pointing out what you need. Otherwise you get to these "stations of the cross" and frantically have to dig out your passport and/or arrival card, or get your bits and bobs out to be put into trays for scanning, and hold up everyone else. Every airport is different so don't assume what you need in one country is the same as another. However though the interminable queues and bureaucracy were ghastly, the staff were friendly and welcoming, though their jobs must be very hard with the understaffing and grouchy passengers. A family member flew on the exact same flight the day after us and the queues were just as bad, if not worse, so this wasn't a one-off. So my advice is to empty your bladder, fill your stomach, charge your phone and make sure you don't have any urgent need to go anywhere for 2-3 hours after you disembark...

Not Verified | I just wanted to express my concern about the queues at the MPI border security. Coming in from Singapore where it is so streamlined and pleasant it was like walking into a third world country. Alas I have been here before, but feel for overseas passengers experiencing this debacle for the first time. We had to wait for two hours just to get to the counter and be seen. I understand that we need to protect our agricultural sector, but to have two counters for countless planes full of people to filter through, is ludicrous and frankly embarrassing to all concerned. Hopefully your new Mayor and council will address this problem forthwith. May I suggest a trip to Changi airport Singapore to see how an efficient airport could work!

Not Verified | There really needs to be a public toilet in the wait zone. There is no knowing how long to allocate for collecting people arriving with Auckland traffic / getting through MPI queues.

Not Verified | The queues to get through MPI were huge. People were crying or angry because they were going to miss / had already missed their connecting flights. When they tried to point this out, their concerns were ignored. I personally witnessed the MPI officer not even bother to answer them. While I understand the need for Biosecurity, there has to be a better way. It makes the arrival process in Auckland an absolute laughing stock. I was ashamed to witness the distress of international travellers arriving in NZ. Of course, most would have been travelling for many hours and arrive exhausted. I had travelled from UK. With flight delays and missed connections, I had been travelling for 36 hours.

✅ Trip Verified | I found the airport to be one of the poorest i have travelled through. It was a Christchurch to Sydney flight Requiring passengers to exit and change terminals in transit is not that uncommon. Claiming baggage from domestic was not a problem. Having to wait in the rain (an external waiting area) for an infrequent bus is not a good look for Auckland. It was also poorly signposted and quite a walk for less abled passengers. the real issue came at the International Airport. Check-in was fine, as was baggage drop-off (be it luggage had to be manually transferred, again not easy for less able passengers). The queues inside were very long for both passport control (this is supposed to be automated. The queue was at least 200-300 passengers long for the automated scanners. Not all scanners were operating. There was one staff member for this line. There were also three off manual counters (that I saw only 1 family use while in queue). What is the logic to this? After passport control there was a second long queue and another long wait for cabin luggage scanning. Again, several scanners were operating but there were still scanner machines that were not operating. I cannot understand why the queue wait was over 1 hour. I then personally had a couple of sentimental items taken (from my father's recent funeral). There was no opportunity to discuss why these were being taken as by the time we got to the air side of the scanner, we needed to literally run (9-minute walk) to catch our plane or fear missing the flight. We went directly from Domestic to International and needed every minute of the 1-hour 50min we had to catch the flight. Most of the time spent queuing. I'm very upset at losing the sentimental items and had no time or recourse to find out why. They are gone forever and I and devastated. My family and I, have between ourselves travelled to 15 different international airports over the past few months (Asia, Europe and Africa) and have not experienced anything like what happened in Auckland. Substandard.

✅ Trip Verified | This was my first trip in 4 years. My experience of Airport staff made me never want to travel again. The staff treat you like they are running a military camp. We are the customers off on a holiday, but this is sullied by rude and arrogant staff. At the e gate an airport staff member stepped in to help me as the gate was not operating correctly. Her manner was terse and rube. I felt like I was a child being told off. These people need training in how to speak pleasantly. It's not their job to treat people rudely. Next time I will refuse help and figure it out myself in order to protect myself from this poor treatment. The second thing that occurred was extremely upsetting. At the security scanning the print on my t-shirt was picked up in the scanner. I was directed to be patted down by a female. I understand the reasons for security. For very personal reasons I shared with them why I was not comfortable with this procedure. The scorn, contempt and lack of kindness exhibited by these two female staff was atrocious. This only served to have the situation escalate into a terrible confrontation. Had they shown concern for my welfare and some kindness it would have been a different outcome. Clearly they had no skills to handle this situation. The need for security does not mean passengers are to be spoken to angrily and intimidated. As a female being expected to consent to another female touching me who is displaying aggressive body language (arms crossed, rolling her eyes, smirking, sighing) made this a horrific situation where I felt vulnerable and unsafe. Conversely the Wellington Airport staff handled the situation professionally and with care. They didn't get aggressive and demanding. The spoke kindly. The manager had the other staff member demonstrate on her what they would do and that really helped. Auckland Terminal is again being rebuilt - shambles with the food court all but closed. An embarrassment for New Zealand. For many travellers the security changes have made travelling traumatic. The TSA in the US has addressed this with a card for travellers to provide to inform staff of PTSD. Perhaps Auckland Airport could show some kindness to their travellers. It's free.