Berlin Tegel Airport

Staff gave the wrong information about which check-in counter to use (and the signs were turned off), resulting in an extreme long queuing time even if I was first at the counters. Only two toilets after security check in terminal D (with long queues).

While I'm certainly not a globetrotter, I have been to dozens of domestic and International airports, and so far, Berlin Tegel has been the worst. Frankly, it's a dump. It looks like a pre WWII warehouse that has been hastily transitioned into an airport. The bathrooms are small and not well-maintained (with a pungent smell), adequate climate control is severely lacking, the dirty metal seats are about what I'd expect to sit on at Pyongyang's airport and the communications system is barely functioning. No clear signage, no readily viewable display boards, few electrical outlets and few amenities. Not only do airport employees do a terrible job communicating flight delays, disruptions, etc to travelers, but the PA system is so dated and inaudible it makes everything sound like gobbledygook. And I forgot to mention the security is antiquated and slow. The security folks dilly dally and are not mindful of travelers in queue. Bottom line is I will never fly into / out of TXL ever again.

Berlin Tegel is the worst Airport I have ever seen. Terminal D feels like a container. Toilets dirty and dilapidated, high temperatures inside the terminal, unsufficient catering, wrong or misleading info signs, acoustically absolutely non-audible announcements. In the bus to the plane we had to wait 25 minutes, full of passengers, outside 33 degrees hot with open doors. I can no believe that this is an airport of an European capital. I'll never make a transit via Berlin again.

We flew into Berlin Tegal via Air Berlin as part of our connection flight from New York JFK and on to Krakow (KRK). We had a scheduled 1 hour, 50 minute layover, which is a bit short for an international flight, especially when having to go through Passport, but we figured we would be okay. Our flight was delayed almost an hour leaving JFK, which was a bit of a worry to start. Before we landed, we were informed we would land at Terminal A, and the list of connections informed us that our flight to Krakow would leave from Terminal C. In most airports, this isn't a huge issue, and is quite normal. Unfortunately, at Tegel, Terminal C is disconnected from the rest of the airport, and to access it, you would have to leave the airport and then enter Terminal C and go through security all over again. So, already running behind, still having to exit a plane with 300 other people, go through Passport, then run to another terminal and go back through airport security, we were needless to say in a bit of a panic as we were coming in on our approach. Despite all that, passport, we made it through Passport rather quickly, and luckily, Tegel is quite small, so leaving terminal A and walking to terminal C took all of 2 minutes. Our biggest worry was getting stuck in a late morning throng of travelers at the security gate. We arrived to find 10 security lines (as opposed to the 2 you find in some American TSA lines), and we were quickly ushered through, and with in 3 minutes, we were in Terminal C, and at our gate with 25 minutes to spare. While we didn't get to experience much of the rest of the airport, Terminal C is a large open room with several 'gates' that take you to a bus that ferries you to your flight. C tends to be used for a lot of the short connection flights to so its not really as nice as most waiting areas in other airports. Very simple, concrete floor, and a very basic design. There seemed to be plenty of amenities, but we didn't really have a chance to explore and find out. Overall, what could have been a disastrous experience, turned out just fine.

I departed from Berlin Tegel and sorry to say that, TXL is not what is expected of a capital city airport. It was too crammed and small. The immigration was placed on each gate, so once I passed I was in a small waiting room with only 1 shop and 1 cafe. Nothing to do after immigration, just sat on the metal chair waiting for the boarding announcement. Nothing to do with several Euros left in my pocket. The check-in queue was too long that people had to line up in front of shops. Certainly, not recommended to travel through this airport. Better to go through Munich.

The airport is an over-extended version of what was the Berlin airport in the American sector of West Berlin during the time the city was divided. The design of it, while much effort has been spent in upgrading, does not really cope with today's traffic. Airport lounges are all land-side, and there are many boarding points but without clear signage that I need much time in finding my way in. But probably you board just behind the check-in counter. As Berlin is now a big city, I am inclined to think they really need a rebuilt airport. But the location is near city centre and as such much better than the SXF airport. City buses run frequently from nearly everywhere in Berlin.

I was transiting in TXL two days ago and it was even worse than I had expected. I had travelled to and from TXL several times and have also been transiting here occasionally but this experience really takes the cake. After our arrival, we had to wait on the apron, because there was literally no marshall available to guide us into the parking position. It took us some time on the apron. After having reached our final parking position, there was no bus available to take us to the gate. So we had to wait again. After some more minutes, there was finally a bus coming, which drove us some 10 meters to the terminal. The C terminal in TXL is really unpleasant. It is way overcrowded, has one duty free shop, a small shop and a cafe and that's about it. There is no lounge apart from the Air Berlin exclusive waiting area. On my inbound trip had to transit in TXL again. This time, I had to walk from terminal C to terminal A, which means I had to leave the building walk to the other terminal and pass another security check again. In the A terminal, every gate has its own security check. However, the line for the security check was incredibly long and I was hardly able to reach my connecting flight. The airport itself is, from my point of view outdated and far away from being modern. The seating areas, toilets and shopping facilites are dirty, not functioning and not appealing at all.

Berlin Tegel is dirty, not easy to navigate and the staff are unfriendly. Every time I have to go through it, I end up running from Terminal C to A, which means I have to go outside to reach Terminal A. There is no way to stay in a secure area.

Berlin Tegel is an unfriendly airport - unpleasant airport staff (especially at security and the bus drivers). Poor directional signs and complicated planning of the whole airport complex. Very difficult to get to the buses and impossible to buy bus tickets with foreign bank / credit cards on the most of ticket vending machines. Shabby and not very clean. Avoid this airport as often as you can.

Shabby, crowded, without proper facilities or adequately functioning systems. Absurdly slow security checks / passport control (I stood in a barely moving queue for an hour). Zero customer service and rude staff.