Bordeaux Airport

Having read the previous reviews I can't believe nothing has been done to improve the Billi terminal. Departure chaos today with all the same issues. The staff told folk everything was under control then totally panicked to get people on the right flight when it had been clear earlier that they had problems. The airlines that fly into this disgraceful terminally need to ensure vast improvements are implemented soon. With two small children this was a nightmare but was unacceptable to all passengers. We will be avoiding at all costs.

The Billi section of the airport for budget airlines is terrible, we thought it must be under construction but apparently not. I have been to many airports around the world and this is the worst I have ever travelled through, a disgrace for a city like Bordeaux. Why should budget airline travellers be treated like cattle when other airports provide such good facilities whoever you travel with. Cramped, queuing without shelter in the midday sun, lack of facilities once inside, having to load own luggage after check in. Avoid at all costs!

The low cost terminal (Billi) is the worst I have encountered anywhere. If you can avoid using it do so at all costs. It is small, cramped and very hot. If you have to check in luggage you have to queue first to check in the luggage and then take your luggage into another very long queue, joining passengers from all the other low cost airlines and put your luggage on to a scanner. This takes ages. This is because the airport does not have a luggage belt behind the check in desk like all civilised airports.

Bordeaux is the worst airport I've had to use in years. The system to display check-in desks can only show a limited number of flights and displays code share flights separately. This means if you arrive earlier than about 1.5 hours before your flight you won't know where to check in and drop your bags. Unless you chance upon your desk by accident be prepared to wait until an hour or two before the flight to know where to check in. Once through security you end up in a small holding pen with one food place and some duty free. Hope you didn't want to sit down because you can't proceed through customs (for international flights) to your gate until an hour before your flight. You just stand there. It is also a fairly obvious way to force duty free shopping. The bathrooms are dirty and smell like they haven't been cleaned in days. Once you are finally at your gate you are greeted by a distinct lack of seating - for an international flight the gate had about 30 seats. Overall, a terrible airport I had the misfortune of spending 3 long hours in.

We were flying with a low cost airline so were using Billi, the low cost terminal. It is a complete disgrace, you really are treated as cattle. What an advertisement for Bordeaux. No toilets in the check in area so if you have had a long journey to the airport you need to walk over to the main terminal building to use their facilities. After you have passed through security there is inadequate seating, on the 21st April there were four flights awaiting boarding so the place was swamped. The solitary small toilet block was unpleasant, unclean and smelt of urine, one urinal out of the three was covered with dustbin bags. The pre boarding areas are too small for the number of passengers so people who had paid for priority boarding had difficulty using the service. When this was mentioned to the aircrew the reply was please write and complain, as we have no facilities as well. Arrival facilities are even worse, sometimes there is only one immigration official on duty to deal with 150+ passport checks and when you arrive in the baggage reclaim there is a single cubicle toliet for men and one for women. Mentioning this obvious short coming to staff we were told that when Billi opened there was actually no toilets in the arrival area. They were an after thought. Safe bet that nobody involved in the "design" of the building, administration or ownership of the airport has ever flown through the Billi terminal. The city of Bordeaux should be ashamed that this is the first impression that visitors to this wonderful city receive.

Billi terminal is rubbish as many reviewers have already noted. Best avoided if possible, especially in hot weather. It is stiflingly uncomfortable. Try to spend as little time as possible in the terminal in these circumstances. In the main airport there is a restaurant that is also well worth avoiding. Nothing seems to be prepared on site. Just heated up catering company offerings. You're better taking your own sandwich. The sandwich shops aren't much good either by the way. Warning to avoid like the plague the travel agency service that comes up on the airport homepage. They don't make it clear that the administration charge mentioned in the final itemisation is their own agency fee and not an airline charge. Completely and scandalously misleading. Just find the flights you need then go direct to the airline website concerned.

Spent time both at the main terminal and the Billi terminal as I had a lot of time to waste whilst waiting. First impressions of the main terminal are of a reasonably clean but featureless terminal. Went to a cafe, waited for 15 minutes for services, and gave up. Whilst vainly waiting to buy a coffee, I tried to connect to the free internet and gave up after 15 minutes of trying. Apparently you have to enter your email address and phone number, and then they will email you a login to access the internet. Perhaps the person who came up with this idea might note that most people cant receive emails until connected to the internet. Perhaps sending credentials by sms might work better given that you've got my phone number. Following this, I walked over to the Billi terminal as I was flying Easyjet. Got wet as the weather was atrocious and there's no covered walkway. Billi is apparently a new design concept where to punter (sorry "customer") is to be treated as livestock. The check in area is a large warehouse with 3 staff weighing baggage. following the weigh-in, the customer then has to lug his luggage elsewhere for it to be taken away. There are no facilities (food, drink or toilet even) prior to security. The security check was similar in terms of disorganization and general lack of comfort. Once through security, you are treated to another warehouse with one overpriced cafe, some very smelly toilets and not very much else. There is a severe lack of seating, and if you are lucky enough to get a seat, you wont want to sit on them for long as they are incredibly uncomfortable. The departure gates are more of the same with a dozen seats to cater for the 100 or so passengers on the flight. We were subject to a 30 minutes wait and felt sorry for some of the older passengers who were clearly very uncomfortable. All in all, the Billi terminal can only be described as a disgrace, and the sooner they bulldoze it the better. Only use it if you really have to.

Arrival and departure from Billi Terminal. At the bagage claim there was a very strong odor in the terminal while waiting for the lugage (sewage system odors I think). The departure: From the main terminal you have to walk outside to reach Billi: no rain shelter. At the check-in you're asked to handle the luggage by yourself by lifting your suitcase on an X-ray machine belt conveyor, staff do not help. Metal detectors and cabin bags X-ray checks: they use worn out school tables where you prepare you belongings, lack of plastic trays so people were waiting. Some lines were literally stuck and staff were swamped. In the overcrowded terminal: lack of light (was very dark), and lack of chairs (had to go to the restaurant to find a seat). The toilets: this is a small booth with a very strong smell of urine. After boarding you're asked to wait in a room prior to walking to the plane: a full A320 plane with all passengers standing up for 15-20 min in a room with maybe 20 chairs. It felt like we were treated as cattle.

This was by far the worst airport experience I have ever had. It's quicker to list what was wrong, and it can be summed up with one word. Everything. I will never fly to or from this airport again if I can help it.

I have never experienced such a tiny, very hot, dark, disorganised airport in my life as Bordeaux Airport. Not enough room for everyone. Very cramped. Queues far too long in such heat with no air circulating. Not many staff and all over the place trying to hurry people through security to make the flights on time. Then hold you in a tiny place herded in with no air, no windows, no water, few seats and no lights. Very unprofessional unguided chaos with Speedy Boarders and families with little children mixed up with other boarders. It was a mess. The flight itself was nice and quick with informative announcements from the captain a couple of times en route.