Brisbane Airport

We flew in and out of Brisbane Domestic Airport this week. Arrivals was fine but I think it is a ridiculous scam to charge $4.00 to use a trolley. (I have never seen this in any airports I have travelled in.) Coming back the terminal temperature was very hot which I guess is to make people thirsty and need the food outlets to pay for drinks. Toilets were clean and tidy and there was plenty of space and seating.

For domestic flights this airport is fine but everything falls apart if you need to connect from domestic-international or international-domestic. I don't understand why they built the international terminal so far from domestic. You have to wait for the T-bus. Some passengers get a free ride and others get charged $5. I had a 1 hour 45 minute connection from domestic to international and my checked luggage didn't make it to the international flight. On return there were three incoming international flights and only 4 immigration desks open for non- Australians (the majority of passengers). There are plenty of desks but most were closed. Having waited for 30 minutes to get through immigration the luggage still hadn't arrived. It took me another 20 minutes to get through customs and I didn't even have my bags searched! Qantas have the dumbest system going. Even though your bags are checked through to your final destination and you have a boarding pass you have to check in again at the domestic transfer desk. If you don't get there an hour departure you won't make your flight. It's chaotic. I spoke to an agent and was allowed to jump the queue but it just doesn't make sense. If you have a tight connection take a taxi to the domestic terminal where you can check your bags 30 minutes before departure.

Clean airport heaps of seating airside but shopping is rubbish. Never had a problem leaving BNE just coming back is always a horrible experience waiting for ever for bags then a shambolic assembly while security insist on searching all bags and not xraying them. Almost 2 hours from exiting plane to walking out of the airport.

Despite recent renovations the International Terminal has very few shops is overpriced on everything and the seating provided is spartan and uncomfortable. The jet ways and air-stairs are 'dated' and lack any modern decor. I feel for international visitors who are confronted with this and what their first impressions of Australia must be. The new passport chip system is poorly set up and confusing to travellers as to what their obligations are for getting through Customs.

Very disappointed by BNE given that Brisbane was the nicest friendliest cleanest and most modern city I visited in Oz (which covers all of them except Perth). The airport on the other hand is a bit shambolic with poor organization and surly staff both behind the counters and in security. Case in point: I politely asked for a manual inspection of my film since past experience has taught me that all it takes is one mis-calibrated machine to destroy weeks of photography. The response was hostile and wound up with several security people lecturing me about acting suspicious not reading the sign that said it was safe telling me my film case would protect them from radiation anyways and then finally putting it through the x-ray machine just to prove this (and not even apologizing when doing so revealed that the film case was NOT radiation-proof)! Shopping and food options are very limited and some gate areas have plenty of space while others overflow into narrow passageways blocking traffic. Briz definitely deserves a better terminal - and much better staff!

Clean plenty off seating which you need as there is nothing to do after you have had your $7 beer and $20 pizza. It feels more like a satellite airport in comparison to other airports. I agree that customs/security can be an absolute shambles when it is busy and what is the point of putting travelators in when they only go for 100 meters in a 1 km long terminal?

Toilets and facilities are all clean. Queues are far too long though! Arriving at 1am from a long trip the first words spoken to us by an Australian were "Are you right with filling out the forms because the sooner you fill them out the sooner we can go home! The next words spoken were at Passport control "You should have filled out the forms on the plane!" Welcome home!

Arriving back on a Friday evening we joined a 100 mtr+ queue waiting for customs. No planning no guidance to structure - almost every man for himself - make you own queue and get there anyhow. Staff were pleasant enough but after standing for 45mins was a bit much. Eventually the overhanded intensity of checking was dramatically dropped and after a quick verbal check many passengers were allowed to pass through. Hardly a good warm or welcome experience for visitors first impressions of Australia!

After a previous experience returning to BNE in 2007 we were met with an hour delay passing through Customs and Passport Control during the Arrivals departure upgrades. Staff were pleasant - however delays were inconvenient. Recently had the experience returning in April 2010 and a huge difference. The bio-metric gates proved a breeze to use which meant I was through passport control within minutes. We proceeded to the Something to Declare gate where we were processed within a matter of minutes after sighting the items to declare. BNE arrivals has improved beyond expectation - however due to the quick journey through passport control there was an annoying delay whilst waiting for luggage to appear on the carousel.

Construction work going on so we had a long walk ending up in the baggage collection area with no option to stay airside and had to clear security again - always very time-consuming in the domestic terminal. Not readily apparent why we couldn't have entered via a gate lounge.