Buenos Aires Airport

I flew from EZE last Wednesday to Mexico with Turkish Airlines connecting in Sao Paulo. New Terminal is just bright and happy with nice bars and cool duty free shops. Star Alliance VIP is nice and offers a lot it looks like a furniture show room but it does the job. I made connection in GRU then Panama and finally Mexico and EZE is by far the nicest airport nor the biggest or the easiest. Overall really nice experience.

Arrived from LHR at 0830 after 13hr flight non stop with BA. Immigration queue was OK took about 20 mins which meant our luggage was waiting on the carousel. Then it all went haywire. Air France Iberia Lufthansa and Alitalia flights all arrived within an hour of ours so imagine about 1000 people plus suitcases trying to get through customs. 6 lines all formed in a very haphazard way which then moulded into 4 lines for 4 x-ray machines. This took us an hour to get through and into arrival hall. Another 90 mins standing there while our holiday reps organised coach transport. International Terminal A and the surrounding roads can't cope at peak times for all these arrivals. Our departure was much smoother I'm pleased to say. Luggage drop off fine security queue took about 10 mins passport control about the same. Stayed in the LAN lounge which is close to our departure gate (10). The departure lounge is modern I hope they do something about the Arrivals hall which leaves a lot to be desired.

It's been almost 2 years since the last time I used this airport and a lot has changed since. My flight - JFK via GIG arrived at gate 2 located in a very dated sector of terminal A. I know this part of the airport is scheduled to undergo improvements it really needs it but it looks like they've already started and some changes can be seen already like the new passport control area with many more passport desks located in the ground floor and brand new carrousels that replaced the very noisy old ones. Even so baggage claims still looks dated. I arrived at noon so passport control took less than 10 minutes. When I got to baggage claim my bags were already on the carrousel. Since every piece of luggage must be screened at customs there was a long line and it took me around 30 minutes to clear customs. The arrivals hall hasn't changed a bit - old and dark not the most welcoming. I got to the airport 4 hours prior to my flight because I was flying with a puppy. The check-in hall of terminal A is modern and very bright. Check-in was pretty quick and they let me check my bags and check the kennel with the puppy later. TAM Airlines personnel were kind and helpful as well as airport's employees. There was no line for security but there was a very long one for passport control - 30 minutes or more. I checked the screens and found out that my flight was already boarding at gate 10. Sadly I had to rush through Ezeiza's lovely free-shop in order to get to the gate on time. Gate 10 is located in a new building that replaces the old terminal B with very nice boarding areas great views of one of the runways and new concessions like Starbucks and Quilmes (Argentina's most famous beer). I didn't have time to wander through this new area that houses gates 8 to 23 but it looks spacious and pretty nice.

Took just under an hour in the PM rush hour from downtown to EZE but the taxi arrived about 15 mins late due to tie up in microcentro. United told us to give 3 hours but they opened their desks 30 minutes late resulting in line ups. Excellent Global Alliance Gold check in economy looked efficient as well. It took just 30 minutes to get through security and immigration. More efficient than US. Airside very limited United lounge OK.

Airport personnel very bad long lines for emigration and customer. The terminal facilities are not good there are too many free shops in areas where should be only for passengers after you arrive and pass emigration you have to go through a free shop in order to get the baggage claim sector.

The main problem of EZE airport are queues. Several times I had to wait more than half an hour to pass immigration control (both on departure and arrival). Waiting times for check-in security control and customs control on arrival are only slightly better. Other issues are totally overpriced duty-free shops. Prices are crazy.

Used EZE on a resent trip to BAires and was pleasantly surprised. Travelling on Air France and although the plane parks at Terminal C you actually arrive into Terminal B. The line for immigration can be long but just make sure you are in the right one. When I was there the line for Argentines was much longer than the non- Argentine one. Staff at immigration and customs were professional. Once through to land-side things can be a little hectic. On Departure Air France use Terminal C which is brand new. Immigration was fast and friendly. Terminal C has two places to eat a large Duty Free area and a few smaller stores. It does not however have a currency exchange facility so I would recommend changing most of your Pesos before leaving for the airport.

This is a very nice clean and functional airport. It is not anything elaborate but it gets the job done and is miles ahead of other South American airports. The lines for check-in with TAM were quick and the security checkpoints and passport control were fast and efficient. The gates in Terminal A are spacious with plenty of seating and the terminal has good signage in both Spanish and English. A very pleasant experience overall.

I had no problems arriving in or leaving Ezeiza; a functional airport. Immigration and customs on arrival at the modern Terminal A was fast and efficient - and likewise there was nothing particularly out of the ordinary about queues at security and immigration on the way out. I arrived at 10am 2.5 hours before my flight and was through check-in security and immigration in about an hour. Queues at the boarding gate showed a Latin disregard for Northern European concepts of orderly queuing. Airside eating options aren't fantastic but are functional; duty free shopping is fairly extensive.

I arrived almost five hours prior my flight thinking I would have time to shop and eat dinner. It took me up to 2.5 hours to check in to AA. The airport was crowded. There was a strike on the way to the airport and many people came late. After that almost 1.5 hours to pass security line. There are some nice stores in the duty free. The airport is small considering the volume of passengers and old but well maintained.