Calgary Airport

✅ Verified Review | First time using the 'new' International terminal at Calgary Airport, and boy was the first impression bad. Although there were no lineups the traffic flow to go through security and US pre-clearance was confusing with very little signage explaining the process. Everything seem automated with almost no real people around, which may be good for those of us who are tech savy but I can't possibly imagine my mother doing it without someone much younger travelling with her. But the real shocker was the fact that you have to enter the actual departure area right through the Duty Free shop - it's like being at Disneyland where you come off the ride right into their themed gift shop. It is the epitome of crass commercialism, and it doesn't stop there. There is virtually no seating near the gate, instead there is the horrible "call to gate" system which forces you to remain in the- wait for it - shopping section of the terminal. And at the few seat that do exist near the gate you will find no power outlets. Just to top it all off the jet bridges all sport commercial logos, and not for the airlines. All in all, for a brand new terminal this was a disgrace. Seems that they bowed totally to the corporate interests and completely forgot that it is actual passengers that use the terminal. Such a shame.

✅ Verified Review | Eagerly awaited the opening of Calgary's new International Terminal as this is my home airport and I am a frequent traver i.e Elite Status on two airline alliances. Even volunteered for the "First Flight" simulations although I did not get a chance to participate. Cold, bleak, expanse and not one thing that represents my beautiful city. One smallish bison art installation dwarfed by the looming expanse of nothingness. Signage - almost none. Every single aspect of this Terminal is a glaring misstep. Sick to think of the dollars wasted. Global entry benefit: gone. Security is before US Customs instead of after. Global entry lines longer than the regular lines and only 3 machines working. Then another line up to attend the officer and identify your checked baggage. Then upstairs to be shuttled right through the centre of the duty free store with sales people approaching from both sides. The worst airline lounge experience ever and no Maple Leaf Lounge at all. Call to gate system so obviously utilized to force travellors to sit among the vendors (no class) and if you do head to gate: no seating. If there is a gate change and you didn't check the board before going to gate you must go all the way back to the vendor area to find the new gate assignment. If the Airport Authority is applauding themselves for copying Heathrow's design maybe they should have checked to see how unwelcome that Terminal is too. They also have folks sitting on the floor at the gate area. The return was even worse. Arrived at Gate 90 something. Not a sole anywhere. Just a couple of empty 3 passenger carts. If you thought the walk to customs and immigration was long before you will be shocked at this new Terminal. After a long long long walk you see the first of two short moving walkways. Surprise! Not operating. I was already at customs before I saw the first manned cart. When I expressed my concern about the situation I was told "well we are just volunteers and I'm here by my self". Really? Years and years of paying airport improvement fees and a 2 billion $ pricetag and that's the problem. 35 minutes waiting for bags and then not a single sign to tell you you are on the wrong level for the parking lot. Apparently the people movers they have been bragging about are only to go between Terminals. This Terminal should be avoided at all cost but alas what can Calgarians do? Note: bigger does not mean better, bitterly disappointed and expect millions more will have to be spent on this unfriendly Terminal.

✅ Verified Review | We were eager to see the new International terminal, but it proved to be a disappointment. While the facility is bright, spacious, and well-appointed, they chose to adopt the ridiculous "call-to-gate" system, similar to that used at Gatwick. Passengers are forced to remain in the retail core of the airport, awaiting the display of their gate information shortly before departure. When the gate information is finally disclosed, and passengers make their way to the gates, they will find that there is almost no seating at the gates, despite ample space for same.

Disappointment with the expansion at Calgary Airport. We were hopeful but it really is an opportunity lost. I live in Calgary and we travel frequently for pleasure. We will continue to do so but it is a shame it has to start with such a lousy experience. It has mostly been commented on by others but my main complaint is the approach to making passengers (even those that are conscientiously early) stay vigilant to the flight screens in case something related to the flight might change. Add on the mandatory funnel through duty free and I find my teeth grinding. Throw in a surly security check staff and it isn't a pretty picture.

I had high hopes for the new international terminal that just opened, but except for more food options, it's a disappointment. As a frequent business traveler who has a Nexus card, check-in for the U.S. is much worse. In the old terminal, you cleared immigration first before going through screening. The screening is now first and although there is a Nexus line, everything has to come out, shoes off, etc. The screening process in the other terminal allowed you to leave liquids, laptops in case, shoes on and jacket on. Not so anymore, so what's the point of being a trusted traveler or having pre-check? Immigration has more Global Entry kiosks, which is a bit better. Having cleared, you have to walk through duty free even if you don't want to. Yes, I know that's a similar model in places like Sydney and Brisbane, but it's annoying nonetheless. I looked at a bottle of champagne for almost $100 that is available in a local warehouse store in Calgary for about $50, so no bargain there. There is a great hall with shops, the food court and a couple restaurants, which is a significant improvement. However, gates for flights are not posted until 30-40 minutes before boarding and the feel is it's designed to keep you in the retail area. The walk to many of the gates is lengthened by a long hallway with no gates on either side. The walk I had coming back into Calgary to customs a couple weeks ago was really long.

✅ Verified Review | Absolutely will avoid Calgary Airport in the future. It may mean switching Airlines and/or schedules. While they boast of the rapid transit system I found it terribly lacking in that it was a good ten minute walk from where I got off the plane to the Terminal. Then another confusing trek to the transit stop. The shuttle bus travels st a fairly good clip and it still took another 6 or 7 minutes to the departure gates. This turned out to be another 8 or 9 minute trek to gate 5. Couldn't' help but wonder if there was a competition for the world's worst airport design. I'm sure there are worse but Calgary Airport would surely qualify.

✅ Verified Review | Domestic departure from Calgary to Vancouver. Since the opening of the new concourse at Calgary International Airport, all the signs had to be replaced. However, it was the way they were replaced that were disappointing. Basically, thick plastic boards clipped onto the existing signage. Seating space was inadequate, and the selection of shops before and after security was terrible. 2 Hudson News stores, literally only a few places for food and drinks, and again, the lack of proper terminal seating. The ultimate point of my departure experience was at the security lines. The line was very long and only 1 lane was opened. Also, the officers took time to talk among themselves about food and their weekends. I went to the security line 45 minutes before boarding and I found myself running to board my flight as a result of the extra long wait at security. This is the longest I've waited to get through security as a general passenger. Washrooms and carpets were old but were kept pretty clean. Wifi was a total shock. It would show the sign as "connected" and would disconnect from time to time. However, overall, this is still a better airport than a lot of other ones (namely New York-JFK and Washington-Reagan). Just make sure to bring something to occupy you, because there is nothing to shop for at this airport.

✅ Verified Review | Arriving domestic into Calgary from Vancouver. Somehow with domestic airports in Canada (at least Calgary and Vancouver), arriving passengers go into the departures lounge then through to the exit. Compared to Vancouver, Calgary's Airport seems to be a bit older, as signs are quite dated but still works great. Baggage claim for domestic flights amazed me. The fact that the baggage claim was right next to the airport's exit was quite interesting for me. Bags arrived early, compared to the slug-speed of Vancouver's. Other than that, great airport, awesome internet access, and easy to navigate.

Calgary International Airport is overall an airport you will want to avoid but most of the time can't. There is a lack of shops and restaurants in the airport. The wifi at the airport is barely even functioning. Security takes far too long at an airport handling 15 million passengers per year (San Francisco International Airport, for example, handles 50 million passengers per year and has shorter security lines). Finally, there are no water fountains forcing you to buy water. Would avoid but this is the closest airport to the parks in the Rocky Mountains and since Edmonton is four hours away from the parks compared to Calgary at one hour away, Calgary is pretty much unavoidable.

Normally this airport is fine besides the enormous security lines. This time when we arrived at the baggage carousel, we didn't find our bags after waiting for 45 mins. We then proceeded to ask the luggage information desk if all baggage a had arrived and she said that they had. She then handed us a lost luggage form and said that a lot of the luggage had not been loaded due to the prior flight from Amsterdam had too much baggage so they had to take 100 bags off of the plane. The next day, we waited all day for the baggage a to show. We were then woken up at midnight by a person delivering our baggage and only one of the two had been delivered. Horrible experience.