Copenhagen Airport

Half an hour security lines for a national (schengen) flight is not acceptable anymore in 2015, so that's a shame. Apart from that the airport is clean and light, quite pleasant, the signs could have been a bit clearer.

Security was so slow (40 minutes) and walk to gate so long (15 minutes) that we missed our flight. We walked through ten minutes of useless shops on our way. Had to book new flights, at great expense, but the Wi-Fi was unreliable and it took three hours for the credit card verification to pass while online. The connection would time out and the transaction would fail. Once we finally succeeded in buying new tickets, we went through security again, more quickly this time fortunately. We waited for a gate announcement, and finally arrived at a gate (C4) with only six seats. We passengers have to stand or sit on the floor, surrounded by useless shops and restaurants. I have never had such a poor airport experience, and I have travelled a lot and never missed a flight before. Avoid CPH if you can.

Given some of the reviews I wasn't expecting much. Very easy to transit. Good signage. Plenty of seats at gates and lots of toilet facilities. Sure plenty of shops but the airport is nice and airy and it was a grim, grey autumn day. Plane turned around quickly as came in late. Very efficient boarding with self use gates. Can't understand the complaints.

I used to like this airport but now it's all shops and virtually no seating that isn't tied to a restaurant. Is this some sly way to force people to buy food from the restaurants. There is so much space. There really is no excuse for the lack of seating.

Ther are only 12 cubes for seats at gate F. I sat on the floor to await an easyJet flight as I had already trekked for miles through the airport to reach this area. easyJet staff stated that they had no idea why seating had been removed from their gate. Put it back ASAP. Ridiculous to expect everyone to stand while waiting for call to board.

I do not like the airport. So many shops but no place to sit down, relax and wait. Too crowded. WIFI ok. Hard to find power sockets to charge a phone. Dirty toilets.

Terrible security queue and then a random long wait for passport control that was unexpected as there was none on the way in on another EU flight. Painful boarding process. There is nearly non-existent seating. Terrible experience. Avoid this airport if you have other options.

With up to 12 trips there a year Copenhagen Airport used to be one of my favourite airports in Europe. Used to. While ever expanding, the only focus seems to have been to maximise the shopping area one is forced through, rather than the efficiency of reaching your plane. After clearing one of Europe's worst and most laughable security checks, you are forced through a so-called duty free shop. No chance of escaping clouds of perfume. While other airports have moving walkways to the gates to speed up your journey time, you have to fight your way through a shopping centre. This does not leave space for any seating where you can wait until your gate comes up on the screen. When you get to the gate, half the time you won't be allowed into the waiting area, but have to wait in the busy corridor until boarding commences. Again no seating. And don't be surprised if it takes 45-60 minutes from the plane's door being opened until you can fetch your luggage from the conveyor belt. One positive thing though, the Metro from the airport to the city center is really fast.

It has become increasingly crowded over the years, there are plans for terminal expansion to remedy this problem, but it is unclear whether this will be completed during the foreseeable future. The restaurants are pricey, but Copenhagen is a pricey city, and most big city airports overcharge captive passengers airside. There are other problems and it is annoying for me to be set in the middle of the duty-free immediately upon passing security without the possibility of avoiding it. It gives a mercenary touch to what was, before the duty-free shops were moved to their present position, a pleasantly laid-back, but high-service airport. Not everyone wants to buy alcohol, tobacco, perfume and chocolate, and if one is in a hurry to make a flight that is far out on one of the concourses, the duty-free shops are a nuisance. The absence of seating in the transit halls is also a problem, which others have noted. Worst of all was the slow baggage handling. It took me at least 15 minutes to get from the aircraft to Baggage Claim, and when I arrived, an electronic sign informed us that there would be a 25 minute wait for our flight's baggage to arrive - a total of 40 minutes since the aircraft arrived. However since another flight's luggage was scheduled to arrive at the same time and was given priority, adding an additional 15 minutes before the first piece of baggage from my flight plopped onto the carousel. That made the wait for baggage 1 hour 5 minutes. Add 12 minutes for my bag to arrive, my total wait was 1 hour 17 minutes! Things were not always this way, and I am sorry that what once was my favorite airport has fallen this far. On the positive side, passport control for EU and non-EU residents was efficient and painless. Also positive are the various direct connections between the airport and center city - regional train, Metro, and the 5A bus, all either in the terminal or directly outside and, with the exception of the bus, all offering a rapid connection. Also, while many or most shops and eateries at Copenhagen Airport are exorbitantly expensive, there is a shop in Terminal 2 that offers items such as umbrellas, headphones, pastilles, and small personal items at a most reasonable price. Also, a few of the shops offer wares that are priced no higher than they would be outside the airport. This may be small consolation to travelers on a tight budget, but with 25% VAT, there is no way of escaping the fact that Denmark is an expensive country. As for queuing times at security, I have had both good and rotten luck in the recent past. I shall see what conditions are like on my return trip in 3 weeks.

I spent some 100 minutes at CPH during a transit stop last week. It's full of shops and there are plenty of eating options. The one thing which amazed me (positively) was there was no security check for passengers changing planes especially those going between schengen and non schengen services. Yes they check passports but no scan of hand luggage or passengers. Unusual in this day and age. It means you can buy water at your first airport and still take it onto the second flight which is helpful. Not sure if this is the norm but it made the transit process much quicker.