Edinburgh Airport

Edinburgh - Lisbon, 27 May 2016, return 30 May 2016. As an Edinburgh resident, I use this airport frequently enough. Positives: being able to get the tram to the airport, the automated checking in/bag drop process seems to work OK, and the security experience was better than on past visits (Friday 0800, through in ten minutes, although there is still a need to have more scanning machines in service). Shopping was OK. On the return leg, it took fifteen minutes for baggage to arrive - this is still the weak link for domestic services, and the area is quite cramped as well. Overall, I like airports, and this airport, but there is still room for improvement.

I arrived on the return leg of my holiday at 2.35pm on Saturday 28th May with two friends. Our Jet2 flight was running an hour late due to issues with the outbound flight that day. When we eventually taxied to our arrival stand we were left for around 30 minutes until someone could be bothered to deliver a set of steps to allow us to disembark the plane. This was after repeated attempts by the crew. Another Easyjet plane arrived at an adjacent stand after we arrived and it was given a set of steps immediately which I found strange. We were notified that our luggage would be available to collect at the baggage conveyor number 3 but it was soon obvious that the baggage handling section had decided to put the luggage from three separate flights through the same conveyor at the same time - somewhat confusing. Our luggage eventually arrived over two hours later. We spoke with several members of the handling staff at the airport all of whom were less than interested and eventually it took the action of a Jet2 agent to finally resolve the matter. NB There were passengers who had arrived on an earlier flight from Geneva who were still waiting for their luggage which eventually arrived mixed up with the Jet2 luggage. Several of the passengers were less than happy and vowed not to use the airport again. I have use airports all over the world and can honestly say that Edinburgh Airport is the worst I have encountered. There appears to have been millions of pounds spent on "dressing up" the airport to encourage passengers to put their hands in their pockets and spend money but, from my experience, there's been little time and money spent on improving customer experience. The recent fiasco of the security system is another example of this. Perhaps someone from the management team should take some time and become involved in the customer experience at both the arrival and departure processes to absorb the continuing issues within the airport. I am fortunate that I have the option of using alternative airports and will definitely not be using Edinburgh airport again until someone takes the time to improve the services. Unfortunately, visitors from outwith Scotland and the UK may not have the same choices. From yesterday's experience and the comments from other passengers I suspect that word will get out of the appalling service being presented particularly in the arrivals area of the airport. Summary: If you are in a hurry, have plans that depend on hitting a deadline or have young children I would suggest that you may want to give Edinburgh Airport a miss.

For departure, unlike many airports Edinburgh does not display your departure gate until about half an hour before take off. I personally prefer to eat / wait in an area closer to my departure gate. The day we left was quiet, nevertheless the new security area was operating at its normal inefficient worst. The supervisors believing mistakenly that it is better to herd the public into as few conveyors as possible. Disinterested employees direct you to coloured footprints on the floor where you wait until a space appears at the conveyer. Woe betide that one or more of your trays is shunted into the siding for checking because often there is only one person on duty. For arrival, the lack of signage at passport control is the first problem. There could be an earlier indication about where the ePassport queue is as opposed to the other queue. While in the ePassport line, it would be helpful if a TV display could show you that your passport should be removed from its cover, the direction in which to place it, how to hold it still on the scanner screen, that you need to remove glasses and hats. The biggest problem, however, is that Edinburgh has only 5 ePassport scanners which use very slow software to scan both you passport and your face (compared, for example, with Ciampino in Rome). On the day we arrived only 3 of the 5 were working and it took 3 times longer to pass through customs as the other queue. There is no incentive, therefore, to use that queue and in future I won't. Not a great advert for what purports to be Scotland's gateway airport.

Granted Edinburgh airport looks clean and tidy but I walked all the way through to the aircraft without being asked to see my passport. The security checks were silly, wasn't able to take a roll on deodorant and toothpaste as they wouldn't fit in the tiny bag. I was able to buy them back and a lot more once I got through and the security staff could learn some manners when talking to people.

I have never been treated with such disrespect by security staff as at Edinburgh airport. I had bagged my cosmetics inside a clear plastic bag I found in a designated bagging area prior to security. When I got to security, grown men were getting shouted at and treated as schoolchildren - it all created an intimidating and chaotic atmosphere. I was barked at by a male member of staff when I tried to put my tray on the belt. Once I waited for my turn under his glare he told me the bag was not their designated size and presented me with a smaller bag. I told him I'd taken it from their own bagging area and he accused me of lying. He was incredibly patronising, rude and thoroughly enjoying bossing me around. I will never travel via Edinburgh airport again if I can help it. The most ridiculous thing is that straight after security, you are herded into a massive Superdrug where you can buy all your thrown cosmetics again. So all the talk about one bag of tiny dimensions per passenger is actually insane. The airport layout is chaotic and difficult to navigate, everything seems to be designed to help you part with your money, and hinder your easy transit form A to B. It leaves a very sour taste in your mouth after a great experience in the city.

With everyone raving about passenger numbers increasing I had thought I would give the airport on my doorstep a go. Normally travel south, stay with family and then fly. My experience of Edinburgh airport is that it is cramped, not enough room to swing a cat, you are always avoiding people. On the way out there weren't any real problems apart from walking out to the aircraft. If Edinburgh is going to compete it needs massive investment or it will lose trade and people will be put off flying to or flying or from the airport. On my return arrival, going through immigration there were far too many people for the size of room required. The aircraft I landed with was taken a fair distance from the terminal and bused to the corner. At this location we were held in a queue where we could see large queues outside the building to get in, these queues didn't appear to move every efficiently. So once in the room people were crammed in like a cattle market, very poor ventilation and the lighting made for a dingy place. As said queuing outside so by time we got in and through passport control/immigration I used scanner it took over an hour. From what I could see all counters had staff on just pure numbers of people made it impossible to make any dent in the numbers. People arriving in Scotland not best impression. Won't consider flying in out again.

Arrived unknowingly at the "new" terminal 2 earlier today from Barcelona. It was a Ryanair flight so we were loaded onto buses on leaving the aeroplane and sat on the Tarmac for 5 mins after the bus was full, crawled half way round the airport and stopped near arrivals for fully 10 mins before moving 30 yards to our destination. Brand new terminal and still using buses? No problems through border security but had time to look round and, as I entered the green channel, I asked a customs officer in all sincerity if this area was a temporary facility only to be told I was in the new terminal 2. Wow! I was stunned. I live in Edinburgh and use the airport for most trips abroad and have always said we must have the worst baggage handlers in the world (and I have visited a lot!) now we have a dreadful unfinished looking shed to boot. Oh and £1 drop of fee at a shambles of an entry road system. To be fair, other areas look very smart but with rising passenger numbers it's going to struggle to cope very soon. I too am embarrassed to see what foreign visitors see. Expensive food, drinks and shops and some staff just seem to be hanging around (actually walked past 2 with their feet up using their mobiles at the exit of customs channel).

I work in the Middle East and have be flying out of Edinburgh Airport for a number years and I will not be doing it again. I arrived at the airport on the tram and was rudely told to hand over my ticket. The tone was unacceptable. The airport itself is constantly under construction and is not able to handle the amount of passengers passing through it, with long waits at immigration and long waits to get served in restaurants once through security too. Staff look tired and fed up and this is impacting customer service. Terrible experience. I will fly from Newcastle next time.

We arrived at the new International arrivals shed at Edinburgh airport earlier this week - is this really the best we can do? This is the first introduction many visitor will have to Scotland - it is not good enough, it is an embarrassment, the owners and management of Edinburgh airport should be ashamed of themselves.

Security was fairly quiet so all was well with no hassle, never asked for any form of ID other than boarding pass produced at home or at any time in the airport. Given my bag went through security without a nod as to the liquids etc inside it seems a bit odd really. The whole place is well past its best and does not meet the needs of those who are flying through the place. Its an airport but all those shops why when there is very few seats in the general waiting area and the hike from the rental car drop off area beggers belief. That large wall poster proclaiming EDI as the face of Scotland is about right - a not so friendly place with awful weather.