Geneva Airport

Not Verified | Hello? Is anybody listening? Yes – Mr./Ms. casual reader of reviews – I’m talking to you. I know what you’re thinking because I thought it too. You’re thinking “It can’t be that bad. I’ll just allow another hour or two to navigate the airport and book anyway.” I’m here to tell you you’re right. It’s not as bad as folk are saying. It’s much, much worse. We arrived many hours before our scheduled flight time and were surprised by the number of people apparently milling around outside the airport. We managed to get past this horde into the airport building only to be met by a chaotic scene of intersecting queues with no order whatsoever. Everywhere was a queue. Upon closer inspection there were some temporary tape barriers keeping some of the queues separate, but these served merely to hinder our progress to someone that might be able to help us. We did manage to find someone only to be told that the milling throng outside was, in fact, the EasyJet queue. We should join the back of it and someone would tell us what to do. This “queue” was hundreds of people long, it snaked back and forth around the whole of the ground floor of the airport building before snaking through the doors outside and down the outside of the building. Fortunately, it wasn’t raining or we would have got wet. For us it was cold. So we got cold. Our misery was punctuated by frazzled EasyJet staff running the length of the queue shouting the time of the current most urgent aircraft to fill. Some folk were removed from the queue and disappeared. Eventually, with less than an hour to take off, it was our turn when we heard our flight time shouted by a staff member. We were ushered into the airport building through the crush, and told to wait. A few more joined us, presumably plucked from different areas of the queue and the staff member ordered us to follow him – and set off at pace. Picture trying to follow a jogging man through a tight scrum of people with skis, bags, coats and other paraphernalia. The man quickly disappeared into the distance and the miserable line of followers ended up following each other more in hope than expectation. By talking to dozens of fellow wretched airport sufferers in various queues we did eventually find the end of another queue that seemed to be populated by folk from our flight. To be fair, this queue was only about 50-60 strong and did end up at a series of what I can only assume were emergency check in desks. The whole process was utterly chaotic. The airport was rammed, mothers were trying to comfort screaming children, nobody appeared to be managing the situation. The staff were clearly almost as stressed as their unfortunate customers. After a difficult check in caused by technology issues we ran a long way to the gate. We got lucky. Our flight was delayed by an hour or there was no way we would have made it. There is something horribly wrong with either the airport, or EasyJet, or, I suspect, some unholy combination of faults on both sides that made this experience truly dreadful. Please pay attention to the reviews. Avoid the Geneva/EasyJet combination if you can.

Not Verified | This is a cruel joke of an airport, nobody has any intention of improving this place. 4 hours to get through, then they call last call when we can see out of the window no luggage has been loaded. I cannot state how bad this place is. Save yourself the agony.

✅ Trip Verified | Flight delayed, easyjet captain apologised and said Geneva Airport had no staff. Landed 40 mins ago still no baggage, this place doesn't give a stuff. I have flown all over Europe this is the very worst, just avoid.

Not Verified | If I had read the reviews about this airport I would have avoided it like the plague. Our arrival was tainted by issues in retrieving our luggage after queueing for what felt like hours at passport control. In the end it became a guessing game of what carrousel the luggage would arrive on, eventually it arrived mixed in with other arrivals luggage. Our departure was a nightmare. We arrived before the check in desks were open and yes waited patiently with all the others checking in for the first queue for the day. The board said 74-77 check in desks for our flight. Only 1 check in open! Can somebody explain to me why we had spent 2 hours with dodgy internet connection in our accommodation uploading our Passenger Location Form on to our airlines site before we could check in online? Scan the code, put in the ID number blah blah blah, if we did not do this would not be allowed to fly! When our turn (eventually) came to check in we were greeted with "I must see your PLF", so I politely pointed out we had uploaded it as requested did she need the reference number. Now I realised why everybody else who was wafting their mobile phones around in a panic was about. In the good old days you would have had a paper copy to hand over. Showed our PLF after the 2nd shout, checked in and off we went. Trying to get yourself up to the 2nd level of the airport to your gate was interesting. Cunningly they had closed every lift and escalator and this was the start of the grand herding of passengers to departure, everybody was funnelled through one escalator to join a snaking queue. No information of what gate to make your way to just one big mass of people snaking backwards and forwards with staff members waving hands and shouting here, here, here. Eventually arriving at the hand luggage check, being shouted at again to put your items into trays (too small to fit anything in properly). At this point I was obviously a bit stressed as one staff member asked me if I was okay. When I said my flight was leaving in 20 minutes she kindly threw my items at me to help me gain time. Off I went again by this time running like a mad thing to oh yes be stopped by joining another queue. I pointed out to the bloke herding us together that by this time my flight was on last call, only to be told "don't worry half the people in front of you are on the same flight". Stood and waited, eventually got through, ran down towards the departure gate. The gentleman at the departure gate took one look at my face was obviously well tuned in deep breathing exercises to calm your heart and told me to take deep breaths, breath with me, which I did. "Don't worry, there are some others and make your way down the stairs we have transport ready to take you to the plane". Several other stressed, sweaty faced passengers arrived gulping for breath. Off we went. The final humiliation was walking the gangway of shame to our seats. Our 2 hour flight helped calm matters. Off we got into Leeds Bradford airport, walked what felt like another mile, joined another queue but this time it was quick, efficient, greeted by smiling members of staff and straight through to our car. No issues with luggage. In my life I have never experienced an airport as bad as Geneva. I will never fly from there again. Flying into and out of Geneva should come with a Health Warning, if you didn't have high blood pressure/on the edge of a stroke/heart attack before you got there you were by the time you left.

✅ Trip Verified | So much for fabled Swiss efficiency. God dam awful. We experienced the double whammy of both arriving and departing from this antiseptic hell hole. I cannot believe that a nation as organized as Switzerland can operate this joke of an airport. Switzerland famous for watches, clocks and precision. Sadly none of that precision applies to Geneva. If queuing endlessly four hours is your thing, then go ahead and go via Geneva. If on the other hand you have an idea to enjoy your business trip or holiday then avoid it like the plague. Check in procedures that could be done faster with an abacus. Alfred Hitchcock once said actors should be treated like cattle. In Geneva’s case it’s passengers. Mindless queues that double back on each other, snaking round the duty free shops. Two Coca Cola’s that cost £8. We arrived before the check desk opened. There was supposed to be 4 desks, they had 1. Avoid avoid avoid.

✅ Trip Verified | Awful experience last Thursday. Slow. Slow. Slow. At easyJet at security. Speedy boarding a joke and bag drop off not working. Horrible experience. Back to Chambery when available.

Not Verified | Been using Geneva airport for many winter trips and always reasonable. Don't know what is happening in March 22, never seen queues so long for arrival, at least 1.5 hours to get through passport and luggage collection. Could be the last time I will use this airport, awful experience.

✅ Trip Verified | I find it hard to believe that such inefficiency can exist in this day and age. Massive queue for bag drop, then another massive queue for security, and a third massive queue for passport control. If you're lucky this will take 90 mins. The same process takes 15 mins in Dublin or even Zurich. If it wasn't for Geneva airport's proximity to the French alps I would never fly here. The sooner the airlines put more flights on into Grenoble, the better.

Not Verified | The Swiss must be embarrassed about this airport. Waiting time for arriving luggage over two hours. Worse than third world countries. Shame on the airport management

Not Verified | Total chaos and don't ever want to go back there. Hundreds of people herded into endless queues and then the panic of having your destination called out by airport staff desperately trying to organise the chaos.