Grenoble Airport

It was our first visit and will be the last one. There were lots of passengers from various airlines so the airport authorities knew that lots of people needed to go through passport control. We had to queue outside for more than 1/2 hour, there were only 2 people at passport control for hundreds of people arriving. We also had to wait quite a while for our cases. The result was that we missed the shuttle bus to the station therefore we missed the bus going to Alpe D'Huez. On top of that the phone number on the sheet was wrong and we couldnt get through to the bus company to say we had missed the connection. At the bus station, the waiting room was cold, there was no hot drink. On the departure day we sat in a hall beyond the shop and I found, by the window a yellow jacket marked Vinci, obviously a security jacket. When I pointed this out to an airport worker he replied I shouldnt have been near the window. The area was open to everyone. Incompetent, untrained staff. A positive is that the lady at Accueil was polite, helpful and understood our problem. I wouldnt go back, it was a disaster.

Spent 90 minutes in security and passport control. They seemed to process people in batches and it looked like staff all went on break for half an hour building up a huge backlog then another batch then another break. Totally bizarre. Every single flight had people that needed to be rushed through to avoid missing their flight and a flight to Birmingham had to be delayed purely because they didn't process passengers fast enough. Nobody was seemingly in charge or could explain why the intermittent shutdowns. As a result of time spent enduring this fiasco nobody was spending any money in duty free or other shops so they will feel the commercial pinch of their own ineptitude. Lyon or Geneva next year.

Caught a Thomas Cook plane out of Grenoble yesterday and after queuing for 1.5 hours to go through the three minute security check I swear I will not be repeating the experience. No notice of apology or improvement plans for the future were visible so customer satisfaction seems to be of little concern. For that reason I will avoid the area in future.

So it's the last Saturday of half term and we are trying to fly back to Gatwick as are 3000 or so other Brits as they do every year around this time. Heavy snow has meant flight cancellations so when we arrive at the airport the departures lounge is utter chaos. Flight are not up on the departure boards information desk staff have no info and there is absolutely no crowd management. Surely the airport knows to expect this? We were some of the lucky ones. Our flight was ready to board only a couple of hours late but was made even later because of the difficulties in first checking in with queues criss-crossing across the concourse weaving between groups of frustrated holidaymakers sitting in groups surrounded by piles of luggage. and then queuing for security. There was one belt open in security so passengers were being checked one at a time. It's the busiest Saturday in February! There were no ground staff marshalling passengers through or forming queues so no one was going anywhere. We eventually left 4.5 hours late but as I say we were the lucky ones. Grenoble needs to get its act together: hire more staff at busy times train them to manage crowds collect the litter keep passengers informed and for goodness sake take a tip from the British and learn how to form an orderly queue.

Just read reviews about this airport and can only add to the same type of comments. On our arrival skis took an age to turn up when the rest of the luggage in fairness arrived quite quickly where was the organisation to think ok theses are from the same flight let's get them on the belt! Coming back was utter chaos groups of people whose check in was not open blocked the concourse. When we managed to navigate this obstacle to get into what loosely can be described as a queue they then changed the check in numbers allowing a) the hundred or so people we just navigated to start pushing and shoving and b) us having to try and get into another queue crossing other flight check ins!! They did open other desks but there was no announcement other than a timid wave and Gallic shrug from the desk. We eventually checked on our Monarch flight through an Easyjet desk! We got back to Gatwick to find that 3 of our bags where missing presumably still in Grenoble somewhere. Come on Grenoble it's not that you're not expecting this on the weekends! All it takes is for 2 staff to be out front arranging the queues and for someone to motivate the rest of the staff as it seems almost a 'sport' as to how much we can frustrate the customers.

Awful airport. All the problems with huge chaotic queues for security as mentioned in reviews in the last two years are just as bad this year - 3 January 2015. The security queue was over 2 hours today out of the terminal into the cold. The airport can't handle the volume of ski season incoming passengers either. Baggage claim takes over an hour and passengers are held on planes because the arrivals hall is full. Avoid in the ski season.

I flew out of Grenoble on Sunday 21 December 2014. A complete fiasco. As reported by other reviewers huge security queues winding their way around the terminal. Waited nearly two hours only to see fellow travellers who had not bothered to queue moved to the front of the queue as departure approached. Total chaos in security with many personnel seemingly doing little or nothing. Then once you finally got through security there was still another queue at passports. I politely handed over my passport to be thrust it back and told to open it at the photo page. Only a small thing but symptomatic of the utter disregard for passengers. Then another long wait for other passengers to finally get through. Avoid if at all possible!

Arrival 17th Feb departure 24th Feb. Clearly half term skiing journeys can be a challenge but Grenoble airport appears to have deteriorated further since the last time I travelled. Departure on 25th Feb was absolute unmitigated chaos. An enormous queue which wasn't really organised in any way shape or form it resulted in 2 hours to get through security to the departure lounge people were joining it at random points whereupon it resembled a Catherine wheel. There was no attempt by the airport staff to organise departures at all except for one timid lady who walked around the queue trying to find people whose flights were about to leave this was very ineffective and resulted in hordes of people rushing to the top of this mass of people causing people being jostled and shoved - tempers were getting frayed. 4 passport control desks only 2 manned - there must have been by 10 am 2500 people 'queuing'.

It is difficult to imagine how this airport could be run more incompetently. Arrival is at best a free for all with queuing outside exposed to the elements. Departure is just a joke. On the day we departed the queue for security occupied the majority of the check-in hall disrupting most of the check-in desks as it wound around the building. Having joined the queue to ensure that we made our flight we stood for 1.5 hours while people were rushed through to catch their flights. It appears the best solution at Grenoble is not to join the queue at all but to wait until they are rushing people through and get taken to the front and straight through security. The fun really started when we came to board. Having watched our luggage loaded to one aircraft at least we knew the plane we would be boarding! Wrong! Initially the wrong flight was called they called the flight 1 hour later. having questioned the staff at the departure gate they realised there take and called the correct flight number. As we walked to the plane across the tarmac we realised they were taking us to the wrong plane same airline. Having questioned the staff they were persuaded that the other plane on the apron was the correct plane! Very unpleasant experience. If Grenoble was the only option available we would recommend Eurostar or driving. It isn't worth the trouble.

It is clearly the worst airport I have been to! No space to seat no clear indication of where to queue. Travelling there with small children is just a nightmare! I will not go there ever again.