Johannesburg Airport

Not Verified | Worst airport ever, very unfriendly personnel at Baggage collections section especially after 8pm. They don't greet you, they don't smile. Looks like they hate their jobs, they seem to be so miserable, what an unfriendly welcome to this Airport. They are so arrogant the staff. Toilets were in a state, toilet bowls disgusting, what must International travellers not think of Johannesburg. We had to walk from the airplane to the airport, you won't find this Overseas, yes I've been there. It was cold and miserable weather. We will never be able to compete with other Overseas Countries. It shames me as a Capetonian.

✅ Trip Verified | OR Tambo Transit. The only word I can use to describe this airport is ‘woeful’. On arrival there was no information advising which carousel the bags would be delivered to. Only after waiting for 30+ minutes did the Menzies operative (who was about as much use as a chocolate teapot) when hassled by some disgruntled passengers decide to nonchalantly wave her hand in the direction of where our bags were. At no time did the carousel appear on the information board. Checked in then tried to find the boarding gates there are no signs. After asking two people the entrance to security was hidden away behind and between two check-in desks (52 I believe in terminal A) again no signs. Security took ages 20 minutes to process 6 people. For an international airport it’s poor. If you are transiting on two different tickets as I was allow at least 3 hours to go through immigration, security, check in/bag drop & passport control all of which are slow.

Not Verified | We arrived from Sydney Australia after a 14 h flight. My husband had problems with his leg and could hardly walk. He is 82 years old. I asked for help with a wheelchair but they refused to help. There was more than 4 wheelchairs that wasn't in use that they pushed empty to the entrance of the airport. I begged them and they could see that my husband struggled but they still said no and carry on chatting and laughing.

✅ Trip Verified | Absolutely pathetic management. A scheduled flight lands and have to wait because there is no ground staff. Waiting 10 mins to get off a plane because there is no ground staff. This is not the first time.

✅ Trip Verified | The travelators are not working “in order to save electricity“, but the air conditioner is ridiculously cold in mid winter. I sat at Mugg and Bean where several people were struggling with the extreme chill. Come on management. We are all playing our part to use less power, please exercise some common sense. The cleaner in the male toilets continues to haggle for cash. This isn’t the first time it’s happened and it’s very irritating. The check in and security staff were great today!

Not Verified | I was in transit to Zimbabwe from Manchester in March 2022 using Swiss Air and connecting South African Airlink and had a layover of 4hrs at OR where my luggage was forced open. Since the luggage was checked all the way to Zimbabwe, I only saw that it had been tempered with upon collection of my luggage in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. I lost some of my valuables worth 300GBP. I would advise anyone passing through this route to secure their luggage as there is a likelihood that luggage can be tempered with. I had a nasty experience.

✅ Trip Verified | I thought the service couldn't get any worse than before and surprise! From arriving in international, my bag was grabbed by one of the employees "to assist me where to go" a simple "good afternoon, could I be of assistance to you" would be much more sufficient. When visiting the bathroom the cleaner said "can you give something extra for me?" I do not tip to pee! Maybe the airport company should adjust their pay, so no employees need to beg for money, just think what international visitors must think. I was at coffee bar inside domestic (coffee and cream?), first off no service, then when I wanted to pay, I needed to call someone over. Paid R50 for a R38 bill and ask the R10 back, and gave R5 extra for the tip (iow R7 tip for R38 bill, that is around 20%. For service I didn't even receive). But after 12min and standing up to go to the counter to get my R10, the lady just gave me R2 back, so she expected a R15 tip for a cup of coffee, when I corrected her, we went to the counter and the man behind the counter clicked his tongue at me, and made like I was stingy. I feel ashamed that this is the introduction what overseas visitors see first when visiting our beautiful country.

✅ Trip Verified | I recently passed through OR Tambo on my way from Tokyo to Harare and had a long layover. I was changing airlines so I needed to pass through immigration and check in again with the new airline. I found the whole experience went pretty smoothly. My COVID documents were checked, Immigration was pretty quick and I didn't have to wait long for my luggage. Check in for my second flight was also smooth and easy and I passed easily into departures with out any hassle. All the staff were friendly and polite. The departure lounge is fine with a good duty free and a small but decent selection of shops. There didn't appear to be many dining options though. As i had a 6 plus hour wait for my flight and I had just been on a 15 hour flight from Tokyo to Zurich and a 10 our flight from Zurich to Joburg I decided to pay to enter the Bidvest lounge. The lounge was $30 to enter and had a fully stocked bar, wifi, decent snacks and very nice and clean showers. All in all the airport is pretty good although the free airport wifi only last 4 hours so i you have a long stay it could be a problem.

✅ Trip Verified | OR TAMBO has a good public address system that it doesn't use for its intended purpose. The airport doesn't broadcast any flight information or passenger updates. Attending staff have to keep shouting at the top of their voices for check in or boarding, with those large halls, the shouting is of no use. I saw passengers being left by flights while sitting there. I missed my flight sitting there. If the airport is too big and busy, please segment your PA system into smaller divisions to cover different boarding sections. Don't just keep broadcasting about protect you, protect us, when we are missing flights. As the South Africa we here about, you ought to do better in Africa.

Not Verified | The most disgusting customer service. Very rude and ignorant. I vowed never to use that airport again. It should be closed. How can you call it an International airport when you dont even USB charging ports, only round sockets. Round sockets are only used in Africa