Johannesburg Airport

✅ Trip Verified | Yet again customs officials just closing the booth while you are there. This one closed his booth at 08.25 on Sunday 10 March and indicated I should go to another one. Can Sars and border control please train their people properly and have enough people to man the booths. Also maybe finishing school just for manner? My rating is basically influenced by this one incident. Please think about that in future.

Not Verified | Most incompetent and unfriendly staff at security scanners. Refused to let us go through without putting our infants stroller through the security scanners (which clearly could not fit). Ended up breaking it. Fucked up to say the least. Used many international airports before and never had this level of service. What a joke.

Not Verified | Shambolic Airport, greedy and grasping. Our party left over 2 days and we dropped off our friends. We were unfamiliar with the parking garage and managed to get into long term parking and could not find any assistants or figure out how to resolve this. We ended up paying R540.00 for 30 minutes. We spent time querying this, which meant 40 minutes, now and then after reluctantly paying at the machine, which kept resetting itself, making payment incredibly difficult, the gate would not allow us to leave, as it said the ticket was not paid, despite paid being printed on the ticket. Another 10 minutes of pressing for help, shouting, hooting, anything to get attention and finally someone deigned to push the release from some distant office. Returned the next day to leave (no car this time). Signage is poor. Finding exit signs is difficult. They are not lit, and are hidden from view by beams, until you are right under them, which is not always enough time to choose the correct path. Entry signs to the parking are dominated by hotel parking signs, which make things more confusing. And since we were entering from bright sunlight into a poorly lit area, it was made worse by the face that we were wearing corrective sunglasses. This is not a problem we have encountered in Australia, where arguably, the light difference would be equivalent. I understand there are electricity problems in the country, but customs is poorly lit, poorly staffed and feels like I travelled back to the 1980s. Seats in the terminal, once through customs, are cracked and losing the coverings. Not something which can be leaned easily. There is general disrepair. I tried to buy water, but having left my husband to mind the bags, discovered I was unable to do so, unless showing my boarding pass. In an area where one could only be, if you had gone through customs and security. Or if you were staff. I decided I was not thirsty enough to spend money in this airport. We were last here in 2016 and the airport seemed more functional and almost modern, last time. Now it is tired, poorly lit, uncared for and poorly maintained. And severely understaffed.

Not Verified | Once you go though passport control, one word - Tatty! Several closed shops and and as far as I could establish only one place selling alcohol, Jackson’s. A cold dark lifeless place which was 3/4 empty in an otherwise busy airport. We had the worst chicken nuggets I have eaten in a long time at Diner. Diner was busier and warmer but no chance a glass of wine. The plug points designed to allow phone charging and laptop power are in the main non functioning and those that are, are dangerous with broken covers, and some live plug socket’s actually hanging out of their holders! The music in Diner was too loud and if you like club mix music, then this is the place for you. I don’t! This experience, after being met as we entered the airport in our hire care, by a squadron of traffic police fining people for who knows what, leaves an unpleasant taste in your mouth. Perhaps traffic police should spend their time dealing with some of the most appalling drivers I have ever ever encountered,

Not Verified | O.R. Tambo has two big terminals that are connected. The airline and e.g. Swissport staff are friendly and helpful. Government staff is rather indifferent and don't like to smile. My complaints are as follows: Despite the long distances from Terminal B to our A terminal intercontinental pier - The walk is about 30 minutes, unless you want to visit the Swissport lounge, which is at the extreme end of A, and no horizontal escalators like at other airports are provided. You have to be an avid walker. Except for the international arrival section, no separate premium express lanes are provided for passport control and security checkpoints. Good airports have this. So queueing times are too long. Why should one book business class and have no privileges? Airlines, of course, have separate desks. Gate areas have inadequate space and seating. The most annoying complaint: There are baggage re-check desks after international baggage claim for domestic connections, which is also a service other airports provide - but - they were not staffed. You have to hire a porter or carry your baggage yourselves. Reason for the closed service given to me: They are closed. What a stupid reason! I suspect the porters want to keep their business. Why can the management not learn from better airports?

The worst airport in the world! The rudest and most unhelpful staff I have ever come across in my life. Plus nowhere to eat for international traveller's traveling late at night.

✅ Trip Verified | My plane was due to touch down at 21:20 and we arrived slightly early in fact. So why then, did I not leave the immigration queue until nearly midnight? By that point, my airport transfer had left and Uber didn't appear to be picking up jobs. Not great in a city as notoriously crazy as Johannesburg! 425 passengers all stuffed into an immigration hall. A form is needed to be filled in. No actual staff can be bothered to distribute them it seems, so it's left to the passengers to somehow track down a giant pile of photocopied A4 sheets and hand them out! Eventually, after some hours, I reach the passport booth. No questions about the purpose of my visit, not even a real look at my passport, just a bored stamp and a yawn.

✅ Trip Verified | Horrible customs officials. Two lazy staff at the diplomatic counter at first did not want to help us, and upon learning that we were diplomats were extremely rude and vile. This is not the ORTIA that I know. Please get people that are well trained in passport control as well as people skills. My rating overall is extremely influenced by this behavior.

✅ Trip Verified | Absolutely pathetic. Had to deal with the most narcissistic custom official, berating my 9 year old son for standing in the wrong line. We were tired and confused after almost a 24 hour flight from the USA. Plus, myself, my four year old daughter and son got sent to the backroom for some obscure reason, and were treated like second class citizens. Treat people the way you would like to be treated. My hope and prayer is that this message reaches a person in authority who will have a talk with their personnel. You don't treat children this way.

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.