Kingston Airport customer review
D Stanley (United Kingdom)
A very good experience arriving and departing. The airport is modern clean and efficient. No delays or problems arriving. Queuing at immigration did not take too long and bags had already arrived after that. Departure is also very good. No immigration formalities for departure so you get into the departure lounge quite quickly. I used the business lounge which was very comfortable with good wireless internet and a reasonable food selection.
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Airport Shopping | 12345 |
Recommended | yes |
Kingston Airport customer review
S Nixon
Norman Manley (KIN) is an airport of two halves! Arrivals is a bit shambolic. We arrived on a 747 and 400 people had to be ferried in a variety of minibuses and coaches to the arrivals hall. Following that queuing for immigration took over an hour even with most of the desks open. The arrivals area is shabby but will be updated shortly. The baggage collection is also a novelty with cases pilled up and scattered across the arrivals hall near customs. Departures is totally different. A modern light and attractive area with well marked check in desks and orderly waiting. Beyond the fairly efficient security checks is a relaxing lounge with many retail outlets of both Jamaican and international food and goods.
Recommended | no |
Kingston Airport customer review
Andre Souza
Small airport check in was fast lots of fast foods joints after the security check! The only negative part is the boarding - you have to walk a lot to get to your gate.
Recommended | no |
Kingston Airport customer review
M Vos
Kingston Norman Rogers Airport is the best kept secret of south-eastern Ontario. I enjoy taking a 30 minute drive to Kingston instead of driving 3 hours to Toronto. It is a small terminal building. Check-in is quick and easy. Air Canada Jazz operated 5 flights daily to Toronto and seasonal service to Montreal using the Dash 8 and Beech 1900D. It is worth the connection in Toronto. A lot less trouble. There are rumours that WestJet is going to be launching daily service to Calgary.
Recommended | no |
Kingston Airport customer review
N Clark
Norman Manley International Airport (KIN) has apparently been under construction continuously ever since my first visit to it in 1987. More recently I go through KIN several times each year. I must rate KIN as "poor" for now -- bordering on "very poor" --- especially compared to other Caribbean airports. It is shamefully inadequate as the international airport for a capital city in one of the most important countries in the region. Each time I go through KIN I notice that the renovations and expansion have made a little more progress. It is a major project and is beginning to produce results. The terminal no longer has the shabby mildewed atmosphere. I see signs that when the expansion is complete KIN might deserve three or four stars; but there are some problems that will probably take longer to solve: There are more jetways than before but many of them don't work. As I learned during my most recent arrival on American Airlines just because your plane pulls up to a jetway does not mean that you will deplane through it. Immigration simply does not have enough space to handle the peak times. Even with every desk staffed and a typical transaction time of less than two minutes waiting times of one hour or more are frequent especially in the early afternoon for Jamaicans and visitors alike. Baggage delivery is totally unpredictable. KIN has the fastest and the slowest baggage delivery in the Caribbean. Sometimes the first bags off the plane are lined up in neat rows sometimes they are all piled in a small heap. Air Jamaica and Delta seem to do better than American in this category but all are somewhat unpredictable. The whole inbound process plane to taxi has taken me as long as 90 minutes and as short as 10 minutes. The times to avoid are in the late morning and early afternoon. Late afternoon seems to be better.Outbound travel is challenging. Arrive at least two hours before flight time. Unless you are a premium traveler check-in can take a half hour or more. One exception seems to be Air Jamaica who appear to do much better at moving people. Air Jamaica has a pleasant lounge upstairs quiet usually uncrowded with good WI-FI access and a respectable but not lavish offering of snacks. The security screening area would be inadequate in an airport with one-fifth of KIN's traffic. In a terminal the size of NMIA it is a disaster. Security is the most disagreeable part of the KIN experience. There are only two screening machines feeding directly into the outbound immigration desks. Conditions are crowded and the outbound immigration line often backs up through the machines. Expect very long waits during peak outbound travel times. The majority of the security staff who try to be helpful and are professional in their bearing are hampered by a very few colleagues who are the most disagreeable security personnel I have ever met anywhere in the region. Some of them do not appear to be well trained and sometimes try to confiscate items that clearly are permissible in carry-on baggage. This small minority are rude unsmiling and are obviously the only people in Jamaica who have never learned the words "please" and "thank you." Requests to speak to a supervisor are often ignored. Where to they find these people? They seem to be unique in all of Jamaica. The airport has recently completed very nice departure gate areas upstairs but passengers are not allowed to use them. Instead you must still wait in a small crowded noisy lounge area where seats have been crowded around T-shirt and souvenir stands. The only positive note are the interesting small shops around the perimeter of the lounge. People appear to be an afterthought in the waiting area. There often are no seats available. When your flight is called for boarding only then may you go upstairs (there is only one elevator) and directly to your gate where you must board the plane immediately. If you do not have to enter Jamaica via KIN use Montego Bay instead especially if your destination is anywhere on the north coast. Montego Bay is often as crowded as KIN but better laid out and a little more efficient. If you must use KIN try to avoid the peak inbound and outbound times - and pray for a swift completion of the project.
Recommended | no |
Kingston Airport customer review
Jean-Louis Vergaert
Get ready for some long periods of misery at Kingston Airport which is now under renovation. One hour queues at immigration upon arrival. Check-in system down at departure long queues at security (tip: take the utmost right security gate which will bring you directly to immigration passing the queue of the other security gates). The fun factor was at arrival the baggage handlers remove all the bags of the carrousels and stack them together in one corner (although there is plenty of space in the luggage hall) without any space to move around making it quite acrobatic to remove your bag from the pile. Some organization is required here.
Recommended | no |
Kingston Airport customer review
I Maciver
Norman Manley Airport - originally Palisadoes Airport is an old military field that like MBJ has grown. As most tourist arrivals are via MBJ KIN gets overlooked when improvements are in the works. Indeed an old tired airport with crowding a problem both inside & outside the buildings. There is an improvement programme underway for the airside facilities with pax facilities coming in second place. Walking to/from the plane is interesting but the smell of jet fuel can be nauseating. Like MBJ the approach provides interesting views - Kingston and surrounds notably the hills above town. The drive in from the airport is a beautiful ride along the peninsula though if going into town will be through some rough spots. Recent hurricane damage has been repaired for the most part. Overall a far below MBJ in all aspects - but workable.
Recommended | no |
Kingston Airport customer review
Roman Somerset
The best option for passangers in Eastern Ontario from Cobourg to Brockville wishing to avoid the drive and congestion to Pearson. Unfortunately not that many people know of this convenient airport.
Recommended | no |
Kingston Airport customer review
kerry john
I enjoy my visits thoroughly but the airport is quite tacky and very small. The fact that you have to walk across the tarmac from the aircraft can be a pain for those who have a disability or are travelling with children etc but it makes for an authentic touch. They have recently added a Burger King but the shops are very limited and if you are on a night flight all shops are closed. The staff need to improve their customer service skills as they rarely smile and appear quite serious and some can be quite abrupt. They need to some how stop the hustlers from crowding the visitors as they exit the airport trying to make a quick buck as it can be quite intimidating for first timers to the country but once you get through all this you almost instantly forget and enjoy your vacation surroundings.
Recommended | no |
Kingston Airport customer review
Craig Meyers
Norman Rogers Airport CYGK in Kingston Ontario Canada is a small regional airport located about 250km east of Toronto and about the same distance west of Montreal. Air Canada Jazz offers Dash 8 and Beech 1900 service to Toronto 5 times daily. The return flight from Kingston to Toronto costs about $150 if you have a connecting flight in Toronto. Otherwise a flight from Kingston to Toronto costs a bit more. Avoiding check-in in Toronto and the three hour drive to Toronto is worth the extra cost. Kingston is a one building terminal and there is never anymore than 20 pax to check-in for any flight. Security is very thorough but is done efficiently and saves you the hassle of going through Toronto Pearson for security. The terminal is one building and is currently undergoing renovations to improve service. There are no restaurants in the terminal but there are a few vending machines. AVIS does offer a car rental service but requires advance notice so a representative can meet the flight. Overnight parking is only $2.00 per 24hr period and is much cheaper than parking in Toronto. The flight to Toronto takes 45min. Baggage can be checked through to your destination from Kingston so there is no need to re-claim baggage in Toronto. A nice little airport that makes a trip through Toronto Pearson a little more bearable.
Recommended | no |