Nadi Airport

I travelled from Nadi to Sydney. At the bag search prior to boarding my Jetstar flight the security woman seized my lipstick which was in a zippered compartment of my handbag stating that is was not in a zippered bag. Having travelled with seven female friends who all retained their lipstick (not in a zipped bag) I was not happy. I feel the Fiji Tourist staff should advise passengers that it is policy to seize lipsticks not placed in a zippered bag although I don't know what type of bag she was referring too. Having travelled several times on International Flights in the past 12 months although not on Jetstar I have never had any problems with lipstick.

Interesting place but nothing too get to excited about. The heat and humidity will hit you like a brick if you are coming from afar. But it's Fiji it's suppose to be that way. Nice little live musical group that plays in the lobby upon each plane arrival. It's a fairly small airport so easy to navigate around. The taxis will be on you before you know what hits you if you are unprepared. There's a few shops but not really much of anything else. There are some free shuttles if you can find them otherwise bargain for your prices with the taxi's and make the price clear from the get go. Bottom line is that there are better airports and there are worse airports. The big plus is that it is airconditioned.

I have flown in and out of Nadi several times for the last 4 years and my only disappoinment was the arrival concourse especially when a fully loaded 747 comes in. Not the concourse itself but the customs clearance area i personally think is too small to cater for jumbo arrivals. The Departure concourse is on par with other airports especially for a small developing country like Fiji. Air conditioned and spacious.

The tropical humidity really hits you as you get off the plane onto the covered walkways that link the gates with the terminal; the air conditioning once inside is much appreciated. Apparently the guitar playing welcoming party are from local hotels. Customs is somehow at once both laid-back and thorough. Signage for check in could be improved - what was on the tv screens above the desks didn't always match the sign at the start of the queue. Departure lounge features some duty free but is essentially a large open space on the upper floor. Some peace and quiet can be found in an area downstairs immediately outside the airline lounges - upstairs gets crowded especially when the 747 is about to board. For a small country it's a good airport.

After being half starved by Air Pacific on the way from Sydney it was a relief to find that there was a kiosk selling hot food. The airport is on par with any international airports in the world. It is superb when compared with the size of the small island nation. Whole airport air conditioned after walking through an open air bridge from aircraft & going through security into transit lounge. Airport seemed to be lacking in wheelchair. Passengers in need of wheelchairs had to wait till they came back after delivering 1st lot of passengers to plane. Singers greeted passengers when they disembarked. Whole airport had a friendly & happy ambiance esp in light of all the happy tourists. This makes me yearn for a holiday in Fiji after transiting there.

I have been through Nadi Airport at least 12 times in the last 6 months. The airport itself is clean but the staff are to put it bluntly incompetent in every way. Should you be travelling with small children then please check their boarding passes. We travelled with 2 children and 2 infants upon check in we were served by a local that had looked like he had not had any sleep in 2 days and was indifferent to ‘service’. Our 2 infants had no boarding passes well they did but not in their own names 1 child and 1 infant were of the same name on the boarding pass and 1 infants name was spelt completely incorrectly. Never mind we went through the security check customs check and the 2 staff check before we boarded and no one actually checked the names on boarding passes = names in the passport. Last week I was challenged as I had food in my carry on luggage I was told that it could smear (it was Indian sweets that were cooked and could not smear or melt).

I live in Australia but come from Fiji and have gone through Nadi Airport many times in order to visit my relatives in this tropical nation. The interior design have received many overhauls every time I go there. The last time I went (at the end of 2005) the interior blended modernity with a Melanesian touch and it's rather nice. When you first walk though the arrival gates you are greeted (or at least I was greeted) with a couple of Fijian men playing a ukelele and singing in Fijian. How welcoming! It even comes with a cheerful "Bula!". However for the people at customs they don't seem to take their work seriously. I don't know if it is the laid-back vibe of the atmosphere but they do take their sweet time but this is Fiji were talking about. Duty-free shopping is okay but not abundant so if you're planning for a long wait in the airport you'll probably breeze through most shops present.

I've been through Nadi about four times over the past eight years. Each time the place has improved. This latest journey in July 2006 found all airport renovations complete (working aircon throughout the terminal). Customs has sped up their act though it was concerning watching the customs official in the returning Fijian nationals queue taking cash off Indo-Fijians. Not sure why that would be necessary. Duty free has a good selection and the prices on the tags are the starting point. You can generally get most goods for less than the ticket price. Food is adequate but by local standards very expensive. If you are stuck in the departure lounge awaiting a delayed flight there is nothing except retail and food to keep you amused. It would be nice if the cleaners could actually hold the cloths and mops a bit closer to the toilets and floor when trying to clean them instead of waving them over the top and redistributing the filth. All the same an improvement from the 90's when Nadi had limited air con and the toilets were truly disgusting.

Nice airport for this part of the world. They have finished their renovations and added very comfortable lounge seats and couches to both arrival and departure lounge (probably a promo gig of a local furniture maker). Food selection is limited and only 2 overpriced and outdated internet connected computers available. Smoker's room feels like a reason to stop smoking the 'mother with baby' room needs an overhaul (but great they actually have that!). Temperature at the departure lounge after security is usually too high.

Generally good airport for countries like Fiji. However security a major problem when passing through recently to ALK. X-Rays were not working and ground staff were going through luggage by hand! If you were a business class passenger the luggage was not even checked! Not only did this delay my flight but for the 10 hours through to LAX all I could do was pray that no one had a reason for blowing up the plane that day.