Oslo Airport

On arrival at Oslo Gardamoen airport the first toilet I came to was disgusting! Further toilets only OK. This airport is satisfactory except for Norwegian style prices in the shops and restaurants. It is easy to find ones way layout good. It looks a bit "tired" lamps needing replacing here and there etc. There is work in progress at the airport. I found the train connections to Oslo city centre good and staff helpful.

SAS offered us flight from Helsinki to Amsterdam with a short stop-time in Oslo. Time mentioned in our tickets was suspiciously short only about 40 minutes to change the aircraft. We supposed airline knew how things arranged in the airport. But in fact in was the most stressful situation we’ve ever had. First it was a 10 minutes arrival delay to Oslo lack of distinct pointers for international and domestic directions where passengers should go to and having to go through an unexpected security control. All of this meant that we have had many chances for a delay. Any our attempts to take actions to speed up the process at the security control have met no reaction the staff simply didn’t understand English or acted as that. Exclusively through our assertive action we were able to pass this control phase but only caught a plane due to a 20 minutes next flight delay. A short stay in this airport left depression. In order to prove that the problem is in the internal airport organization I would mention our return route through Copenhagen where everything was organized at the highest level and we have had sufficient time to relax and continue our journey.

Very confusing instructions (actually no instructions) for connection flights long queues and chaotic atmosphere.

I've flown to Oslo several times within the past year. I don't understand why it take 30-40 minutes for the baggage to arrive on the conveyor belt. It makes it impossible to catch many of the scheduled connecting flights. Security is relatively fast compared to other airports (usually a 10 minute wait) but between waiting 40 minutes for your bags running through customs running upstairs going through security and running to your gate at the end of the long crowded corridors (without any conveyors) there is no chance to make connecting flights. The airline staff don't even seem surprised! The other problem with Oslo airport is that it is somewhat dirty. Not disgusting - but definitely not clean. Like many other airports in Europe the corridors and walkways are becoming ever more narrow as the duty free shops get wider and wider. Trying to get to your gate in the morning or evening is like an obstacle course. On the bright side the airport has relatively nice architecture. But altogether it's an airport one should definitely avoid.

I've flown through this airport about 4 times in the past 6 months - always to connect to a domestic airport (Alesund). For an airport its very nice inside lots of wood and natural light and the little staff around are friendly this is about the only good thing though. As many others have said the real problem is that connecting from an international to domestic flight means you have to collect your bags run though customs (easy enough) go up a floor to re check your bag then clear security again. Confusing signs and very few toilets (never had to queue for the mens before). The crazy thing is that my SAS tickets say I can do all of this in less than an hour. I now only take carry on luggage and even this still leaves me stressing I will miss my flight. Or if I do need to put something in the hold I end up taking a later connecting flight and find myself bored in the terminal. Leaving Norway is ok as they will check my bag all the way back to the UK.

Although new and modern it is a disappointment as traveling from Oslo is far from a smooth experience. If you arrive with an international flight and continue on a domestic one you always need to collect your luggage take it to departures check it in again and go through security. When I was traveling trough OSL last time the check-in for my flight had been moved from zone H to D but this change was not shown in the check-in information displays and I ended up waiting for 30 min for the desk to open before enquiring at the ticket desk which told me where to go. Staff told me that it was not possible to change the information that is showed in the displays. WiFi is free but to annoy you they've made a system that requires you to enter your phone number and then a code is sent by SMS. The toilet facilities are really bad there simply are not enough of them and you almost always end up queuing. Just a handful of shops although the Duty Free is pretty good. Overall it's inferior airport compared to others in the Nordic countries.

It is a new airport however it is total chaos inside the airport. There is one floor for arrivals and the floor above for departures i.e. no terminals this means internal flights as well as external flights short and long haul all go through the same security clearance causing queues etc. There are no clocks presumably this is done on purpose so people can not actually notice just how much time they are wasting and waiting around. There is an exceptionally low level of signage telling you which is domestic gates and international gates. Low level of staff around as well to provide any assistance. This airport is definitely form over function.

Having to claim your luggage re-check it on another floor where the check-in is often difficult to find and often overrun with people then run through the terminal to find your connecting flight make this airport one of the most difficult I've ever used. I am always worried that I will miss my connection and there never seems to be anyone around to ask a question or to direct passengers.

Connecting from international to domestic is an unpleasant experience in OSL since one has to pick-up bags pass through customs and re-check-in them pass through the security check and then hurry for the gate. 45 minutes is not enough for this even if the airline says so!

The usual hub for my travels. Use this airport several times a year. This time I went the last weekend in June and you would expect long queues and waiting time. Not so it all went very smoothly. When the airport gets too crowded it seems the personnel loose their overview on things and everything quickly falls apart with insane lines. Staff usually helpful. Lighting and colors are odd as everything feels grey and dimmed. Why? No decent view of the runways and aircraft coming in leaving. No place for spotters inside the terminal. Go over to the old terminal building for spotting if needed. Shops are overpriced and should be avoided at all times. Pizza Hut overpriced but yummy. First time I went to OSL in 2001 everything was a mess and their baggage system was wrecked. Thankfully much has been improved since then but the colors design and shops leaves much to be desired. No good connecting system you need to pick up your bags and check in again if travelling from abroad and connecting further. Horrible system. Baggage pick up area way too grey and cold.