Perth Airport

International terminal arrival. Singapore flight arrival at 1440 and out of the door to the car park at 1500 -luggage customs quarantine inclusive. Must be a record to be all done in 20 mins. Used the new self service passport check. Nothing to complain about - though not sure this is the usual standard?

If you are intending to use the transfer bus between domestic and international airports you need to allow a minimum of one hour. The bus is advertised as running half hourly but in fact seems to run to it's own schedule and in our experience it is an hourly service or at least it seemed to be when we used it. Unless you are going Qantas both domestically and internationally then you need to produce your flight documentation to even be allowed on the bus. For this you will be charged $8. I feel that a 20 minute service would be more suitable and running on time so that people know where they stand and don't miss flights. A taxi would be less stressful and get you there on time.

What we went through tonight at Perth international airport was atrocious. 4 flights came in around midnight and there were only 3 customs baggage checkers on. This resulted in nearly 1000 people jammed and shoved into the baggage area being herded around by the security people as if they were animals. It was nothing short of disgusting. Threats were made to confused people who were just trying to work out the 5 wide queues people could not find 'the end of the queue. I myself was threatened to be sent to the end of the line (which would have added another hour to my already 2 hour wait in the queue) because I insisted on these security men not breaking me up with my sons. I felt like a Jew in a Nazi line up for the 'train' to a bad place. This was disgusting to say the least. If it does not get you in one area it will get you in the other. For instance when we checked in to leave Australia we had to wait for 1.5 hours just to get through ticketing and nearly missed our international flight. If one person had have nominated a riot tonight at this airport I doubt you would have been able to stop it.

Perth domestic is one of the most painful airports in the world. It has nothing of interest overpriced shopping overpriced parking rare taxis and many flights involve walks across the tarmac. The only advantage over some other airports is the lack of nearby combat. If you are flying out of Perth domestic (and maybe international) then back in again do not rely on taxis but drive to the airport and park your car in the long term parking with a frequent shuttle bus to the Skywest end of the terminal. It is cheaper and more reliable than taxis to and from Perth. Alternatively organise somebody to pick you up and phone them again once you have got your baggage so you don't have to pay for overpriced parking. As hire cars cost more if you use a big name company or pick them up from the airport use a local smaller hire car company with an office near the airport and arrange for them to pick you up.

Perth Airport is sub-standard (particularly the domestic terminals) and in need of a desperate upgrade. You can be waiting for over an hour to catch a taxi out of the place and check-in can be also be a long process. There is no public bus to the International Terminal and don't even bother catching the one from the domestic terminal unless you only have hand luggage. The private airport bus is useful but expensive (Around $15 AUD). Once in the departure lounge there are few services and facilities and those that do exist are very overpriced. The international terminal is somewhat better with more open space and a fair collection of shops but it is nothing compared to Changi or KL and the wait to get past immigration and quarantine can be an extremely long process when multiple flights arrive together.

Had a four and a half hour wait in Perth before getting onto a second flight. After spending ten minutes in the baggage claim we decided that we needed to get out of the airport. After quickly checking in for the second flight we hoped into a taxi to the closest shopping centre. You may be able to sweet talk the Taxi driver to getting you there for $15 each way otherwise most pay $20. We arived back with over 2 hours to spare and we wished that we were out for longer. After security there was just nothing. A few shops a snack bar where a small bottle of water costs $4 and the Qantas club. We were very happy to board our flight and get out of the boring lifeless airport.

Perth domestic is way overdue for improvements in comparison to other Australian state capital airports. One dubious change I've noticed this year has been the relocation of the rental-car area to an open car-park some distance from the terminal. Prior to its relocation the rental cars were practically in front of the terminal. Now it is a fair walk (especially from the Qantas end of the terminal) to pick up one's car. Although I never mind a good walk the distance is too short to justify a shuttle bus but long enough that if one is weighed down with a lot of baggage and/or it is raining (much of the walk is uncovered) you will arrive a bit worse for wear and/or wet at the end of your trek. Bring your own umbrellas if rain is forecast. A brief discussion with a rep from one of the major hire-car companies indicated that they were also unhappy with the new arrangements which are not alas temporary.

I have lived in Perth for a year and used its domestic and international facilities rather often. Check-in and departure is not a problem on both sides of the airport. Security checks are okay too. Facilities for waiting passengers are rather dissapointing (stay outside as long as possible once inside it is rather sad what there is on offer especially domestic gates). The horror story is arriving at domestic side. After collecting your luggage you better have pre-organised a taxi or a pick-up. The queues at the taxi stand are long and you can easily spend 2 hours waiting. The airport shuttle is not reliable to run especially late at night public buses stop operating after 7pm from the domestic airport. Car parking is a rip-off and vast in size. A shame to have such poor airport facilities in a city of the size of Perth.

As a frequent traveller out of Perth airport little has changed in 15 years. At domestic terminal new rental car parking area and many new commercial facilities have been installed but nothing for the regular passenger with regard to taxi availability (slow and poorly organised); baggage retrieval (slow up to 45 minutes but may improve with new belts now in place); lounge area (chewing gum from years ago on the carpet and seating that is inadequate and worn); security check (sometimes out the door onto the footpath and hopelessly inadequate); airline lounge (only Qantas has one) is crowded and noisy; mens toilet in the arrival area is always dirty. Isolation from international terminal makes transfer difficult in the amount of time it takes and the expense (taxi drivers let you know that they don't like the fare either). The worst airport of the major Australia cities and it should be the best but suffers from lack of planning over a long period of time.

I agree with the post about the airport shuttle. For more than 2 pax it is as cost effective to take a taxi. I and others waited over an hour for one to show up late at night. The airport authorities (or someone) was conducting a study of how it takes to proceed through various parts of the airport from check in to immigration. Everything seemed better than at many airports. But on getting airside I encountered the most unkept toilet I have ever seen. One of the sinks had become a waste bin and had not been cleaned since goodness knows when. It was piled high with used paper towels.