Perth Airport

✅ Trip Verified | Perth Airport Terminal 4 Security. I went through on my own was stopped with 2 other random people and we all had to line up while one security officer checked all 3 with one swab? She barked orders about leaving feet on the ground and opening cabin baggage. The other security officers were free, I presume if one passenger had tested for something all 3 would be delayed. Poor organization and very poor interpersonal skills. She would not allow us to split over the other 2 security which were free. I welcome this screening service, appreciate that it protects me and others, and understand that it is absolutely necessary however, this behavior gives this necessary service a poor reputation. 8:16am on a Thursday morning it was not at all busy, so no excuses for poor communication.

Not Verified | Parking is fairly expensive, even just for 15 mins. International and domestic terminals are ok but nothing special compared to other Australian cities. I do like the long seats that you can lie on if you need a nap. Otherwise there's nothing that memorable about the terminals even though I've been through them quite often.

✅ Trip Verified | I never really appreciated Perth airport until I had to live in Europe. Perth airport is small compared to many airports. However, it is truly efficient. Upon arrival, friendly staff at duty free welcome us back and inform us of the deals available. ePassport scanners may get busy, but work fast. By the time we get to the carousel, suitcases were already loaded. Border security is strict but the officers work fast. Long queues are not a problem. A good, efficient airport.

Not Verified | Despite the expensive upgrade to this airport the same fundamental issues remain. Inefficient use of human resources, lack of functioning machines and rip off prices for poor quality food. On leaving Perth we queued for a length of time to get our e-passport scanned. Mine (amongst many others) didn't scan and we were directed to a person to check our passports,. She politely informed me that this was "always happening". Arrival back to Perth was the usual scenario. Pick our bags up and then enter a long queue to exit through customs. One customs officer taking our out-dated information cards (why are we still filling these in?) and letting us through. Several other customs officers standing around chatting. A multitude of staff from Ministry of Agriculture and fisheries doing nothing. I understand that it's nice to allow cabin crew and pilots to jump the queue ahead of passengers (although would be nice for them to go through a side exit so that we are not further frustrated, however, very annoying to see the cabin crew sneaking family members through with them. Surely their relatives should stand with the rest of us? Passing through Perth airport is never a pleasant experience and the more that I travel, the more I see the inefficiencies.

Not Verified | Perth airport had a multi million dollar revamp but failed dismally. I don't know who the planners were but they obviously have no idea about building airport terminals, quite frankly it is a disgrace and was a total waste of money. One would think that with the domestic and international terminals not being under the same roof that with the vast amount of land available one could build a decent terminal. Perth generally has had poor planning since the 1960s, no one can think to the future. The Perth drop off pick up area for vehicles is a joke. The short term car park should have been used partially for this, why is it so hard for planners to work it out? The airport should be 3 story each floor having a designated taxi bus and ride share pick up drop off and the other 2 floors being designated for arrivals and departures. Why the domestic and International airports are not combined I do not understand but then look at our Freeway system which plans forward only for today and not the future and the disgrace of narrow streets in the city of Perth, Vincent, Stirling and many other shores where streets use to be 2 lanes each way and now are only 1 lane each way and they cry congestion which the shores created themselves.

Not Verified | I arrived Perth airport after a 22 hour flight from U.K. I was one of the many selected to go through customs to have my luggage scanned or checked which is fine, however I am a 68 year old lady who has a back problem requiring surgery. I was told to lift my suitcase which weighed close to 40 kilos onto the table, when I explained that I was unable to do this and could someone help me I was told no. I therefore had to struggle to lift it on and then off. I realise that there maybe "rules" in place but for goodness sake, whatever happened to good manners or common courtesy? There were several able bodied members of staff standing around appearing not to be doing to much. I was in tears and a lot of pain by the time I met my husband who had come to meet me. Out of all the airports that I have visited over the years I am sorry to say that Perth is way down the bottom of the list.

Not Verified | Left on a 10.30pm flight so arrived at the international terminal at 7pm. Check in was very good. All food and shopping outlets were open and I passed quickly through immigration without fuss. Was able to claim some GST back too with a helpful customer service lady. Arriving back however was a completely different and horrible experience. Think of the damage this does to the tourist’s impression of WA. So approx 800-900 passengers had arrived together at 6.45pm on 2 flights. Immigration had 7 smart gate lines open (several out of order) and several real human officers on desks (approx. 4). However the 2 male yellow jackets were completely illogically forcing us to wait in these long automatic gates for the double scanning of boarding passes (long since discarded - never warned we would need them on arrival) and then passport scanning by second terminal/machine. Only one assistant standing inside the airport behind the smart gates watching, so utter chaos from tired and jet-lagged passengers was evident. I urged the yellow jacket to allow me to avoid this lengthy queue (I'd been travelling for 24hrs at this point) and go to a desk and be checked by an immigration officer. “Perth airport prefers you to use the smart gate” was the reply. I replied “I prefer to use this other option with no queuing”. The response was repeated again. Eventually, the man relented and opened a barrier for me to walk into the “assistance lane” and up to a counter. There were 2 individuals in front of me and I was through within a minute. One staff member on duty was friendly and kind, and didn’t need my boarding pass. A short walk later I was at the carousel and my luggage was already going around. Goodness knows how much longer those hundreds of other people took to funnel though the smart gate. They probably witnessed the officers either sitting there doing little work or closing their desk and going off-duty or on a break while the customer stood there. The cynic in me says of course they want to slow you up as much as possible so your family paying horrendous parking charges rack up as many dollars as possible. It’s something like $13 per hour to use the car park.

✅ Trip Verified | It has been 6 years since I last had to use Perth airport and to be honest even after their renovation the main issues still remain. When arriving there are very long queues for both immigration and quarantine, for the latter you are lulled into a false sense of efficiency as the majority of the line is hidden behind a partition. There are still the same number of immigration staff standing around as there are ones manning counters, therefore when 3 flight arrive within an hour, only 4 booths open with 4 people walking around supervising (not sure what though). Plus side of the long waiting time is that the luggage is there waiting for you so you can take your place in the next queue. Again 4 booths open but 5 people checking your customs deceleration and making sure you haven't died of old age waiting. Departure is better although ground staff and checking not well trained got through immigration quickly, however $4.00 for a baggage cart is a rip off, that said so is the price of everything at the airport. So glad I no longer have to travel through here.

❎ Not Verified | I recently transited through Perth Airport (domestic to international, then vice-versa on the return) and it revealed some serious shortcomings. First, signage is poor - I had great difficulty finding any signage between terminals, including the essential free shuttle transfer bus. The layout requires a lot of walking, so avoid this place if you have any mobility issues. I was also surprised at the lack of service personnel at check-in desks an hour before my flight. The main issue though is transferring between the domestic and international terminals, which requires taking a free shuttle bus. This takes time - they depart every 15 minutes, and in my case took 25 minutes to get there after stopping at the various car parks. Combined with walking, you need plenty of transit time! On my return journey, where I had a 2.5 hour transit time, my incoming flight was an hour late. As incoming passengers have to collect their checked luggage for customs, this was made worse by a nearly 30-minute wait to get my luggage. By the time I was out into the arrival's hall, I had about 30 minutes before boarding started at the domestic terminal, and I still had to get there and check in my luggage. This was extremely stressful, especially as I just missed the shuttle bus. Knowing that I had a 15-minute wait, plus a possible 25-minute journey, I grabbed a taxi instead. However, I was abused by the taxi driver who'd had to wait 3 hours to collect a fare only to find he'd been asked to go to the other terminal! While understandable, I really had no choice if I was going to catch my connection, so I had to pay the guy a very large tip. This is always a problem where you have to catch shuttle buses and then drive through traffic to get to another terminal, no matter which airport in which country. Now that I know this applies to Perth Airport, I'll be avoiding it where possible in the future. I don't need this kind of stress on my journey.

Not Verified | Worst airport. Arrived at 8pm, all shops shut, airport security closed down and no self-check in counters. Flight was at midnight but got to airport after dinner thinking we could check in and look at shops. Nothing open at all and no staff visible. A sign said "desk opens 10.30pm" but no where to even buy food or drink.