Porto Airport

Very beautiful airport at the architectural level. Ventilated big spaces and very clean. Glazed walls with nice views and good natural light. Impeccable services. Underground car park and subway in front of airport connecting it to the city. It is a pleasure to return there.

Connecting from EWR to BCN via OPO there was complete confusion as to whether we had to identify our transit bags en route. Some said yes others no. Logic and experience at other gateway airports indicates that bags are checked through to the final destination; even the layout of the airport supports this with the only customs facilities available at the exit; the "connecting flight" route offered no facility for inspection or indeed passing transit bags to the airport. Is this only for connecting passengers without luggage? I think not. As it happened my bags went astray anyhow so the problem for me was academic. My travelling companion picked up his large suitcase and then took it through the connecting channel into the departure area! On the return we boarded in OPO and the airport worked wonderfully as does the train connection into and out of town.

Such a pretty airport and easy to use. Staff are generally very friendly and helpful. Check in is fantastically efficient although that is probably speeded up by check in staff not bothering too much with the "did you pack this bag yourself" dialogue. Security staff were fine with me but apparently became very aggressive with my two kids who had been directed into a separate queue specifically for women and children. My daughter was pretty upset annoyed and I suspect embarassed at being shouted at by a male guard in Portuguese in front of a longish queue. He apparently wanted her to remove the belt she was not wearing. A 15 year old English girl with no Portuguese may well be confused at the splitting up procedure which in our experience was unique to Porto on that mid morning of 29th March. I have always been there to interpret need for them before when travelling through airports. Apart from that it is a lovely airport

A wonderful yet small airport however it has all the facilities needed and is very efficient.

Every time we fly to Porto airport it is a wonderful experience. The airport is clean bright and airy and we always seem to sail through the terminal to our flight. The business lounge is lovely with a balcony that overlooks the main concourse. Luggage is fast coming through. Last time we were there the luggage was on the waiting for us despite a quick progress through passport control! Hire car pickup is easy and the motorways easy to reach for a journey North or South. We live near Obidos just 50mins drive from Lisbon airport and we choose Porto as our arrival airport (2 hours drive away from Obidos) for ease and comfort. Lisbon airport takes hours to get through and I always feel stressed after doing so. Porto wins hands down every time!!

Arrivals seems to have much improved since previous postings in December 2006. I arrived 12.00 midday midweek and just "sailed" through (if one can "sail" through an airport!). Some signs yet to be in place esp. directions to the wonderful new Metro - Porto Airport be PROUD of it - don't HIDE it!! Very light airy spacious airport with good choice of shopping and cafes/bars. All Metros stop at Campanha rail station then terminate at the Dragao Stadium (home of FC Porto) with a journey time to Campanha of 33 mins.

Great airport major improvement since opening new terminal. Even the tax free shops and cafes were open for my 6AM departure. In Lisbon shops seem to open much later so if you have an early departure from Lisbon you cant shop or have a cup of coffee. Recommend to change plains in OPO instead of LIS its much more hassle free. Indeed link with " metro" to downtown is great and very cheap only 1 EURO 85.

Porto aiport's departure level is excellent clean well-signed and bright. There are a multitude of stores and cafes/restaurants on both sides of security. The airport is well connected to the city by a metro link. The arrivals level is much worse. The lines for customs are very long (20-ish minutes for around 200 passengers) the washrooms are filthy (water everywhere overflowing) the path to the baggage area is long and grey the bags took over 40 minutes and the section for car rentals is confusing with each 'store' place haphazardly. (It looks like this area is under construction). My first impressions (when arriving) were horrible but the airport made up for most of it with the departures level. They need improvement to the arrivals level but it seems like they're working on it.

OPO Airport has been rebuilt beyond recognition and since 2005 both the departure and the arrival terminals are fully operational. Very modern infrastructure with a functional airy and pleasant concoursse. Since March 2006 OPO light rail serves the airport conecting to the city centre in 20 minutes. Shame that the whole building is not smoke- free although few designated areas exist. Duty free is now more fun and there are lots of shops. Recycling bins throughout the Airport decent and clean toilets and many other facilities. OPO Airport is at last a XXI century airport and serves a very important economic and industrial area of northern Portugal and Galicia (Spain).

I was at OPO a couple of weeks ago and it seemed equal to the task. No frills but more than able to meet all reasonable demands put on it (and my outgoing flight was over an hour late). We were kept well informed of the situation and directed to the nearest benches to sit down and wait (unlike a similar experience at CDG recently)