Queenstown Airport

Not Verified | Why is this internatinal airport? It have no capacity of being one especially nowdays. Extremely poor security lanes. No PA is given to customers with impending flight even though you are standing in security. Staff will give you generic excuse and blame everyone else. Basically not a very good airport to use. I would give minus rating if I could but it only let me give 1. Avoid if you can.

✅ Trip Verified | Overcrowded. Its a very small airport, seats mounted all over the place, passengers constantly crossing through the seating areas. Security could take hours between 1200-1400. Security offers little communication when searching the bags.

Not Verified | Security line is a disgrace. How on earth can anybody think this is acceptable? I’m never coming back to Queenstown until they’ve sorted this. What an embarrassment to our country.

Not Verified | If you enjoy standing in line this airport Is for you. Passport control doesn’t open until 90 mins before you’re flight - so everyone joins the line at the same time - resulting in 40 min standing in line for us. Had about 15 mins in the lounge before boarding. The price of refreshments before security is really high but there no alternative if you want a coffee when you arrive at the airport. Bit of a miserable end to our holiday.

✅ Trip Verified | Flew into Queenstown at 8pm at night and was expecting a pick up service from our hotel. Waited a half hour then found the "Information" booth and asked if possible could they ring the hotel for. Sorry we cant do that I was told you need to go use the public phone. I told them I didn't have any change, they told me I can use my credit card. Ok, I walk around to the public phones and try for 10 mins and it just wont work. I go back to the so called "Information" booth and after standing in front of them till they finish their conversation on the phone that wont work for me could they please ring my hotel. Again told sorry we cant do that. I mean like the phone is right in front of you, you just don't want to. What a great Kiwi welcome to Queenstown. No chance the staff are ever overworked - they don't do anything. Woeful service. Thanks Queenstown Airport. Your staff deserve an award for being useless. Much more important to carry on your conversation and ignore a passenger right in front of you. I ended up going to the Milford Sound booth and the lady there was kind enough to ring our hotel (it's now 9pm and the airport is closing) for us to find out the hotel has forgotten us. She also helped us get a shuttle. Something she didn't need to do, but was kind enough to do so.

✅ Trip Verified | Queenstown is a small city but with the large tourist traffic and variable NZ weather, it could do with an expansion. There are no airbridges so plan for walking in the rain, potentially for a long distance. Immigration was fast (most passengers will be Australians and New Zealanders using the auto gates) and customs just a bit slower despite quite extensive checking for foods. Once you get landside, though, the terminal is a massive crush of people. Very insufficient seating so people are sprawled on the floor and all cafes and shops are busy. Hire cars are easy to find though and driving to and from the airport is easy. On departure, immigration is opened 90 minutes before a flight - you have to fill out a departure card but the only desks in the terminal are in the area that will only be opened 90 minutes before. Security was slow because they have to do so many people in a short time. Airside doesn't have much (a few cafes and shops and a small lounge) but was less crowded than landside.

✅ Verified Review | A bad start, a very long line to check in, that was probably Jetstars problem. Then a look for some food. Incredibly expensive, and some bizarre system where you paid and then waited for ages for your items to be boxed and bagged- what a waste of paper. Then through a slow security screen and sat down to wait. A totally incomprehensible announcement that some people must have heard because the entire departure lounge had to get up and go back out into the main terminal and be rescreened. That was very poorly handled with nobody having much idea of what was happening and no staff to guide people who were queuing through the main part of the terminal. Fortunately we were able to immediately board our plane which was then of course running late. A better PA system would certainly have helped.

All that you need in a nice, sleek airport. The design is modern and airy even if the size is pretty small. Going from the parking to the gate is a breeze and the experience very pleasant. Taking off and landing is impressive thanks to the great mountain and lake views. A great experience overall.