Rhodes Airport

Not Verified | On arrival we couldn’t really complain, we got through passport control in around 20 minutes (it was gone 10pm at night) first impressions was that airport was a little dated. When departing from the airport it was an apsolute nightmare. We was flying with TUI and there was another flight departed 10 minutes before us to Manchester. Both flights used the same check in desk, there was a lot of confusion on what to do, you had to weigh the bag and check in then go to another queue to put your bag in an X-ray machine? Little frustrating when you have extremely tired children and dozens of disabled people. Going to the gate was the worst part. They stuck all the TUI flights and a Jet2 flight on the same gate with our flight saying it was boarding - it wasn’t. It was Manchester and quite worryingly people were getting on the wrong flight due to staff lack of attention (very broken English also). Due to this admin cock up our flight was over an hour delayed and we then had to stay on the runway for 45 minutes as we lost our slot to take off. I was really saddened by the experience as Rhodes is a beautiful place and we had an amazing holiday. One perk was duty free, very modern and clean and lots to choose from!

Not Verified | Unfriendly Staff, longer queues than any highway and very bad organization. The halls were full of litter and dirty in general. The waiting areas are small as heck, good luck finding a place to sit there. Oh, and there is no Wifi The only two good things that Rhodes Diagoras International has going for it are the good amount of power outlets in the waiting area and the gorgeous view on the runway the area provides. But still, in my opinion it's a badly organized airport and it needs improvement.

❌ Not Verified | Am concerned that there are serious health and safety issues at this airport. On arrival there was a scrummage of hundreds of people all trying to get into the passport area. It was frightening - people pushing and shoving to get access through one small door. More planes landed more people more pandemonium. After struggling for 20 minutes with a family of 9 persons we got into the security area then the nightmare started. Outside the airport was complete chaos. Hundreds of people queueing to find their transfer vehicles - cars buses and taxis reversing amongst people including children who were trying to find their transport. After half an hour we finally were directed to our bus which didn't leave fort a further 45 minutes which meant we didn't get to the hotel until after 2 am. We flew with Thomsons but the plane was Sunwing. This was an experience that none of us will ever endure again.

❌ Not Verified | The worst experience we have ever had at any airport in any country. On arrival 3 flights were trying to enter security through one small door, it was hot, claustrophobic, badly organised and led to myself having a panic attack as I fear crowds. There was no help to show us where to go, we therefore dreaded departure. It was worse than I could ever imagine, people walking around in circles, no direction, scanning cases questions were horrendous. Old people looking sad and exhausted, children tired and worn out, no guidance. It was like an airport in a third world country. I felt so sad, because we love Rhodes and would love to come annually, our hotel was amazing and the people are wonderful, but the stress and conditions at the airport make us consider if we could go through that again. Please please try to improve this badly run, disorganised service.

❌ Not Verified | Utterly dispiriting and dismal experience. Upon arrival, despite it being out of season and midweek, we waited ages for our bags. The car hire facilities are basic, to put it mildly. But the departure experience a week later was even worse. Despite checking in online we had to wait in a queue with the passengers from 4 other TUI flights for about 40 minutes, only to be told that once we'd had the bags tagged we had to wait in another queue for 10 more minutes to put them through the security scan. In the modern world, this sort of arrangement is completely unacceptable. Once through security (not too bad, to be fair) the departure area resembled a building site with little organisation plus hordes of screaming kids, rounded off with grotesquely overpriced food and drink. At least we left on time. This is a Third World airport operating in the EU.

❌ Not Verified | This airport is a total nightmare. Everything (and by that I mean everything) was terrible. We entered the airport and had to wait in line for an hour before we could reach the baggage drop. Then instead of dropping of the baggage there, we had to go to another line in order to drop of the luggage on another location. The staff were disorientated and they screamed and shouted different destinations all the time, which made all passangers even more confused about were to go. And the list could go on. This was by far the worst experience I’ve ever had and I’ve been flying on a regular basis now for more than 10 years. Terrible!

✅ Verified Review | Understand Rhodes is not Northern Europe, don't expect Schiphol amenities or Scandanavian design/German efficiency. Rhodes is a small, poor island and the airport reflects that. The lines are long, however the tourist loads outweigh what the airport was designed to handle. The signage could be improved, information more available, however there is a marked language barrier with some staff. The departure lounge is adequate, the entire airport is adequate for its purpose - to get you to/from a beautiful small, 2d-world island.

❎ Unverified | Somebody who is responsible for Rhodes Airport or someone more senior in the Rhodes local government needs to read this and the other reviews here carefully. Rhodes Airport is seriously letting your beautiful island down. We have been spending holidays in Rhodes for over a decade and are unlikely to go again any time soon. On arrival for our 10.00pm flight at 7.45pm on 30th August the lounge was absolutely packed. We were mis-directed to our queue twice and the check in staff were incredibly slow and rude. I say this with considerable experience having been throug over 40 airports around the world. The check in process of first getting tickets and then passing suitcases through a scanner is crazy. Customers have to queue twice adding to the cram of people. You need to re-invest in the system and update it to the standards found in nearly every country I have visited. The baggage check in is archaic, intrinsically unsafe and very inconvenient to your paying customers. I would say the system is third world, but most third world systems are better than this (I have travelled to a number of countries in Africa and the Far East). There was no airconditioning. Children were screaming by the end and several people were vomiting through heat stroke by the time they got on the plane. I made the mistake of quickly popping to the toilet airside. Every urinal was out of order. Really? You have to re-invest or you will see a progressive decline in your tourism.

❎ Unverified | Having read some of the previous reviews I was apprehensive about using the airport. Arrivals - We landed at 1.30am and went fairly quickly through security. The toilets on arrivals are not very pleasant, there were broken tiles, the flush didn't work, toilet roll very rough material and the taps were rusty. Not as bad as I had feared though. Baggage came reasonably quickly. All in all a seamless process, however, this may have been due to time of arrival. Departures - Arrived at the airport at midnight for a 2am flight. Straight through check in, which is odd as you have to queue twice. Went through very quickly however, again probably due to the flight time. I can imagine if it was a daytime flight it would be very chaotic. There was a coffee shop and the duty free open. Very expensive for both. Cost £12 for 2 drinks of pepsi and a slice of pizza but to be expected. Seating not too bad and there were electrical sockets to charge phone. There was a cleaner in the ladies toilets and they were in much better condition than the ones on the way out. My son however said the gents toilets smelt awful. All in all it wouldn't stop me going to Rhodes again, I loved it.

✅ Verified Review | Disorder and chaos. Check in boards say a check in desk, you queue half an hour to be told it isn't open yet. So queue again. Staff very rude. Airport ambassadors say the opposite of check in. Check in opened less than two hours, didn't move for twenty minutes. We got back to the front 35 minutes post the official time of opening. Check-in staff chatting on on her mobile on social media. At border control directed the wrong way to domestic flights not passport control. Limited seating. Utter chaos!