Shanghai Pudong Airport

✅ Trip Verified | What a pathetic excuse for an international airport! I flew a round-trip from Pudong to New York and then when I returned to Pudong, caught a domestic flight to Nanchang. On both legs this airport was grossly understaffed. On my outbound flight only 2 of the immigration desks for foreigners were manned and most were empty. The queue was long and slow moving. Nobody came round to check if anyone had an imminent flight so it would be easy to miss your flight here. On the way back it was the same at immigration with most desks unmanned. When queuing up to check-up for my flight to Nanchang, the queues for domestic check-in in terminal 1 were so long that they stretched way beyond the snake barriers and it became confusing as to which desks passengers could use. For some reason China Eastern domestic passengers were only allowed to use the 'B' check-in area, even though the 'C' check-in area, which also belongs to China Eastern, was open but with hardly any passengers. Again many desks were unmanned and staff did nothing to assist or prevent people queue-jumping. Furthermore, seating is woefully inadequate and the staff does nothing to stop local passengers reserving seats for their friends and family hence it is often impossible to find somewhere to sit down. Overall this airport is a national embarrassment to China and passengers should try to avoid using it, especially terminal 1.

Not Verified | This airport turned out to be a nightmare. They had a two hour window which wasn't enough getting a connecting flight and missed the flight. They force passengers to collect luggage. Get fingerprinted go through security as if its not a connecting flight. Also huge queues to immigration for no reason, all signs are in Chinese, also WiFi impossile unless you speak Chinese. All passengers were forced to pay for new flights if you didn't have a credit card you would be stuck in China. My wife had to pay £400 for a new flight as everyone else did some passengers also had kids. The airport is an Incompetent mess. Who makes connecting flight passengers go through immigration and security with your whole luggage this one does its insane.

Not Verified | LAX to Clark (CRK) via PVD, 21 Nov on China Eastern was smooth all the way. Boarding passes for LAX Pudong and Pudong to CRK have been printed in LAX. Luggage had been routed to CRK direct. Airline staff said "No need to get out of Pudong airport." Upon arrival at Pudong, China Eastern uses bus shuttle to transport pax to Arrivals cum Transit. Then follow foreigner transit sign, use computer (a crew is watching if you are doing it right, helps you in case of problems) to input your transit info, take photo, or finger print, then machine prints your document to show the immigration and custom staff one floor above Arrivals. Procedure is routine and basic international system, lines may be long, etc. Then find your gate! Why are other passengers crying out foul about this? Because they are not alert, are tired or dismissive. Once you are used to this procedure, you'll enjoy Pudong! and China Eastern's low low air fare!

Not Verified | If there's ever an airport to avoid, let it be this one. Unprofessional, bureaucratic with multiple processes. Fingerprints are taken multiple times, multiple immigration lines even if you're just catching another flight. You have to take your luggage, take it through security and check it in again, then exit the airport before finding the transit area. Then go through immigration again. Most importantly, if you have a passport from a non-Western country, avoid this place if you can. They will treat you like a second-class citizen. I nearly missed my flight simply because they did not believe I had a right to transit through the country (though I was already there and had transited through China before) and because they felt my Canadian visa was fake. I've had this happen at other airports but never as humiliating as this.

✅ Trip Verified | A very big thank you to your security manager and his team! My daughter, Domino, had purchased duty free gift for her friend in Sydney at Frankfurt airport but forgot to pack this in her checked luggage. She was required to rush back to checked luggage after we’d already cleared long queues and passed through security gates. She has asthma, was jet lagged and anxious. The head of security was amazing! He sent his team to find her - we didn’t miss our plane!

✅ Trip Verified | For a modern large airport, there is a lot that can be improved. We recently flew in at 18.30 from Sydney to take a flight to Munich at 23.55. The transit process took 3.5 hours working it out for ourselves because you have to go through passport control, reclaim luggage and check in for your ongoing destination. Here are some hints and tips: - Transit Visa needed to be filled in prior to going through customs. Look out for 24 hour visit/transit visa. It’s a blue and white form, not the yellow departure form needed if you are departing the airport. - Have a pen handy. - Passport control booths 2 and 3. - Check terminal of next departure. We landed in T1 and needed to get to T2, but made the mistake of following Transfer signs in T1 not realising. - Reclaim baggage. - T2 check-in is a long walk. If you cannot walk far, have young children or little time, see if there’s a shuttle. - Lufthansa check in took a while. - Passport control took time. - Once in departure lounge, no obvious convenient options for sleeping or showering unless you are a member of a Frequent Flyer Club with access to lounge or have access to first class lounge. We landed up resting against a glass barrier on the carpet next to our departure gate. A good position for when you board, as you then don’t need to move. - There is apparently a day room at T2 Max VIP Rooms between departure gates 25 and 26. Ran out of time to explore even with five hour wait! - USB charging ports are available. - Food options looked okay - cafes, McDonalds. - Shops open late - still open as we were boarding close to midnight.

Not Verified | Very unwelcoming airport on both departure and arrival. Some things to be aware of. Departure: cigarette lighters are not allowed inside the departures building whatsoever (that means where the check in counters are) and do not try to sneak one through to departures. It will cause a fair bit amount of hassle, which it seems the departures security staff here like to subject people to. The departures bag scanners staff resemble a military style unit and treat passengers with suspicion and are very rude if they talk to you. The counters that process your documents to get to the gate are understaffed and it is very advisable to allow ample time for this. Fill out a departure slip near where the lines are. Arrival: This airport has got a well deserved reputation for being a very unwelcoming place on arrival. If you have not used this airport before (or have not for a while) here are some 'new' things you can expect. On arrival, unwelcome. Security staff will greet you by using the word "foreigner" in a very unwelcome tone and usher you to the "Foreigner Fingerprint Control Center" which is a section of machine terminals that take your fingerprints and give you a ticket (to prove you did it) once you get to the passport check. (I am mainly writing this piece in disgust at this kind of treatment, to be honest.) After that, foreigners are directed to a "Foreigners" passport lane, again in a very unwelcoming tone. The staff who check the passports do not speak and are also very unfriendly looking. Finally, at the customs section, you may (or may not) have to put your luggage through a scanner at the nothing to declare section, which is a total contradiction in terms, right? This is a new thing and it was brought in during 2017. Expect it to be fully operational at some point next year.

Not Verified | I travel through this airport at least 3 to 5 times a year, and I enjoy the experience overall, but the security staff inside the international terminal (not custom staff, nor counter staff) are among the worst - they are rude, and act like mad dogs. They are truly the lowest among the low.

✅ Trip Verified | The immigration clearance for foreigners had only one counter opened at 7.15am on 22 Sep 2018 despite having more than a hundred foreigners (maybe more) in line! What is the point of setting up so many counters when they are just white elephants? To make a bigger mockery, signages at the clearance promises to clear all foreigners efficiently and within 20 minutes. What a joke!

Not Verified | The worst international airport I've ever been! The personnel are unhelpful, impolite and very dismissive! They barely speak English and will do nothing to help you. The signs and instructions are confusing at best. There is not enough space to relax and if you have a long lay-over you'll constantly be bothered by people trying to dupe travelers for fake iPhones with the complicity of local police! Please don't get fooled! They will show you a real one and switch the box for a fake once you've paid. They invent something stupid (i.e you have to pay extra for the charger and USB) to distract you while they do the switch. The local police cannot say they do not know about it since they're the same guy day after day and th're not traveling anywhere! They are somehow complicit to this con in my opinion!