Sydney Airport

Having used this airport for both domestic and international flights I don't think it's as awful as it is made out to be and frankly better than a few other airports I've used in Europe and Asia. My biggest issue is definitely the queues during busy periods and the incredibly rude customs and immigration staff. No matter how I often I am there the staff in customs and immigration completely lack courtesy ie never smile are impatient and talk down to people. Although I recommend Sydney Airport on the basis of facilities I can understand why overseas visitors would be turned off by the attitude of staff.

Having arrived from London we were treated to chaos in the customs area. Having been in London for 3 years I was shocked but the lack of forethought that had gone into the redesign of the area. Signs did not give accurate indications of where to stand particularly when there were crowds doors opens into queues the microchip scanning only works 50 percent of the time and seemed to have been designed by someone who assumed only 4 or 5 people would be using the service at one time. Staff couldn't care less that the scanning area was ineffective and that people were wandering around looking for assistance when the automatic machine wouldn't allow them to pass through. After queuing for the auto machines I was told the queue for assistance I then had to join wouldn't take long. Having seen the people in the standard queue who exited the plane with me leave the customs area I then had to stay for another 15 minutes. When I got to the front of the queue there was no apology or explanation for the delay or malfunction of the equipment in fact the woman was chatting to the other woman next to her about her weekend. Se was rude and when I didn't utter a word when my passport was handed back she commented to her friend that I wasn't very happy in a sarcastic tone. Out in the baggage collection the same issue with snaking queues and lack of movement was evident. The entire design seemed to be based on creating collisions with no forethought to the fact that people had to push huge trolleys throw queues of people with huge trolleys. Unsurprisingly the woman directing us to aisles for baggage checks was equally obnoxious. There seemed to be no supervision of the staff who couldn't have cared less about providing any sort of service. ve no customer service aptitude to employ.

Having arrived from London we were treated to chaos in the customs area. Having been in London for 3 years I was shocked but the lack of forethought that had gone into the redesign of the area. Signs did not give accurate indications of where to stand particularly when there were crowds doors opens into queues the microchip scanning only works 50 percent of the time and seemed to have been designed by someone who assumed only 4 or 5 people would be using the service at one time. Staff couldn't care less that the scanning area was ineffective and that people were wandering around looking for assistance when the automatic machine wouldn't allow them to pass through. After queuing for the auto machines I was told the queue for assistance I then had to join wouldn't take long. Having seen the people in the standard queue who exited the plane with me leave the customs area I then had to stay for another 15 minutes. When I got to the front of the queue there was no apology or explanation for the delay or malfunction of the equipment in fact the woman was chatting to the other woman next to her about her weekend. Se was rude and when I didn't utter a word when my passport was handed back she commented to her friend that I wasn't very happy in a sarcastic tone. Out in the baggage collection the same issue with snaking queues and lack of movement was evident. The entire design seemed to be based on creating collisions with no forethought to the fact that people had to push huge trolleys throw queues of people with huge trolleys. Unsurprisingly the woman directing us to aisles for baggage checks was equally obnoxious. There seemed to be no supervision of the staff who couldn't have cared less about providing any sort of service. ve no customer service aptitude to employ.

I used SYD last month for flights to and from the U.S. As a departure airport Sydney International is an airport of contrasts. For example the nice leather lounges with the recharging stations and the high ceiling in the central space feels just great. However as you near your gate the ceiling becomes really low and you will find many people just standing around because the seating is far from adequate given the number of passengers. The free wifi has a fairly strong signal throughout the terminal. As an arrival airport the new SmartGate system definitely speeds up the immigration part of the process. After that it all becomes a bit more interesting. The problem seems to be that there is not enough floor space between the end of the baggage claim carousels and the customs area. When a couple of jumbos are on the ground there are long lines wrapped all along the backside of the baggage claim area. To combat the confusion I looked for the least busy carousel and then picked a customs line close to it. That strategy paid off though it took some creative weaving around other passengers and walking the long way around nearly all of the carousels to make it happen. It was all worth it in the end. I was on my Route 400 bus outside an hour and fifteen minutes after my plane's arrival. The bottom line: Sydney is one busy airport that services a large percentage of Australia's 20 million people. Be prepared to wait and go with the flow. What the airport may lack in affordable parking it more than makes up for in its CityRail train station downstairs and even handier bus stops upstairs.

I used SYD last month for flights to and from the U.S. As a departure airport Sydney International is an airport of contrasts. For example the nice leather lounges with the recharging stations and the high ceiling in the central space feels just great. However as you near your gate the ceiling becomes really low and you will find many people just standing around because the seating is far from adequate given the number of passengers. The free wifi has a fairly strong signal throughout the terminal. As an arrival airport the new SmartGate system definitely speeds up the immigration part of the process. After that it all becomes a bit more interesting. The problem seems to be that there is not enough floor space between the end of the baggage claim carousels and the customs area. When a couple of jumbos are on the ground there are long lines wrapped all along the backside of the baggage claim area. To combat the confusion I looked for the least busy carousel and then picked a customs line close to it. That strategy paid off though it took some creative weaving around other passengers and walking the long way around nearly all of the carousels to make it happen. It was all worth it in the end. I was on my Route 400 bus outside an hour and fifteen minutes after my plane's arrival. The bottom line: Sydney is one busy airport that services a large percentage of Australia's 20 million people. Be prepared to wait and go with the flow. What the airport may lack in affordable parking it more than makes up for in its CityRail train station downstairs and even handier bus stops upstairs.

Arrived in Sydney in SQ231 on the 20th of April. I was very disappointed with the customer service. There was no smile or welcome. Sydney Airport is not customer friendly. The management need to look at Singapore Airport and learn from them. I was very disappointed when I arrived at the no declaration exit. The customs officer there had no respect for passengers. She looked at the people in the queue and said "You know there is another lane open you guys can use that" in a very frustrated voice. Simply using "please" would have made a huge difference. I feel so sad to see this happen in front of my eyes. And this is the gateway to this beautiful country. Tourism needs support not a hammering by people who evidently don't care for Australia at all.

Arrived in Sydney in SQ231 on the 20th of April. I was very disappointed with the customer service. There was no smile or welcome. Sydney Airport is not customer friendly. The management need to look at Singapore Airport and learn from them. I was very disappointed when I arrived at the no declaration exit. The customs officer there had no respect for passengers. She looked at the people in the queue and said "You know there is another lane open you guys can use that" in a very frustrated voice. Simply using "please" would have made a huge difference. I feel so sad to see this happen in front of my eyes. And this is the gateway to this beautiful country. Tourism needs support not a hammering by people who evidently don't care for Australia at all.

I have only one gripe about Sydney International Terminal why is there no smoking room? I do not envy any passengers having to transit through this airport after a long haul flight (or transfer to a domestic one). It seems every other airport in the world (maybe with the exception of Heathrow) is capable of having a dedicated area for this purpose inside the terminal. Why can't Sydney and other Australian airports? No wonder the front of the airport looks like a giant ashtray!

I have only one gripe about Sydney International Terminal why is there no smoking room? I do not envy any passengers having to transit through this airport after a long haul flight (or transfer to a domestic one). It seems every other airport in the world (maybe with the exception of Heathrow) is capable of having a dedicated area for this purpose inside the terminal. Why can't Sydney and other Australian airports? No wonder the front of the airport looks like a giant ashtray!

I used to think this airport was among the worst I had experienced but things seem to have definitely improved over the years! On the way in I was able to use SmartGate and my luggage was off nearly first so the time between me stepping off the plane and being in the arrivals hall was an unprecedented extraordinary 9 minutes! On the way back out though the SmartGate facility was not available and I had to stand in quite a long queue. I was delayed nearly 3 hours so I had plenty of time to look around. Found the food options plentiful and was happy with quality (a bit pricey perhaps) and I really liked the Observation Deck although it needs a bit of an update with the TV screens and a few more seats would be good. Impressed with the bathrooms I used - best I have ever come across.