Sydney Airport

Do not compare with Changi KLIA or Dubai. No automated transfer here. No multilingual customer service staff not spacious. Just works fine.

We arrived at Sydney airport on our way home to Brisbane after travelling to the UK. After experiencing Changi (Singapore) Heathrow Terminal 5 (London) and Narita (Tokyo) airports Sydney felt like a cattle shed. Baggage carousels immigration quarantine etc are crowded into an area that is far too small to handle the passenger volume and is dirty confusing and noisy. We had to "queue" (there was no queuing system just a huge surging mob) for so long that we missed our connection to our domestic flight to Brisbane. Eventually the mob was funnelled up cattle races - yes metres long narrow tracks bordered by iron railings - staff communicating by grunts frowns and finger pointing. Another dirty room furnished with linoleum and hard plastic seats where 200 people waited for one 50 seater bus to the domestic terminal. The bus had to dodge baggage carts refuelling trucks - and planes before delivering us to an obscure back door at the domestic terminal. As we had not long before experienced the modern automated transit systems of the airports mentioned above which whisk passengers from one terminal to another silently and efficiently Sydney's transit system seemed so bad that we got the giggles and couldn't stop.

We arrived at Sydney airport on our way home to Brisbane after travelling to the UK. After experiencing Changi (Singapore) Heathrow Terminal 5 (London) and Narita (Tokyo) airports Sydney felt like a cattle shed. Baggage carousels immigration quarantine etc are crowded into an area that is far too small to handle the passenger volume and is dirty confusing and noisy. We had to "queue" (there was no queuing system just a huge surging mob) for so long that we missed our connection to our domestic flight to Brisbane. Eventually the mob was funnelled up cattle races - yes metres long narrow tracks bordered by iron railings - staff communicating by grunts frowns and finger pointing. Another dirty room furnished with linoleum and hard plastic seats where 200 people waited for one 50 seater bus to the domestic terminal. The bus had to dodge baggage carts refuelling trucks - and planes before delivering us to an obscure back door at the domestic terminal. As we had not long before experienced the modern automated transit systems of the airports mentioned above which whisk passengers from one terminal to another silently and efficiently Sydney's transit system seemed so bad that we got the giggles and couldn't stop.

A superb airport with everything you could possibly want - reasonable queues extremely friendly staff quick baggage claim (particularly after a long haul flight) and plenty of facilities and as I recall coffee at much the same price as high street shops! Domestic terminal is great too allowing friends and relatives to accompany passengers right to the boarding gates as I also noticed in other Australian airports that I travelled through. One thing to be wary of however is congestion on approach to the airport during the morning rush-hour. We took a taxi to the international terminal at 8 am and were stuck in a tailback of around 3/4 mile while the meter shot up rapidly! The driver told us that these hours are the busiest for drop offs so do allow yourself plenty of time if travelling then.

A superb airport with everything you could possibly want - reasonable queues extremely friendly staff quick baggage claim (particularly after a long haul flight) and plenty of facilities and as I recall coffee at much the same price as high street shops! Domestic terminal is great too allowing friends and relatives to accompany passengers right to the boarding gates as I also noticed in other Australian airports that I travelled through. One thing to be wary of however is congestion on approach to the airport during the morning rush-hour. We took a taxi to the international terminal at 8 am and were stuck in a tailback of around 3/4 mile while the meter shot up rapidly! The driver told us that these hours are the busiest for drop offs so do allow yourself plenty of time if travelling then.

Sydney airport is appalling. More emphasis on retail than on customer service and customer comfort. At least we have been lucky and have been able to go through the express lane for the last few times through. The distance between immigration and the Air NZ gates is long enough without having to negotiate shops cafes crowded passageways lack of signage etc. It is far too crowded a terminal to think it can be a shopping mall as well.

Sydney airport is appalling. More emphasis on retail than on customer service and customer comfort. At least we have been lucky and have been able to go through the express lane for the last few times through. The distance between immigration and the Air NZ gates is long enough without having to negotiate shops cafes crowded passageways lack of signage etc. It is far too crowded a terminal to think it can be a shopping mall as well.

Both terminals run by Sydney Airport Corporation (this excludes the Qantas terminal) are dirty disorganised and incredibly noisy. The eating options are barely passable - thankfully most domestic travel is so short you don't need to eat anything. At international with the exception of one or two outlets the options and quality are pitiful. The airport's food offer makes airline food seem the appealing option. The shopping is the same offer as every suburban shopping centre and is largely irrelevant to travellers needs and interests. I have not had major issues with Customs or the other government agencies working in the airport which were not essentially the result of poor/inadequate facilities. There is room for improvement in service levels and general pleasantness - but that seems to be an issue worldwide. Sydney Airport is a patchwork of buildings and facilities which scream systematic under investment. The terminals appear to struggle to meet today's traveller numbers and needs - I cannot see this changing in the future which suggests at some point in the near future Sydney will not have a functional airport at all. Sydney Airport is not befitting of a major city and is nothing short of embarrassing for Sydney and Australia.

Both terminals run by Sydney Airport Corporation (this excludes the Qantas terminal) are dirty disorganised and incredibly noisy. The eating options are barely passable - thankfully most domestic travel is so short you don't need to eat anything. At international with the exception of one or two outlets the options and quality are pitiful. The airport's food offer makes airline food seem the appealing option. The shopping is the same offer as every suburban shopping centre and is largely irrelevant to travellers needs and interests. I have not had major issues with Customs or the other government agencies working in the airport which were not essentially the result of poor/inadequate facilities. There is room for improvement in service levels and general pleasantness - but that seems to be an issue worldwide. Sydney Airport is a patchwork of buildings and facilities which scream systematic under investment. The terminals appear to struggle to meet today's traveller numbers and needs - I cannot see this changing in the future which suggests at some point in the near future Sydney will not have a functional airport at all. Sydney Airport is not befitting of a major city and is nothing short of embarrassing for Sydney and Australia.

I can understand how it can be difficult to work out if this is an airport or a shopping centre and how this can lead to the negative reviews on here. It was surprising to arrive at the airport and find the baggage carousel directly behind the immigration line and the exit gates immediately behind the baggage carousel. Usually these are 3 distinctly separate areas at most airports. All 3 areas felt like it took up 10% of the airport space and the other 90% was taken up by non airport necessities (i.e. shopping stores). Baggage took a very long time to reach the belt and my flight was the only one there at the time and it is not difficult to know why this was the case! Not enough room for waiting areas. Sydney airport would improve significantly if it was turned into an airport with a few shops to keep the traveller occupied rather than a shopping centre with airplanes.