Vienna Airport

Departed on Friday afternoon - queues at baggage drop in Terminal 1A (with Air Berlin/Niki) were short (2 people before us) but it took ages for both to check their baggage. No waiting at security boarding with bus was OK. Arrived on Sunday evening waiting time for baggage was standard. In the end of the day it's standard airport nothing special (neither in good nor bad way).

The cafeteria was one of the best airport catering facilities I've come across. Good fresh food good selection of drinks friendly staff reasonable prices. EasyJet'check in opened two hours before departure and I checked in on the early side. However security checks are done at individual gates and start only one hour or less before departure. There was nowhere to sit while waiting which was for this 68 year old very painful for the back.

No problems with arrival but could not find any signs for taxi. We were directed outside and had to walk 50 metres in the rain before we located the taxi stand. Departure check in and passport control were efficient but I agree with previous reviewers that the departure area is poorly designed. There is a huge shopping area and after passing through security one enters a tiny seating area with no facilities other than a vending machine.

Quick through passport control and very quick baggage delivery on arrival. Good signage to the City Airport Train. Quick check in and bag drop on the way back and Austrians recognise that smokers are human and have provided a couple of places beyond security/passport control to have a cigarette. Great selection of shopping and food places after security and passport control.

The arrival to VIE was excellent. No queue at immigration even coming from non-Schengen area. Signage is not clear as I could not find a taxi stand. Departure from VIE is a mixed experience. Check-in area was crowded even a line to a bag-drop desk for pre-checked in passengers was slow moving. However the ground staff (Austrian Airlines) working for Qatar Airways was efficient and friendly. Shops are good. Food service fair. Once you're cleared of security you find yourself in a small waiting area with nothing other than vending machines and rest rooms.

Vienna Airport immigration was quick and fast though the line was long. The airport staff were helpful and I loved the Vienna city guide with u-bahn lines and map of the city which was handed away to arriving passengers. Signs for CAT was everywhere but the S line? Overall it was a good experience.

I was at this airport twice in July. A huge source of frustration was the poor signage leading to the S7 train that goes into town. The much more costly City-Airport-Train on the other hand has excellent signage and is much easier to get to. Considering that the two run on parallel tracks this gives rise to cynism.

Flying in and out of this airport is pretty much the only negative thing about living in Vienna - this airport is a shameful mess. The planners should have visited a couple other airports before ever daring to think they could make any improvements. Boarding areas are way too small. Would have been fine in the 50s when the average plane was the size of a Douglas DC-3 but the aircraft today are a tad bigger. First class lounge is a joke. One never knows from one week to the next where the taxi stand is going to be. Taking public transit would be fine but one needs to be in the know so as not to be duped into taking the way overpriced CAT. (City Airport Train) Taking the CAT would almost be acceptable except that when you arrive at Wien/Mitte (train station) you then still have to buy a ticket on the subway to get anywhere else. (or take a cab) With the S-Bahn you can simply buy a ticket for EUR320 that will then take you to anywhere within the zone 100. In either case whether CAT or S-Bahn (regional railroad) there's far too much walking between the airport terminal and train station.

The boarding lounges are far too small. Earlier this year we boarded a full 777-200 flight to Narita and the gate was shoulder to shoulder-in fact security had to stop screening passengers as there was physically no more room for any more passengers to stand. Does this airport have a safety department? Too much shopping-not enough seating especially those with young children or the elderly.

My overall impression is mixed. On the positive side I would mention WiFi coverage friendliness of staff fast immigration and cleanliness of the facility. On the negative side I would put lack of seating lack of logic in layout and signage poor food selection strange security procedures and ineffective distribution of Schengen and non-Schengen departures within same areas of terminal which means once you are near your gate and trough security you have to stay within very limited space with nothing to do. Architecture and overall appearance of the building are rather boring. Baggage delivery took about 25 minutes.