Warsaw Chopin Airport

Flew in with Czech Airlines from Prague. The airport has a modern feel (rather too basic but functional) even if it seemed a lot larger in pictures. When actually visiting it is much smaller and poses a definite problem in "rush hours". Arrival hall simply too tiny. Great train service to the city. Departure was painless and OK facilities but seems too overpriced.

YYZ-WAW-BEG. I arrived after a nice LOT flight I had a one hour connection time. Going through security was chaotic. There were no lines only two screeners and one metal detector. There were so many passengers all crammed trying to make it for their flights. The officers seemed too slow which I find not acceptable. I made it just it time for my flight. On the way back (BEG-WAW-YYZ) security check was fast with no hassle. I will not hesitate to use this airport again.

Flew to Bucharest Sofia Varna Valetta Lublijana Heathrow but Warsaw was the worst experience. On arriving greeted by 2 woman in army uniforms who if asked gave answers in a military orders style. Went through security scanning where there was the same rude staff. They even searched my 2.5 year old son. There were several passengers from a delayed flight they almost begged staff to help them first (they had only 15 minutes to transit) yet they were shouted at to get back in line. Altogether including the bad LOT flight not a good presentation of LOT and Chopin airport.

From now on I will try to avoid this airport! After an irritating experience on a long LOT flight I was thrilled to get off the plane only to encounter more incompetence at the airport. How they have got some awards on the friendly customer service is beyond me. The customs officers acted as if I am making them work there. Rude to say the least. And it wasn't just the one customs officer pretty much everyone I had to encounter was rude barking orders at the customers. A smile won't kill you! Another problem was the language. Is it English is it Polish I had a very hard time understanding some of them probably because English is not my first language but it is not their first language either. Saw other frustrated travelers trying to solve their problems by talking to the staff. Now onto the next thing I noticed - the washrooms - not enough washrooms! The line for the woman's bathroom was so long you can forget about it if you really need to go and/or you are in a hurry. I am very sad that this was my first real encounter with Poland I couldn't wait to get out of there. Kindness goes a long way.

A fine airport. Family friendly and clean. Well organised.

YYZ-WAW-BEG. After a sub-par LOT flight on a dreamliner I had to pass through an outdated and unusually thorough security system which you is mandatory for transit flights. I almost missed my flight! There is a noticeable lack of amenities in the waiting area.

First impression was how clean the terminal was. Great and very well maintained Departure / Arrival terminal. Parking spots are well marked and easy to access. Signage well posted and well visible to the traveller to head for a baggage claim so it is almost impossible to get lost. Bathroom well cleaned but the only thing about them I think they might not be spacious enough for people who wants to use them. I have found out there are long queues to get to use bathroom other than that all seemed to fine. My overall impression of that airport is above good!

Not good for short connections. Flight I had was Belgrade to Toronto via Warsaw with a one hour connection. Many things on the internet say the airport is good for such connections but not so. Coming from a non-Schengen country has you going through security again however there's no lines and two x-rays on either side of one metal detector. The entire thing was chaos. There were so many people all crammed in one room pushing just trying to get through. Our plane from Belgrade landed early and we spent our entire connection trying to get through security because of the jam and had to run (down a pleasantly long hallway) to our gate. Another thing to note is that the officers running the x-ray seem a bit frazzled with all these annoyed passengers glaring at them and it probably means they end up being less thorough than they need in order to speed things up.

Over-priced food: no fast food just those bars-restaurants supposedly selling high-end sandwiches and snacks twice the price as in town. I wished for a nice burger king or other but none to find neither before or after customs. So get there with food in your stomach. Aside from that airport is on one floor and travelators are one way only from airport centre to the edges therefore when landing you may have to walk a lot. But otherwise queues are fast building is modern currently in renovation but still large enough.

Three recent return flights: LHR-WAW-KRK LHR-WAW x2. Airport continues to be efficient and pleasant to use on departure but arrivals are a little hit-and-miss: airbridges are still rarely used and waiting times in buses can be a little on the lengthy side. Security and immigration were cleared quickly on all occasions. Baggage reclaim tends to be rather slow. Transiting can be awkward when arriving from abroad - the signs seem to indicate the direction which passengers should go but this leads you to security then the main part of the terminal and not to passport control - the correct way to transit is to follow the signs which say "passport control" and only then to clear security but the signage is confusing! This is not an issue when arriving from another Polish airport however. I have been caught out twice like this and it is not due to language issues. As transit security generally consists of only one X-ray machine pax arriving in a full or widebody aircraft need to ensure that they have plenty of time to make connections. Security are firm but polite and fair and ground staff are fine. The terminal continues to maintain good hygiene standards - cleaners seem to be ubiquitous.