Zurich Airport

First impression was that ZRH is clean and modern. Flew out by Emirates economy. Queuing time was really long at about 1h due to lots of Indian tourists arguing over the baggage allowance of 30kg. To make things worse there was only 2 check in counters for the whole A380 flight for economy. There were 2 business class counters and 2 online check in counters that were quite empty for the whole time but they refused to serve economy check in until their supervisor asked them to. Not very good to make so many passengers wait. This was the only letdown at ZRH. The security check area is efficient with polite staff but it lacks dustbins or areas to pour away excess liquids/drinks/water or throw away any forbidden items which caused problems for some passengers. The departure/transit area was clean with good shopping and dining facilities. Signs were clear. Lacks toilets. What's truly impressive is the airport staff's honesty and efficient service. My father left his wallet on the economy check in counter and just went into the departure area without it. ZRH airport staff made an announcement through the PA system calling for him in just 5 minutes after the incident. He went to retrieve his wallet from an office and he would like to commend the staff for their honesty and efficiency as well.

I was able to find my way around with no problems. Shop and get your food before you head down to the gates not many options down there and not much seating. For whatever reason I found the elevator in an odd location: from what I remember it is in the middle of the food court room and use it instead of the stairs to get down to the gates if your bags are heavy etc. Staff were pleasant and the airport was clean. I liked the shops too; but didn't have much time to explore. I enjoyed my time here and would recommend.

Found it extremely difficult to navigate through the airport. Check in are at 2 levels and further divided into rows. Finding the tax refund place was though. Things are sign posted up to a point then stops when there are still further direction options. Aesthetically unappealing as well. Don't know that I want to travel through this airport again.

I live in Zurich so have no choice but to use this airport. Zurich Airport used to be excellent - things were efficient and quick. In 10 minutes one got from check-in to the gates furthest away. In the year 2000 the airport was privatised in 2003 Terminal E was opened and Terminal B closed. Around that time the airport also received a ridiculous new name: "Unique". Unique indeed! Terminal E which I have to use on most of my flights turned Zurich Airport from one of the best to one of the worst airports. The architecture of the terminal is dreadful (a few things have been improved over the years) and the acoustics are bad and announcements sometimes hard to understand. But Unique achieved metropolitan status for Zurich - by building an airport train just like they have in New York London and Paris! The train doors open on one side only so when the airport is busy the people getting off and those getting on get into each others' way and especially their luggage does. Getting to the gates now takes 40 instead of 15 minutes. The gents' toilets in Terminal E are one floor up. I have on several occasions had to help elderly men who were struggling to get up the stairs with their trolleys (there is no lift). At no other airport have I ever encountered something as daft as this. There are other nonsensical features including "information" which routinely misdirects people not used to this airport. Airport staff pass on the many complaints from passengers but management never acts on this. Because of all these "improvements" those ten years ago the airport charge was massively increased. In summary: Unique Zurich Airport got a toy train most other things (including check-in and passport control) were made worse and travellers pay higher fees for what they neither needed nor wanted. As a Swiss involved in tourism I am quite unhappy and embarrassed that the "Gate to Switzerland" conveys the impression of considerable incompetence.

Changed planes in Zurich (Feb 2014) transiting through E gates. At best a very lacklustre boring experience. Poor appearance - very basic like they slapped it together from left-over concrete - reminded me of bad 70's architecture - grey walls punctuated by orange; terrible washrooms (men's for some reason are one floor up and you have to take the stairs) - they look dingy and appear unclean. Very few stores - duty free is overpriced with a limited selection staff are OK but they almost project a wary apologetic attitude - understandable considering what they have to work with. Rather abrupt and terse staff at passport/security checkpoint. One cafe with somewhat reasonable prices but still expensive coffee and pastries. Unfortunately this area (E gates) is all we got to see hope it is not representative of the rest of the airport. I had hoped that Zurich would be an interesting change from our usual transit airports -Frankfurt London and Amsterdam - however it proved to be a real disappointment leaving a poor impression of a beautiful country.

Zurich Airport is basically a shopping centre. Great if you want to buy over-priced clothing and watches or booze that is cheaper in the supermarket in UK. The dining facilities are woefully inadequate. A recent cooked breakfast there was sent back as it was cold. The replacement was lukewarm horrible and horrendously expensive. Take sandwiches.

Don't come to this airport hungry unless you want a dinner of chocolate or from Caviar House. Agree that it is nice and clean airport but planned to get dinner here during my layover and was disappointed. Don't believe the signs that say there is plenty of shopping and restaurants in all gate areas. This does not apply to E gates. It is almost a ghost town here with one restaurant. I ordered the Thai curry; extremely small portion and tastes as if re-heated frozen food (I'm sure it was - there is no kitchen.)

Zurich airport is - in my point of view - one of the most efficient and passenger friendly airports in Europe. It is not a small simple airport where you just can walk through but everything is perfectly signposted and you just can't miss your destination. It doesn't matter if you arrive by car or train. From the check-in kiosks to the security check and the departure gates everything is spotless and well organised no need to wait for long in a queue at any place. Walking distances are not that short but OK for an airport of this size. But yes prices in Switzerland are quite expensive.

Flying from Dublin to Florence via Zurich 29/10/13. Very impressed. An easy connection. Don't need much connection time as long as planes are on time. Passport control easy. Big busy but quiet airport. Very clean and well maintained. Plenty of shops and other ways of amusing yourself. Would recommend for connecting flights.

Nice airport rather long walking distances compared to its size though. Staff is friendly with average English skills (some will continue to reply back in Swiss German even though you reply back in English). The airport is very clean and of course very expensive too. Using this airport as a base ends up being rather annoying since fares are usually much higher compared to the corresponding reverse trip. Very good connections to Zurich city with all kinds of transport.