How Fuckin Shite Is Edinburgh Airport

[BallochSonsFan]

Having flown out of Glasgow last Tuesday, Edinburgh Airport is significantly better.

[The Naitch]

Absolutely no issues flying from and into Edinburgh in the last week. Impressed.

[BallochSonsFan]

If you want a properly terrible airport then look no further than Frankfurt.

German efficiency? About as far removed as its possible to get.

[blackislekillie]

On 30/10/2022 at 16:54, The Naitch said:

Absolutely no issues flying from and into Edinburgh in the last week. Impressed.

Same here. 

[Squalor Vic]

Much prefer Edinburgh to Glasgow now

[topcat(The most tip top)]

Edinburgh airport was clearly suffering from growing pains seven years ago when this thread started but the management appear to have taken note of this thread and sorted many of the issues out.

which goes to show the influence that P&B wields

 

 

[scottsdad]

The last time I was at Edinburgh Airport, a woman fainted on the baggage carousel.

A few minutes later, she came around.

[Savage Henry]

6 hours ago, topcat(The most tip top) said:

Edinburgh airport was clearly suffering from growing pains seven years ago when this thread started but the management appear to have taken note of this thread and sorted many of the issues out.

which goes to show the influence that P&B wields

 

 

^^^ CEO of Edinburgh Airport found.

[Elixir]

2 hours ago, Savage Henry said:

^^^ CEO of Edinburgh Airport found.

The CEO of Edinburgh Airport is a Hertz man, so you could be on to something.

[The Golden God]

Seville airport is class, had major worries we’d miss our train to Madrid (last of the day) because we weren’t even on the ground an hour before it left, got down and where off the plane and through passport control, into a taxi in about 5 minutes. On the way back security took about 5 minutes aswell.

[welshbairn]

19 hours ago, The Golden God said:

Seville airport is class, had major worries we’d miss our train to Madrid (last of the day) because we weren’t even on the ground an hour before it left, got down and where off the plane and through passport control, into a taxi in about 5 minutes. On the way back security took about 5 minutes aswell.

I like how you have to go through Kansas City to get to the train station from the airport, one long road. 

[scw1987]

On 31/10/2022 at 15:08, BallochSonsFan said:

If you want a properly terrible airport then look no further than Frankfurt.

German efficiency? About as far removed as its possible to get.

Wish I'd read this before we booked flights via Frankfurt next summer...

 

We don't have to change terminals, does that make a difference or is it just generally shite no matter what?

[BallochSonsFan]

2 hours ago, scw1987 said:

Wish I'd read this before we booked flights via Frankfurt next summer...

 

We don't have to change terminals, does that make a difference or is it just generally shite no matter what?

Frankfurt is massive. At one point it was the 4th or 5th busiest airport in the world. I think it's still top 10, but its dropped down a couple of places. The size makes it a problem. It's Lufthansa's home airport, so most of their long haul flights either west or east will go via Frankfurt. A lot of other carriers use it as one of their preferred options for European flights too. Connectivity to other cities is great, but that makes organising things in the airport a bit hectic.

I don't remember ever getting an air bridge on my outbound flights from Frankfurt. Also rare to get one on landing on flights from the UK. That in itself is a pain in the arse as you usually get a shite parking spot on the apron. The bus from the apron to the terminal only takes about 5 or 6 minutes and it's great to see the variety of planes, but its added time. Baggage collection can take a while. Last month we were about 45-50 minutes after landing before the bags were on the belt. Customs/immigration queues were ok. Security at Frankfurt is always busy regardless of when you're going there, but if you're transiting rather than having Frankfurt as your destination then that might be ok. I don't know how the transit passengers are finding it these days, but there's a recent Noel Phillips video where he transits via Frankfurt, so worth checking out.

They had a 10:20 Glasgow flight and 10:50 Manchester flight at 2 gates right next to each other last month. Absolutely no queue management. So we were called to the gate for the Glasgow flight and were met by a much bigger queue for Manchester. Manchester queue was blocking the Glasgow desk. I had a business class ticket so I got priority bus boarding, but that was a waste of time as everybody else piled on to the bus and it meant I was one of the last off the bus when we got to our plane. Which then meant I was one of the later passengers on the plane itself.

If you've got 3 hours or there abouts then transferring through Frankfurt should be fine. That gives you plenty of time in case they won't check your baggage straight through and you need to find a check-in desk for your connecting flight. I'd hope that they have processes in place for security if that's the case. I'll give them credit that they have priority security queues for business passengers. I'm maybe being harsh calling it a terrible airport to be in once you're checked in and there are some things to like about it. The railway terminal is really good for connection to the German rail network and Lufthansa have a baggage area next to the train station that means you don't need to find a check in desk in the terminal itself. The walk from the train station to security can take close to 10 minutes as it's an absolute maze of corridors and stairs. Shopping at Frankfurt is good, but food and drink options aren't particularly good. 

The big issues are queues at security, queues at baggage pick-up because of the number of flights landing at any given time and a complete lack of control when boarding - especially if you don't have an air bridge and need to get a bus out to your plane. A little bit of basic queue management and proper organisation would probably solve an awful lot of their problems and would just make it that bit better. Planning too - don't have 2 flights at gates next to each other with take off times about 30 minutes apart. My issues with Frankfurt are that it wouldn't take too much work to make it a far better experience for passengers.

Edited November 18, 2022 by BallochSonsFan

[scw1987]

39 minutes ago, BallochSonsFan said:

Frankfurt is massive. At one point it was the 4th or 5th busiest airport in the world. I think it's still top 10, but its dropped down a couple of places. The size makes it a problem. It's Lufthansa's home airport, so most of their long haul flights either west or east will go via Frankfurt. A lot of other carriers use it as one of their preferred options for European flights too. Connectivity to other cities is great, but that makes organising things in the airport a bit hectic.

I don't remember ever getting an air bridge on my outbound flights from Frankfurt. Also rare to get one on landing on flights from the UK. That in itself is a pain in the arse as you usually get a shite parking spot on the apron. The bus from the apron to the terminal only takes about 5 or 6 minutes and it's great to see the variety of planes, but its added time. Baggage collection can take a while. Last month we were about 45-50 minutes after landing before the bags were on the belt. Customs/immigration queues were ok. Security at Frankfurt is always busy regardless of when you're going there, but if you're transiting rather than having Frankfurt as your destination then that might be ok. I don't know how the transit passengers are finding it these days, but there's a recent Noel Phillips video where he transits via Frankfurt, so worth checking out.

They had a 10:20 Glasgow flight and 10:50 Manchester flight at 2 gates right next to each other last month. Absolutely no queue management. So we were called to the gate for the Glasgow flight and were met by a much bigger queue for Manchester. Manchester queue was blocking the Glasgow desk. I had a business class ticket so I got priority bus boarding, but that was a waste of time as everybody else piled on to the bus and it meant I was one of the last off the bus when we got to our plane. Which then meant I was one of the later passengers on the plane itself.

If you've got 3 hours or there abouts then transferring through Frankfurt should be fine. That gives you plenty of time in case they won't check your baggage straight through and you need to find a check-in desk for your connecting flight. I'd hope that they have processes in place for security if that's the case. I'll give them credit that they have priority security queues for business passengers. I'm maybe being harsh calling it a terrible airport to be in once you're checked in and there are some things to like about it. The railway terminal is really good for connection to the German rail network and Lufthansa have a baggage area next to the train station that means you don't need to find a check in desk in the terminal itself. The walk from the train station to security can take close to 10 minutes as it's an absolute maze of corridors and stairs. Shopping at Frankfurt is good, but food and drink options aren't particularly good. 

The big issues are queues at security, queues at baggage pick-up because of the number of flights landing at any given time and a complete lack of control when boarding - especially if you don't have an air bridge and need to get a bus out to your plane. A little bit of basic queue management and proper organisation would probably solve an awful lot of their problems and would just make it that bit better. Planning too - don't have 2 flights at gates next to each other with take off times about 30 minutes apart. My issues with Frankfurt are that it wouldn't take too much work to make it a far better experience for passengers.

Cheers, bud, we're booked with Lufthansa straight through to the destination with a 4 hour transit on the way out so that sounds like it should be okay. Way back might a bit more problematic, only an hour and half, but that will be down to them if there are any probs - I'll post again if there are!

[Hard Graft]

Just back from Miami airport and it is an utterly joke of a place.  Arrived at Immigration and it was a complete joke, only 2 officers to service several incoming aircraft and they could not give a F@@@. Took ages to get through.

Security on the way back was just one lane to service everyone going through the airport and none of the staff giving a toss.  An absolute joke of an airport and one which may prevent me going back next year.

 

Day and night with Edinburgh in all honesty and even Heathrow was not too bad today although the queues at security were horrendous.

[Psychedelic]

22 hours ago, scw1987 said:

Cheers, bud, we're booked with Lufthansa straight through to the destination with a 4 hour transit on the way out so that sounds like it should be okay. Way back might a bit more problematic, only an hour and half, but that will be down to them if there are any probs - I'll post again if there are!

Had an 1hr 30 min international transfer through Frankfurt last week from Newark (United) to Lufthansa for Edinburgh. The worst part was the shuttle bus from Terminal C to Terminal B, which seemed to take an age, but in the end we had ample time to make the connection. The Newark to Frankfurt flight was delayed by 15 mins or so but we never had to go back through security or reclaim bags so it was fine! 

Edited November 19, 2022 by Psychedelic

[TxRover]

On 18/11/2022 at 09:56, Hard Graft said:

Just back from Miami airport and it is an utterly joke of a place.  Arrived at Immigration and it was a complete joke, only 2 officers to service several incoming aircraft and they could not give a F@@@. Took ages to get through.

Security on the way back was just one lane to service everyone going through the airport and none of the staff giving a toss.  An absolute joke of an airport and one which may prevent me going back next year.

 

Day and night with Edinburgh in all honesty and even Heathrow was not too bad today although the queues at security were horrendous.

Miami is hell, it even manages to make LaGuardia look like a decent place (nothing can make JFK look OK, not even Miami). Miami is nasty, crowded, understaffed and decrepit.

Now, if you want an nice way into the Florida panhandle and those beaches at Destin and Fort Walton Beach (quite nice, and outside of Spring Break not too crowded, look at Northwest Florida Beaches International. Small airport, well staffed.

[Elixir]

Some developments:

[Genuine Hibs Fan]

Going to Seville at half 6 tomorrow and as my fiancé is from the US we have to go to check-in for a visa check (which takes two seconds and every other airline does at the gate in our experience). There are 7 ryanair flights leaving in the hour before our trip and in similar circumstances last March we got through security half an hour after our flight left despite being there 2.5 hours before. Genuinely planning to be there at half 3 just because of being worried about the organisation of the place

[scottsdad]

32 minutes ago, Genuine Hibs Fan said:

Going to Seville at half 6 tomorrow and as my fiancé is from the US we have to go to check-in for a visa check (which takes two seconds and every other airline does at the gate in our experience). There are 7 ryanair flights leaving in the hour before our trip and in similar circumstances last March we got through security half an hour after our flight left despite being there 2.5 hours before. Genuinely planning to be there at half 3 just because of being worried about the organisation of the place

I'd head off now if I were you.