Poznań Airport — Local services in Poznan

Worst airport experience in since 2005 at an airport in northern Africa. I do not say this lightly. Next time I will take the 5 hour bus to Warsaw Modlin or Berlin Brandenburg, where the staff don't act like a bunch of charlatans, even if this doubles or triples the total travel time and cost.

To fellow travellers: Fly from Gdansk, Berlin, Wroclaw, Katowice or Warsaw. This airport wasted about 2 extra hours of my life today, 3 hours total from arriving to being able to sit at the gate with my ticket scanned... The gate staff literally pointed at me and said to one-another in Polish (thinking I won't understand): did you make sure this guy pays [some extra charge]?. This is to a customer that already paid for premium and the extra bag. They tried to make me pay for the extra bag without checking my boarding pass... They were aggressively checking every single bag from every single passenger on the flight, boarding took at least 20 minutes more than at other airports, and the flight crew was later complaining about the resulting delay... Somehow other hubs for Polish Ryanair/Buzz do not have these gate delays. Whoever is in charge of security and gate staff management and training at Poznan needs to find a new career. The airport has a lot of domestic competition, and if other passengers keep having similar interactions, eventually only LOT will fly here, like before...

To the airport management: Some of your security staff seem to be running some sort of scam aiming to steal items from tourists that look like they're in a rush. This is not 100% certain, but is the simplest explanation. My anecdotal evidence: They told me I couldn't take my powerbank because it was too big (it conforms to EU standards, I've taken it on around 200 flights). Ok, I think, weird local rule but I've had this problem before with larger camera batteries. I ask if it could be left at Lost & Found or similar for me to collect a few weeks later - the staff starts coming up with vague excuses why that isn't possible, the only solution offered is "we keep it today and in the evening the security chief will dispose of it". Keep in mind we are talking about ~70 eur worth of gear, not a 1 euro water bottle... With no solution in sight, I go back out from the airport, call the airline, and arrange written permission from the airline for the powerbank to be brought onboard the flight. Now this all took about 1 hour, so when I go again through security, it's a different set of people. I make sure the powerbank is nice and visible, and even ask to have it checked so there will be no problems later. No one seemed to care... I am left to assume that if I had left the powerbank with the earlier security crew, I could buy it back on...

I've been flying from Poznan to different destinations for the past 14 year and it's one of my least fav airports. I only use it if I really have to- if flights are more convenient then from different locations. Airport itself is small but fairly modern- looks very decent from outside and area PRIOR security is ok too. A few coffee shops to chose from to grab a coffee or something to eat. After passing security it's completely different story and unfortunately all goes down the hill... one shop (if you'd like a bottle of water you'll be stuck in massive que to the tills. Even if all 3 are open as there's so many passengers wanting to buy something), bistro and a few coffee shops- nothing impressive and they are always overcrowded. Not only by customers but also by passengers who are not consuming anything. So good luck with finding a spot to have your coffee. After passport control towards gates (6-11) facilities are frankly... rubbish. Only one place to get a coffee- I wouldn't even call it a shop as there's only desk with two tills and couple of fridges next to it?? If you're here earlier and waiting for boarding to go on a nice holidays you can forget about grabbing something to eat or have a glass of wine/drink prior your flight- there's no bars here... This airport been like this since I can remember- nothing/not much has changed or improved in those 14 years which is rather...

I had nice experience in Poznań, but Lawica Airport being greedy left bad taste when I was leaving: Before boarding the plane I didn’t want to push (kids, elderly, women) so I was at the end of the queue. Lady at the gate stopped 3 people in front of me, and told them they have to pay extra. I was 19 in HOURS in Poznan and had only half empty gym bag.

I was instructed to measure my luggage. I asked the lady “seriously?” She noticed my almost nonexistent luggage and let me through failing to explain herself; i asked again and she went bananas. After boarding the plane I asked stewardess why her colleague was so rude - she told me gates are run not by airlines but by the airport staff.

I get it - the lady has 20 minutes to check ID of 180 people. Maybe airport management should train staff for focus on important stuff and not to push for increase revenue stream? I left over £100 in Poland, some of it in airport facilities. All airports in London care more about retaining customer base.

Your loss Poznan, next time I will just pay extra £10 to enjoy short trip without such hassle...