Aeroporto João Paulo II — Local services in Ponta Delgada

Accommodations for Disability: I was trying to arrange for some mobility accommodation for my disabled brother; the experience made difficult by SATA (Azores Airlines) who kept telling us what we needed instead of answering our questions. (They were simple questions such as how small this airport so we could decide if any help was needed.) As a result of the regional airline's (SATA) inability to cooperate, I reached out to the airport regarding their disability access. This is what it was like dealing with the airport: -trying to find out about accessibility accommodation on the web site was very difficult, -when I did find the information it promised all sorts of accommodations at the airport, but I would have to arrange that through the airline - who then told us none of these accommodations existed except they could provide wheelchair -now that we had returned from our trip I made some suggestions to the airport and received an email about how important my was and heard nothing back - a month later after hearing nothing, I sent a follow-up email only to receive an email response, "This message was created automatically by mail delivery software. A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its recipients. This is a permanent error. The following address(es) failed..."

I do not see any accountability regarding disability issues and this airport.

Departures: The flight delay information displayed on the flight boards is not as accurate as the information you will get looking up the flight on your phone. What is highly problematic - this discrepancy can be hours in difference - where you are kept waiting on the floor of the departures lounge with one set of expected times for the departure while there are more accurate times being displayed by the airline through data on your phone hours in advance. Admittedly, this could be a SATA (the regional airline) issue and not the airport's issue - however as many of these reviews point out , it's a small airport....aminting accurate information on departure times shouldn't be that difficult..

Check-in When first arriving at the check-in area , it became evident to us after waiting for quite a while at the gates that a specific flight may not be announced on any check-in gate signage, despite what the check-in clerks might insist that all the flights are announced. We did noticed people were simply checking in at any gate irrelevant of flight - they were only taking note of the airline for the check-in. This can be confusing for people from other parts of the world.

I was taken aback by the local etiquette, of raising their voice at you when they are annoyed with you. A check-in clerk at one point raised his voice at me and threatened to leave our luggage behind next time we fly with the airline. This unfortunately was a common occurrence throughout Sao Miguel. (Examples: Restaurant and hotel managers and staff being annoyed with our asking to add a single chair to our table so we could be seated as a group of four, asking for breakfast early at our hotel so we could make an early flight, our willingness to wait in line at a busy restaurant - often we would get raised voices and annoyed looks.) We never experienced this in Terceira (another island in the Azores where the local etiquette was completely different) nor in the Canary Islands. . I have no personal desire to come back to...

A nice airport, but its organization is not sufficient to support summer tourism. Intercontinental flights gates are constrained into a too small area. On August 21 we flew to NY JFK in the evening . A the gates no speakers to make announcements that could be heard. Just an airport employee, a kind girl with a shy soft voice who could be barely heard by two people first in the line. Also , at the beginning, the only passage open was under a screen reading “Boston” thus generating confusion and more and more needs to continuosly reassure NY fliers that was just the right passage. So , many passengers toward NY did not come forward because it looked EXACTLY as a Boston flight gate . Also, no one announced priority boarding , so even people with small children and priority passes waited silently, expecting a sign from the “sky above” to board. Also, every one passing was stopped by an odd , never seen before, need to chit-chat with the young girl airport employee. Only after a while the other passage with another employee opened under a “NY reading screen”.. but both the passages were meant for the same destination, despite the two different screen readings.This process lasted so long that the boarding operations were the slowest I have ever seen. To make it brief we lost our connection flight in NY JFK as we were only 5 minutes late. Faster boarding operations would have prevented it for sure. Also , if you only want a bottled drink at one of the “bars/cafeterias” in the waiting areas and you only have to pick up and pay, you still have long lines to face because every selling point has “only one employee”, busy in preparing sandwiches, making coffees, receiving orders, receive payments. I think Ponta Delgada deserves a better airport organization to not disappoint tourists after the wonderful vacations we had in that great Island ! Better signs, clear loud announcements are necessary ingredients for efficient and faster boarding. We will back on the Island soon, though....

Ponta Delgada Airport is an absolute disgrace. Our experience here on July 10 was one of the worst travel situations we’ve ever endured — chaotic, unsafe, and completely unacceptable.

We were in transit from Madeira to Montreal via SATA Airlines, and after arriving in Ponta Delgada, we were forced into a tiny, overcrowded gate area for over four hours. Airport staff explicitly told us we could not leave the area, meaning hundreds of passengers from multiple flights were trapped in one small space with no ventilation, no proper seating, and no room to move. People were packed in shoulder to shoulder like cattle, standing for hours with no access to comfort, safety, or dignity.

There was no free drinking water, and the only food or beverages available were from a ridiculously overpriced, poorly stocked snack counter. This was particularly outrageous for us, as we were traveling with children with special needs who rely on structure, calm, and adequate care — none of which were available in that claustrophobic, stressful environment.

This wasn’t just a poor layout or an unlucky delay. This was gross mismanagement by the airport and a clear failure in planning, safety, and human decency. There were no accommodations, no communication, and no concern for the basic needs of the hundreds of people being crammed into a space that simply could not handle them.

Between the airport’s total lack of facilities and SATA Airlines’ indifference, the entire experience was degrading and frankly dangerous.

If you’re traveling through the Azores, avoid Ponta Delgada Airport if at all possible. It is nowhere near equipped to handle international passengers or extended delays, and the treatment of travelers...