Brisbane Domestic Airport Food Court

I've never rated an airport before truth is never figure I'd need to. When everything goes right I think there mainly all good. But having said that never been to Brisbane airport until this week. So on arrival 4 days ago and exiting the terminal could not find any directions to ride sharing. As such got an over inflated taxi fare $42 to travel 12kms. Perhaps also the taxi companies fault but the airport did not make it easy to find an alternative. On my return a cancelled flight up north saw myself and many others sleeping on airport chairs and anywhere else one could find. I doubt we're the first group to have a cancelled flight, especially last flight out. But if you are your in trouble. The chairs are cold and uncomfortable and the vending machines offer nothing but chips and chocolate. The only healthy alternative was water. You'd think at least you could get a warm drink, coffee, tea or perhaps soup. A vending machine with something you could want to eat. In fairness to the airport when thinks go right it probably works, just not when things go wrong.

The airport layout is not the most logical for baggage collection on domestic flights. It’s located past the security and check-in area and signage is sparse so can get confusing. There is a decent amount of eateries to choose from. Toilets are few and far between with minimal stalls. Definitely needs an upgrade.

Over the years I have frequently travelled from Brisbane to NZ many times. My main concern is the lack of customs staff at the customs counters in the arrivals hall at Brisbane International Airport. On many occasions I have waited two hours to get through to the customs counters. Perhaps customs need to employ more staff to decrease the waiting time for passengers and increase the efficiency of a relatively new airport that promoted a quicker service to passengers when it first opened.

In all my 20 plus years of going to Brisbane Airport, I have never seen level 5 for international short term parking, let alone used it. Visit was on 12 March 2022 at 11.30 am on a Saturday. All 4 levels of parking were completely full. Level 5 was at 60% capacity. Not sure where all these people were, as within the airport, as there was only one flight leaving and only row 6 had passengers. 1.5 hours cost me $25. Highway robbery and then some. The airport looked abysmal as all the eateries were closed except Corretto Cafe and Bar. (Separate review). The news agency has closed down. Understandable in the current climate of travel restrictions due to covid. Really hope the airport returns to its former glory. Hopefully they lower their parking rates. Wishful thinking…I know.