vienna international airport
Hubby and I rolled through the Vienna International Airport on several occasions. The airport was interesting, to say the least. It is a very modern airport with free wifi and a great little shopping section in the International sector where you can pick up some awesome Mozart chocolates.
I have to admit, though, the entire time I was a little baffled because I felt like I was in one giant IKEA store from the furniture to the plexiglass walls, all the way down to the signs and bathrooms.
Airport Website:
http://www.viennaairport.com/en/passengers
I actually like checking out the airport websites prior to arriving or departing. It helps me to get my bearings and also to gain a rough estimate of how much time I might need to get from Point A to Point B, such as switching terminals. Most of these airports also have interactive maps which may be useful to you.
Wifi Availability:
Wifi is available throughout the International section of the airport and is free. We happily took advantage of this and face timed our families and checked emails and news back home.
Security:
Passport Control:
In the International Sector, getting through passport control to another international connecting flight only took us an average total of 15 minutes (including wait time). Passport Control is fairly easy to find as you just follow the signs from your gate. One thing I noticed, however, is that in order to get from the gates to passport control (and even to other sections of the airport), there are a lot of stairs and ramps to walk up and down. This is where you start to feel like you're lost in an IKEA boxed maze. Don't get scared. As long as you keep going straight, you're going in the right direction.
Airport Food:
Bathrooms:
Sleeping Area or Hotel/Shower:
Towards the back of the International terminal, there is a "quiet area" for international travelers to rest. On one side, there are a lot of chairs and a vending machine. On the other, there are large reclined couches and benches. I actually took a pretty good 5 hour nap on one of those reclined course and felt pretty comfortable. Hubby spent his time surfing the internet on the free wi-fi. We were able to use all of our FaceTime and Viber apps.
I have to admit, though, the entire time I was a little baffled because I felt like I was in one giant IKEA store from the furniture to the plexiglass walls, all the way down to the signs and bathrooms.
Airport Website:
http://www.viennaairport.com/en/passengers
I actually like checking out the airport websites prior to arriving or departing. It helps me to get my bearings and also to gain a rough estimate of how much time I might need to get from Point A to Point B, such as switching terminals. Most of these airports also have interactive maps which may be useful to you.
Wifi Availability:
Wifi is available throughout the International section of the airport and is free. We happily took advantage of this and face timed our families and checked emails and news back home.
Security:
- Be forewarned - at this airport, iPads ARE considered computer devices and you WILL be required to remove them from your bags to be scanned in the X-ray machines.
- There are full body scanners and backscatters that were used in various lines when we went through security. My lines, however, only had metal detectors, which I walked right through only to sound off the metal detection alarm. I was traveling with an Animas Ping at the time and told the security agents that I had diabetes and was wearing an insulin pump. There was some confusion at first as what I was saying was lost in translation until they fully heard the words "diabetes" and "insulin" which I have found to be a sort of universal language in my travels (I also learn to say these two words in every language of the countries that I'm traveling through).
- In order to screen me, the security agent took me to an IKEA like private room. I did not request a private room as I'm usually perfectly happy doing the screening in public view. But it seems like an automatic thing at this airport. In this room, I showed the security agent my pump and she looked at the attachment to my body and then patted me down. She was very courteous and very nice.
- The entire process from start to finish was about 10 minutes.
- My diabetes supply bag made it through the X-ray machine with no problems.
Passport Control:
In the International Sector, getting through passport control to another international connecting flight only took us an average total of 15 minutes (including wait time). Passport Control is fairly easy to find as you just follow the signs from your gate. One thing I noticed, however, is that in order to get from the gates to passport control (and even to other sections of the airport), there are a lot of stairs and ramps to walk up and down. This is where you start to feel like you're lost in an IKEA boxed maze. Don't get scared. As long as you keep going straight, you're going in the right direction.
- Be sure to stop and READ the signs directing you to the PROPER areas to get to your next destination or gate when you pass through passport control.
- There usually is 1 or 2 attendants there to help guide you. If you are confused, just wait there until the attendant comes back to guide you in the right direction. They're usually not gone for very long as they're typically just pointing out directions to another lost traveller.
Airport Food:
- Reminiscent of IKEA in food, taste, and even layout of the cafes and a la carte menus, all the way down to bussing your own trays.
- Hot meals are available, as are sandwiches. It's all pretty good as we had ample time and opportunities to try almost everything once.
- We recommend that if you are going to eat in the International section of the Vienna Airport, that you do so closer to where all the duty free shops are - basically where the main food court is. The pricing is reasonable here and the food is pretty good. The closer to the gates that you get, the worse quality food that you get and the more exorbitant the costs (more like triple the costs).
- For diabetics and the health conscious, the food court is where you can get proteins, vegetables, and fruits. The small coffee shops along the areas surrounding the gates are almost 100% carb (i.e. bread and sugar) only.
Bathrooms:
- Some were very clean and some were not so clean. It really was a luck of the draw.
- Around the eating area in the International terminal, you should be able to find a public restroom with multi stalls.
- Closer to the gated areas, there are smoking rooms, and all the bathrooms are private family bathrooms (one large toilet room with sink rather than multi stalled). During one of our recent layovers, we were able to find a freshly cleaned family bathroom where we spent some time brushing our teeth and washing our faces after a 10 hour flight.
Sleeping Area or Hotel/Shower:
Towards the back of the International terminal, there is a "quiet area" for international travelers to rest. On one side, there are a lot of chairs and a vending machine. On the other, there are large reclined couches and benches. I actually took a pretty good 5 hour nap on one of those reclined course and felt pretty comfortable. Hubby spent his time surfing the internet on the free wi-fi. We were able to use all of our FaceTime and Viber apps.