Lahore Airport

✅ Trip Verified | As Pakistan's second biggest city, Lahore airport is in serious need of improvement regarding its customer service. Upon arriving at Lahore I was continually asked if I needed any assistance which I refused. After that it was easy enough to get out. Architecturally the airport is fairly decent but arrivals and departures from this airport to or from Europe and the US are made into a complete nightmare. Upon arrival you are constantly harassed by staff asking you if you want to be escorted through. You can say no but people will keep approaching you nonetheless. Departing is even worse. It's almost as if they try are deliberately trying to make your leaving the country difficult. According to the staff at Lahore airport, you need to have a photocopy of your passport stamped by an official. If this is necessary then communicate this to passengers on your airport website. Of course since it is not then one can only guess why people are being asked to do this. Everywhere else in the world when you have obtained your boarding pass your luggage is then put on the conveyor belt allowing you to go through immigration. In Lahore however once your boarding pass has been issued you have to pull your luggage off the conveyor belt and then put it through another scanner. This is despite there being a scanner marked "For US and UK baggage" which is not being used. The result of all this rigmarole is that it takes two hours to get through something which should take only a few minutes. This process takes at least two hours. With Lahore being one of the main destinations for tourists and expatriate Pakistanis alike the behaviour of staff here does not reflect well on Pakistan at all. I suppose I could say that there has been an improvement now since the last time I went to Lahore nearly a decade ago, my luggage was opened and items were stolen. I suppose every cloud does have a silver lining indeed. Something I found strange is that there are no mobile company offices at the terminal. Generally every country (excluding the US), I have seen offices for mobile operators right outside the departure gates which makes obtaining a SIM much easier than having to try to locate an office once you have left the airport. In regards for facilities, there are limited facilities at the airport. There are hardly any restaurants and only a few gift shops. Lahore does deserve a much better airport and this is something the relevant authorities need to look into.

❎ Not Verified | Worse service at airport entrance. Very rude security, then very slow immigration counters. Long lines, small airport and CIP lounge is like some high school canteen. Improve please. Improve the management. It needs to match with international airports. This airport looks like some bus stand, they need more immigration counters with more staff.

❎ Not Verified | Lahore is Pakistan's second largest airport but lacks many facilities which an airport should have. Eating facilities are just a small stand selling drinks and snacks and the only shopping option was a small book and newspaper kiosk. The only good news is that the airport will be expanded, but looking at the light traffic it definitely does not need an expansion which will eventually make it into Pakistan's largest airport.

✅ Verified Review | Worse now compared to when I visited it 11 years ago. Arrival at Lahore Airport was okay. Departure was a complete nightmare, the worst airport in the world. A piece of advice, turn up at the airport 4-5 hours early. Why is as follows. You walk through the terminal and have to queue up to scan all your luggage in (family of 5). You then have to queue up again for check-in (very long queues), weigh the bags and you then have to put the luggage back on your trolley take it around to another long queue where you have to scan the luggage in again! Once complete you than have to queue up again for passport control (this was the shortest queue) and and then you have a big sigh of relief that you have made it through hell but with possibly more grey hairs. A complete utter joke. Where most airlines in the world have got their timing down to 2 hours before departure at Lahore you might as well turn up over night. Be warned if you turn up two hours before your departure here you will miss your flight. I then wanted to buy Chilli Milli sweet to take with me and one guy tried to charge me 20 times as much than the standard price in Lahore. Please don't pay the porters more than 1000 rupees, in fact you should only be paying them 400 rupees. If they want more don't give it to them, I want to visit Pakistan again but if all the airports in Pakistan are the same, I have to think twice and probably go to Turkey instead.

Travelled from London to Lahore. Arrivals wasnt too bad. Got out with relative ease however departures was a total different story. There was just one very long queue to check in for all flights. We were getting nervous that we would not get through this queue in time for our flight. We were constantly harrassed by porters who kept saying we will miss our flight and wanted 2000 rupees to "fast track" us. We agreed to pay as time was not on our side. It was an absolute manic experience. We almost missed our flight. Our luggage was being thrown about in scanners and check in closed with only half of our luggage in. We had to create a big fuss to get the rest of luggage checked in. Porters do not leave you alone and however much money you give them is not enough. One of the worst airport experiences of my life and I travel alot. I would love to visit Pakistan again to see my relatives but this airport departure experience puts me off greatly. It is totally unacceptable.

The worst airport experience one can have. Total chaos from the moment you enter the terminal building until you get through the aircraft door. No organization, no discipline, no structure. Each step of the departure process is a nightmare.

I have been to this airport many times and it's about the same experience every time. We arrived late around 11pm so the immigration desk and baggage area were quite. The past several times I have come to this airport it is utter chaos as people don't know the concept of lining up and there are only three baggage carousels. When multiple flights land at the same time it is just crazy. There are porters everywhere wanting to help you out, just say "no" to them unless you really need them, and if you do get them to help they will never be happy with your tip. After getting your luggage there is only one baggage scanner and you will have to fight your way in to get you luggage scanned. Once past the scanner there are people checking your baggage tags. In arrivals it is absolutely crazy, hundreds of people surrounding the door - every single member of the family seems to come to pick someone up or to see someone depart, leading to crowding in both arrival and departure terminals and the parking area. Departing is simple but a slow and tedious process as there are several layers of checks and security to get through. Once again porters will harass you. Once you get through all the line up and checks you enter the main departure terminal, which is very simple looking. No real shopping, two or three options. Airport overall is ok, clean-ish, I avoid the bathroom so not sure what the situation in there is like. There is free WiFi and all in all the airport is ok, lots of seating in departures - just be prepared for crowds and rudeness of people jumping the lines.

Well when you're in the drop off area of international flights there are about 400 people standing and waving goodbye to their relatives, eg: if 1 man is going 20 people will see him off so they will arive in 4 cars minimum crowding the area, in the departure area there is no car parking when you get out through the crowd, a long line will be there for ticket checking after which the area gets a bit open and cool. In the terminal there are soviener shops and two small snack bars. The airport is small and has no good cleanig staff but the bigest problem is that Allama Iqbal Int'l airport is too small for a big city like Lahore

Even though Allama Iqbal International Airport is very nicely designed from the outside the amenities on the inside are very limited. There was no gift shop and only a very small newsstand with books and magazines. There was also a very small food stand as well. Not enough for what is supposed to be Pakistan's second largest airport. The only plus was the free wifi available in the airport.

Travelling through Lahore airport is nothing short of a massive hassle and money drainer. Every man woman and dog is after a tip for anything from discussing the cricket to putting a tag on your bag to even making eye contact. Surely they employees of the airport get paid and should not be able to harass passengers for money! To make life more difficult there are at least 3 security check points during check in where your bags get scanned and often opened and inspected. Also be aware of the random departure tax that you are hit with during check-in. For some reason it is not included in the ticket pricing and all counters insist that you pay. Make sure you have rupees or the staff will offer to exchange your foreign currency and at least in my case keep around 30% of the moneys for themselves. And yes they also demanded a tip for this service. I would avoid this airport if possible.