Aeroporto di Bologna Reviews 

Worst airport experience on both arrival and departure. Arrival took 2 hours to get through security as none of the passport scanners worked. On departure my flight was 4 hours delayed with no announcements and we were left at the gate overnight with no airport staff to be found anywhere and nowhere open for food/drink. Bologna is beautiful but avoid the airport and travel in by train from elsewhere.

Utter disgrace, all free water vending stations unavailable and bar staff in departure rude and won't provide tap water at all despite numerous asks, more than happy to sell you bottles water though. - now there's a surprise.
AVOID THIS AIRPORT AT ALL COSTS WORST EVER!!!!

Flew with you 16 March 2025 FR8409.
At the airport check-in, I presented my checked luggage, which was fully compliant with the airline’s baggage policy. The suitcases met the required size and weight limits and were accepted without any issue. However, I was required to pay an additional fee of €50 for my personal handbag. This was a small bag that I kept with me at all times, containing essential personal belongings such as my documents and passport. It was not part of my main luggage and remained with me while seated.
I was stopped by staff and informed, in a very insistent and coercive manner, that I would not be allowed to proceed unless I paid this amount. The interaction felt inappropriate and unprofessional, as I was placed under pressure and given no reasonable alternative. The situation gave the impression of being forced into a payment rather than a fair and transparent application of policy.
To the best of my understanding, a personal item of this nature should be permitted without additional charges. Therefore, I strongly contest this fee and formally request a full refund of the €50 paid.
I expect this matter to be reviewed promptly and resolved without delay.

What comes under third world airport? Bologna idiocracy airport! Crammed to the brim on a more quiet day...

Not bad, but a little difficulty with direction signs

WON'T RETURN TO BOLOGNA !!! I m from Malta and even our airport from an island is a way more professional one! Shops closed at 8pm no seating . Restaurants open with available tables and they don't let you sit down with 3 kids !!! Sitting on the floor which is dirty!! My 60 year old mum also on the floor. Bologna is amazing but this airport is DISGUSTING!!!

It's overcrowded, but everything worked out fine.

The worst!!!!!!!
This was by far the worst airport I’ve ever visited. It might even be a reason for me to avoid flying to or from Bologna in the future.

A very small airport for the high volume of travelers it serves. The temperature inside was unbearable — even the air conditioning wasn’t working. Long queues at the few shops, often with only one cashier available. Seating was extremely limited, with many travelers sitting on the floor. Overall, the conditions were very poor.
The toilets and the airport on general were also in terrible condition — excessively dirty, though I wouldn’t necessarily blame the cleaning staff. With such a large crowd, it’s impossible for a limited cleaning team to keep up.
All flights were Ryanair, which made me associate this chaos directly with the airline.

Caos is the word. Overlapping announcements, nobody hears a thing, disorganized lines at departure desks (good manners are not a thing here and people ignore the line), priority passengers are kept waiting in the staircase and do not board planes prior to the rest of the passengers, so they have to struggle with overhead space, Even with all the works being done here apparently it’s getting messier.

Overcrowded airport with hard wooden benches. The management is so incompetent (or corrupt ?) that they have allowed a large Ferrari store to take up a huge portion of the waiting area - on behaft of the passengers. Cynical mangement.

In a comment, it was said that the airport is great for arrivals but terrible for departures. This is absolutely true! It was the worst service I’ve had and the worst airport I’ve ever used for a return flight from abroad! On February 15, 2025, we were passengers with my husband on flight PGT49BB from Bologna to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport. It took so long for us to check-in our baggage. When we saw the queue to pass through to the airside before passport control, we couldn’t even do a tax refund. As we were hoping for this disgrace to end so we could return to our country, boarding started from gate 19, and we were lucky enough to sit and wait until the line thinned out. When the queue decreased, we joined it. Two female ticket agents were handling the boarding. I will complain and file a lawsuit against both of these agents. Despite having no cabin baggage with us (we had checked it in), the ticket agent with glasses and yellow hair told me that my two pockets, one about 30x40 cm and the other about 16x18 cm, contained too many items and that I wouldn’t be allowed on the plane with them. At that moment, my husband was also waiting for the other ticket agent to do the boarding. Since I had never heard such nonsense before, I told her that if I had too many pockets, I could transfer some items from one to the other and discard one pocket. Clearly, this didn’t sit well with her, as she was going to ask for money. Suddenly, she told me she wouldn’t let me on the plane and instructed me to go to the back of the line. I raised my voice and warned her that she had no right or authority to do that, and that she was obligated to let me on the plane. In response, the other female ticket agent rudely turned her back and made threats like, “We’ll call the police, and we won’t let you on the plane.” An airport that shows such disrespect to tourists should be ashamed. In the end, they should be thankful that I didn’t call the police because I didn’t want to take the passengers’ time. I boarded the plane, but I will file a legal complaint against them. They ruined the end of our wonderful vacation because of their attitude, which we had never encountered in any airport before.

The flight landed earlier. I was happy. But a very long queue started for the passport check due to some renovation works. Only two scanners were working. It took 40 minutes to have my e-passport checked. Frankly very disappointing for an international airport.

Today the line to reach the gates starts outside the terminal building
The worst airport in Europe
Overcrowded no services poor professionals

Generally my family have had good experience when booking hotels and cars via Booking.com.
Therefore we made "rent a car" booking via Booking.fi in order to be sure, that we get good travel security and service abroad in Italy. My daughter and myself made the order via Booking web site.

We should have a short holiday in Italy and Lajatico (Andrea Bocelli 30 years concert) in July 2024 - from Monday to Friday.

Since we are a family - parents and 3 daughters - we wanted to find a well-known car rental company, which has cars big enough to take us all in the same car included our 5 luggages. We ended up to rent a car from Sixth via Booking, since they had adverts on website saying, that Sixth had a car type which had place for 5 people including their 5 luggage. The total price for 5 days was stated to be about 400 euros + extra insurance fee if wanted.

When we arrived with flight to Bologna Airport on Monday evening in July and should pick up our car, we got a huge surprise. The Sixth representative at the service desk in the Airport Hall (together with his collaguees standing next to the desk) just informed us that the car we had rented, could not take us and our luggage’s - no space enough at all!

We were desperate and short of time of course in the evening. We had to use about two extra hours going back and forth to the Sixth parking garage area and Sixth service desk in the Terminal building in the extremely hot airport. It was necessary for ut to decide that evening which car we could use instead to drive further that night.

This was highly stressful for us all and really not a good start for our holiday - when desperately trying to get e vehicle which had place for our family.
(And to be honest, there are very many car types and models in this world which have place enough for a travelling family of 5 persons.
Sixth had clearly given non correct information on Booking sites regarding their cars and their capacity).

Finally, after trying different car models that night we found one which could take us - but first we had to empty one luggage and repack - and throw away one luggage! And then we could start our holiday - many hours delayd). BUT WE HAD TO PAY DOUPLED PRICE FOR THE CAR WHICH HAD SPACE FOR US. This car rental price ended up to be the biggest single bill we had to pay during this holiday.

In the meanwhile - happily we had a fantastic Bocelli concert in Lajatico and nice days in Italy with good friends and friendly Italians.

We returned - as originally planned - from Lajatico to Bologna Airport on Friday afternoon, exactly at the time which we had given in beforehand.

But the story continues:
After we had come home from holidays, Sixth sent us email writing that they had found a damage - a little scratch - in front of the car. This damage was unknown for us, we had been driving carefully and parked in the countryside with a lot of space.
We were released to have booked via Booking a full scale insurance to this rental period.

Summa Summarum:
We do not recommend to rent a car from Sixth in Bologna.
I am sure there are many other good alternatives in Bologna.

This is the worst airport I have ever been to! The signing is confusing, the staff can’t help you and it is so so cramped and claustrophobic. I hope I never ever have to use this airport again.

Worst airport. The staff for the queuing to get to security was an absolute joke. First we’re told we can’t get through because we’re too early from our departure (3 hours before) and we’re informed we can came back when there’s 2 hours till departure. We go there 2 hours and 5 mins till departure where we’re told to get out of line as their system isn’t allowing them for scan our boarding passes cause we’re too early (keep in mind that we’re traveling with kids). However, two of us we’re let through where the boarding pass was scanned so they’re simply lying to us. We then have to wait 10 mins to then go back in line and where they then let us through security. Besides this the employees by the queuing were so incredibly rude not informing us about anything before we demanded an explanation + no air conditioning at all in the entire airport.

Horrible airport!

Horrible airport. FULL of people, minimum places to sit, it’s warm, it’s dirty… absolutely not recommended

Of all the crappy airport in the world Bologna Airport tops the chart. I have never experienced so chaotic, packed and unorganised airport …. Pressing in more and more passengers on too little space, stale air and probably super dangerous in case of an emergency….. I will avoid it if possible. It stinks

On 23/06/2024 at Bologna-Marconi airport, I checked in and dropped off my luggage around 08:00 for Ryanair flight FR2009 to Trapani at 10:40. The gate was changed without notification, and despite arriving at the new gate on time, I was blocked by uncooperative staff who refused to identify themselves and provide explanations. They revealed later to have depart the bus to reach the airplane before the scheduled gate closing time. This caused me to miss the flight along with three other passengers. I had to pay a penalty of 110 euros to board the next flight.

This airport is a nightmare. If I could give it less stars, I would. Queue for security starts outside the terminal. An hour in the queue in the heat. It is inhumane. Cattle are treated better! Once security is cleared, another nightmare. Overcrowded with not enough seating.
Marconi express to get here is expensive.
I will never fly from here again.