Kuala Lumpur International Airport - KUL

4 stars

It's a very clean airport. Due to exhaustion, I didn't really have the energy to explore more than the food garden...even then I found the different levels to be incredibly confusing for a non-local. Food places are sprinkled sporadically throughout the airport and someone told me the food garden was on level 5, so my mom and I went there and it was the arrival section of the airport, which we didn't want to be in. Food garden was level 2. Food garden was definitely worth getting lost for.

We had a flight out to the USA and came early to make sure we didn't miss the flight. It was fine. But there were no real food choices on our concourse. We tried duty free to find some food options but nothing. There was one drink stall and Dunkin Donuts. We settled on a couple of shakes and a packet of cookies at Dunkin so we could also sit at their tables. They started the security screening line and then stopped it partway. Not friendly and not helpful. They did have a bottle water filler which was nice. But not a comfy experience overall.

We checked in more than 3 hours before our flight to CMB Sri Lanka. Get here early as the airline check in is slow. To top it off immigration has very long lines to get over to security.

Mordern clean airport in every sense of the word, with big and long open lighted terminals.

Major shopping and restaurants located in the main terminal the only drawback is when you get to the gates they are is practically none of the snake or gift places and you just can't walk back because you need to take a light rail car to get around. So unless you got more than an hour to spare you need to stay put.

if you have a 8 hour or more layover you have enough time to visit the city and get back to the airport only you need to do the migration steps each way.

Nice airport with plenty of amenities and clean rest rooms. The staff at Malaysia airlines was super helpful too!

What has happened to KLIA. Far from its days as a good international airport, KLIA has more of the geek of a run down inner-city bus terminal. Most of the shops, restaurants and lounges are closed. Those that are open are chaotic, disorganized and dirty. Gives one pause thinking about getting food here.

Even the train to the remote terminal isn't operating so travelers are packed like sardines into a commuter bus, on what clearly is a haven to further spread covid.

Since you really have little choice but KLIA when traveling to Malaysia you can't avoid this second world airport. So spend as little time as you can here as you are unlikely to enjoy time here before your flight or during a last over.

I'm amazed the the local management and the Malaysian government would allow the airport to become this bad. To be fair, there are signs that improvements are coming, although the is little signs of any work being done.

customs clearance is very slow. airport is fine , but their shops and cafes lose revenue by keeping pax tied up in a long queue

First, I want to apologize to Newark Airport and Jedda Airport for thinking they're the worst in the world. Jedda MAY still be the worst, but Kuala Lumpur definitely gives it a run for its money.

Where to begin?

When I landed from Manila during a layover, the guard checking passports and boarding passes for transfer seemed to feel compelled to pore over my documents as though he suspected me of smuggling a kilo of heroin up my ass, to the point where, after he checked them (VERY THOROUGHLY) once and waved me through, he called me BACK to him after i started walking for another look-see. Don't want to say it was racist, but didn't see any of the other passengers subjected to such scrutiny.

Next, the signage is awful. Simply awful: major areas aren't pointed out for entire corridors, leaving one at the mercy of the "interactive map" system, a touch screen setup that--during the pandemic--just has streaks of oily residue all over it. After wiping it off with cleanser and a towel, I tried to use the search function to try the Amex Lounge. The map won't show me jack squat, so I rely on my phone's Google maps app to walk me to it, which it does successfully.

As i get closer to the lounge, I finally start seeing signs for it. Excited to have a place during the layover, I show my Amex card to the front desk worker:

"Sorry, sir: the lounge is closed..."

"Uh...why don't the signs or the website say that ...?"

*Polite smile and a shrug*

So i head to my gate to try to find food there. This gate is slightly easier, with giant signs for the P gates. I head to them and, what's this? Another security check point with a long ass line. I wait in the line for 20 mins while the people in front of my go through airport security for what must have been the first time in their lives. That's sarcasm, but i sh*t you not: a guy in front of me gets ALL the way up to what xray machine and THEN starts removing his jacket. Then his belt. Then his shoes. Then his watch. Then his phone. Then his glasses.

I'm about to murder him, held back only by the thought of being stuck in a Malaysian jail. Which, if this is the main airport, the jail must be suicide-inducing.

I get the same stink eye from the guards here (they must not like Black people in this country), then go through. I start looking for food as i get close to my gate. I see a dirty, unkempt dim sum place and keep walking because the map of this gate section shows two more food options further down.

So i keep walking. And walking. No other options.

I turn back around to the dirty dim sum place: tables not bussed or cleaned, half eaten food still on them. Finally i clean up a table myself and queue up to get food.

"I'll take the shrimp dim su--"

"Oh, sorry: we are out..."

"What about this one...?" I point to the menu.

"That one too sir: all we have is shark fin, bean curd and chicken left, sir..."

"I'll have the...chicken then....?"

10 minutes later, my 4 tiny dim sum balls are ready and, aside from eating it off or a still grimy table, aren't half bad. Place was filthy when I left, still, and really no where nearby to get hand sanitizer before or after you eat.

Then I hear "Flight [redacted] has moved from gate P-whatever to gate L-whatever." Okkkkkay, gate changes are a part of life. Maybe I'll have other food options there.

I'm looking for the signs for L terminal, and I'm getting nothing, not a one. The 1990s touch screen system doesn't help (again). I finally cross my fingers and follow a crowd up the escalator and start walking with them.

And walking.

And WALKING.

And finally I see signs for L gates...right behind ANOTHER security checkpoint. Yup: another crush of people who can't figure out how airport security works. Everyone is crushed together, covid social distancing be damned. I put my mask on before joining the throng, skeeved out by how many people are coughing on each other. One dude behind me can't figure out the entire "turn away and don't cough on people" baseline etiquette and kept coughing on my arm until i turned around and gave him my best "are you f***ing kidding me right now...?" Then he discovers basic human social mores.

Another interminable round through security and I then walk through the MOST POORLY DESIGNED TERMINAL IN THE MOST POORLY DESIGNED AIRPORT, EVER. The hallways would weirdly narrow and widen like they were trying to encourage people to climb over each other, just to get to their gate.

But i make it to the L terminal with a few minutes to spare. They're boarding! I get my boarding pass scanned to then....wait in ANOTHER line to go to the staging area, where they check my boarding pass AGAIN.

I get on the plane and gladly take off from this sh*t. If I can avoid coming through here again, i will.

Malaysia, I'm sure your country is beautiful, but this airport is @$$. Period.

A nice airport, but not greatly signed for accessing other terminals in between through mono rails. Ive visited many countries in Asia but never had to go through check in 3 times before boarding the flight. The whole process didn't make any sense. At the arrival they scan your bags and you go to TSA/Immigration line. After Immigration you walk into the mall/lounge area before heading to your gates. Once you pass through mall and take the mono rail to your terminal. They make you go through security again. Which means, they scan your bags twice (this seems to be a trend in Asia) Meaning any drinks that you have bought (say some water for a long flight with a company that doesn't provide free water) must be disposed of - this makes no sense to me and is just frustrating and a waste of time.

The staff is accommodating, it's easy to communicate with them. I suggest more organize immigration and more counter open it takes me 45mins in immigration I think it's too long.

One more thing to note, at the arrival you can't just walk out to take a taxi. You've to use the airport taxi counter and pay them twice as much money(Compare to Uber & Lyft) upfront to pick up a taxi pay slip. Once you pre-pay at the counter they assign you a driver and you wait again for his arrival to the gate. Airport is about 90 mins away from Central city and it could take forever during rush hour to get to KL city.

My positive review this time goes to the service at the Aviation office that I received after being told that my luggage didn't arrive at the same time. When I was in Singapore, I had very little time to transfer to the gate and take a flight to KL. Therefore my luggage was still stuck in Singapore so they called me up at the gate to let me know. I was told to go downstairs and make a report. I did and everyone at the Aviation office luggage claim treated me so nice. I'm a friendly person, it's hard for people not to be nice to me lol! Anyway, I had to fill out some paperwork describing my luggage because they were planning on sending them on a later flight once the luggage hits KL airport. I was concerned at first but I had faith that I would get my luggage no matter what. It was a smooth process. After my report, I took a train to KLIA2 because my next flight is via Air Asia. Something I booked separately.

That night I received my luggage! Woohoo!