Geneva airport (GVA) is the main gateway to the Alps for most British skiers, served with daily flights during the ski season from all over the UK.

For the most part, on weekdays it is brimming with Swiss efficiency. But on a Saturday, it’s a different story – the arrivals hall is packed, luggage takes hours to arrive (especially skis/snowboards) and if your transport or hire car is arranged for the wrong side (there is a Swiss exit side and a French exit side, beware – especially with snow tyre/chain rules differing in both countries).

Flights are rarely cancelled and delays are minimal here – although according to OAG, the worst airline for cancelled or delayed flights to/from Geneva is BA. The ratings for easyJet and Jet2 are much higher – with 100 per cent of flights taking off in the spring months of last season, most of which were on time.

Two things we do like about GVA are the views of mountains and Lake Geneva as you approach landing, plus the new scanning equipment (on the right as you head through security) that allows you to keep electronics and liquids in your bag – and your snow boots on.

As the main hub for the Northern Alps, GVA is well connected to a huge number of ski resorts by train (there is a station adjoining the airport), as well as public bus or with transfer companies such as Alpybus and Ben’s Bus, which offer great value.

BA and Swiss operate multiple daily flights from London, and easyJet is a huge operator during the ski season with 16 routes, including daily flights from regional airports across the UK.

Where Geneva fails, however, is in the queues. Not just the arrivals hall but at easyJet check-in (the worst we have ever known) and passport control, both on arrival from the UK and especially on departure, in its new terminal Aile Est, which handles non-Schengen flights. Also extraordinarily poor is Terminal 2, which is reserved for private aircraft and charter flights – and more like a basic hangar than a modern Swiss airport.

Who flies there, and from where

• Swiss from Heathrow and City
• British Airways from Heathrow and City
• easyJet from Gatwick, Luton, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Stansted, Southend, Southampton, Bournemouth, Leeds-Bradford, Newcastle and Aberdeen
• Tui from Bristol, Dublin, Gatwick, Manchester and Newcastle
• Jet2 from Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Stansted, Manchester and Newcastle

Starting price for return flights: £80 return with British Airways, £48 with easyJet (no luggage included).

Flight time from the UK to Geneva

1hr 35min

Closest ski resorts to Geneva

Megève, Chamonix, Samoëns, Morzine, Avoriaz, La Clusaz, Flaine and Courmayeur are all 90 minutes from Geneva, while Verbier, Crans-Montana, Gstaad and Villars are between 90 minutes and around two hours. The Trois Vallées resorts (Courchevel, Méribel, Val Thorens and Les Menuires) are around 2½hours, but on a snowy Saturday this can be three times longer in traffic.