V-Flyer

After a delay on the VS33 which went from 1 hour to 3hr 22mins and back to 2 hours, it finally departed the UK 2 hours late leaving us on the returning VS34 with a 2 hour delay. We decided not to change the hotel checkout and transfer time, so here we are in the lounge with a bit of time to kill.

We narrowly missed the "new" airport and it's facilities last July but having just arrived it seems impressive although not necessarily efficient.

Coming in to an air-conditioned airport is blissful. We had a lovely chap at the somewhat deserted check-in who issued me with another departure card - as the first managed to attach itself (and some of my passport photo) to a rogue insect-wet-wipe in my bag - he was very engaging and we were up the stairs to passport control and security in no time.

The security line is a bit like Alton Towers. It looked short and the first "checkpoint" was a scan of the boarding card. Ushering us through to line number 2 in the Alton Towers maze, we were queued at the next "checkpoint". Checkpoint 2 was asking us our marital status This was then recorded on our departure cards. I hasten to add, we weren't singled out, this was the bonafide reason for the existence of "checkpoint 2". Odd.

Through that we navigated the maze of empty barrier tapes to passport control. The poor girl had the sun full on her booth and she couldn't see anything. Tip tap on the keyboard and we were through. I'm guessing it took 15 minutes.

Because we left from the old airport last time we hadn't been in the new lounge. It's a HUGE improvement. Bright and airy, with beige and terracotta fabrics, it's comfy and plush. Big fat soft chairs and sofas, panoramic views and an outdoor terrace with gazebos and plants, an attentive bar staff and some delicious food.





The view from one side is across the tarmac to stand 1 complete with Thomas Cook A330.



Sorry, what started as a single wave seems to have turned into a Mexican wave of epic proportion.

It's always hard to leave such a beautiful island , have a lovely flight back

Have a great flight home

Thanks for the heads up on the lounge in Antigua as we are there now, but still have a week to go before we depart this sunny island

Thanks for the Review of the "new" Antigua Airport.

Hope you had a good flight back - at least Gatwick is a little bit warmer than at the weekend

buns

Not sure why the photo's wouldn't load but I've managed to add them again I think.

It got VERY busy towards the end but that was because the BA flight was due to leave at 1945hrs and the VS34 had been delayed to 1955hrs.

There was a little bit of a commotion at the desk just before we left when a BA pax was called to the desk and things got very heated when he was told his booking wasn't valid as there had been no payment. Despite his protests of him having the paperwork and boarding passes the Airport Staff (not BA) weren't going to let him fly.

Yes, the new Executive Lounge is a HUGE improvement on the dark and dingy Big Banana 1761 Lounge, and also better than when VS used the Sticky Wicket restaurant.

I fully agree about the friendly staff and reasonable food and drink offerings. But what I like most is the great outside terrace.