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.
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The view from one side is across the tarmac to stand 1 complete with Thomas Cook A330.
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Sorry, what started as a single wave seems to have turned into a Mexican wave of epic proportion.
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.
Last edited by marshy11 on 08 Dec 2016, 05:53, edited 1 time in total.
