Blackpool Airport Passenger Reviews and Blackpool Airport Traveller Reports

I totally agree with the comments made on the 20.12.12, very stressful flying from here. We have had 4 holidays abroad this year with no problems, decide to have a quick break to Dublin and this was the worse decision to fly from Blackpool. Will never fly from here.

Ludicrously complex system for collecting unannounced £10 airport departure fee, with no information provided and staff unhelpful. Access from road well-signposted but then no indication of where to go (head as if for the hotel car-park). No facilities before Departure Lounge other than machines. Only bright spot was the extremely pleasant and helpful staff at Europ car-hire.

I have used the Blackpool Airport many times. Yes the airport is basic, but convenient. There are few shops, but then I don't fly on a shop. There are no major queues as a general rule. The terminal door is near the check in, the check in is near security and you walk straight into the departure lounge. Highly recommended for families and disabled.

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time yet it took over an hour to get through security, 2 flights were trying to get through at the same time. UKBA were inefficient, one passenger was taken to a separate room and everything just stopped! There were 2 scanners but only one in use with half a dozen staff stood around doing very little. Our flight was 8.35am and we had to leave home at 5.30am did not have time to buy any mags or newspapers as most of our flight had already boarded. The £10 surcharge for each passenger means it would be cheaper to pay for car parking, we have been flying from Blackpool for over 5 years and the improvement fee does not seem to be spent anywhere that we could see so as far as I am concerned it was a con. Our flight home was delayed an hour from Alicante.

We travelled back from Blackpool airport to Belfast, 10th Sep 2012. We could not get through security before paying £10 each, why are travellers not made aware of this charge before they travel? This information should have been disclosed to all airlines and travel agents so that they could inform would be travellers of this fee.

On Friday 7th September I and two elderly relatives both in wheelchairs flew from Blackpool to Belfast International. The transport infrastructure at the airport is all but non-existent. No buses nearby or trains and taxis have to stop a good 30 meters at least away from the terminal buildings even if you have pre-booked assistance they will not bring wheelchairs out. The airport development fee is a joke despite being a requirement to leave I have no idea what they are spending the money on as the airport have no improvements. The terminal building which looks like a converted hanger or warehouse is very poorly laid out. The only queue of the security area goes across the building rather than deeper into it and can on a busy flight extend into the check in area. The security staff themselves are beneath contempt. Once we finally got through to the lounge there was no information, only a single small screen with flight details and the best part when our flight was called "could passengers who have booked special assistance make their way to the gate - um how?. At Belfast Int. Airport staff come and get you. On the flight I was travelling on there were at least six people in wheelchairs, but Blackpool does not have a working ambilift - a scissor lift on wheels with a cabin on the back used to get wheelchairs up to the level of an aircraft. So airport staff had to carry people up the normal stairs. Instead of spending £10 per person to get out of the airport, use the money to get to Manchester or Liverpool.

Very basic airport, only one cafe and shop in deps area. In fairness there is only a handful of flights a day so its probably all that's needed but queues and the inevitable knock on effect meant our food arrived as plane was boarding. Hand luggage was weighed although collectively they were well under the 7kg each allowance, some were over some under so we had to open them and move clothes between them. To add insult to this the handle of one of them was above metal frame and we had to either leave it or pay a £24 check-in fee. We chose to leave it and distribute the contents between other cases. The girl on desk was very nice and patient and even told us to just move things from one case to other however the whole thing was bizarre because leaving Dublin there was no problem with luggage and going back the plane was only 1/3 full so a bag 2" over limit was not really going to cause problems nor was any extra weight {which wasn't an issue anyway}. Also why could the "£10 airport development departure charge" not be just added to ticket price? Speaking of that the security man when we going through was not aware that u16's don't pay it and held us up waiting on supervisor to come. I will go back to Blackpool but will probably go via Manchester even allowing for train fare it will probably work out cheaper, and in my opinion less stressful.

The airport is convenient in that it was only 20mins from where I was staying and I could get a lift from relatives therefore cutting down the cost. However on my return leg of my trip there was the matter of the 'airport development fee' which we were never informed of at any stage until we were turned away from the departure gate to go purchase this ticket! When I eventually got the ticket purchased they tried to tell me I was going to have to check in my bag because I was also carrying a handbag! I refused as I was able to carry both my handbag and hand luggage bag on outbound journey without any problems. Thankfully my sister was also travelling so I put her bag into mine! The airport is small, but what do you expect for Blackpool? No need for a car, plenty of trains about and good service!

For a start there are next to know facilities, other than a shop that sells all the 'tat' of the day, a small coffee shop with no food available and the toilets air-side consisting of an outdoor port-a-loo. We travelled though on 12th of April. After we had checked in we were informed that none of the security scanners were working, resulting in all bags being hand searched. This was one thing but after standing in the security queue for over 2 hours, only 2 flights were departing at this time, we found that 4 of the 9 security staff were standing in a huddle having a chat, while the airport manager was leaning on the wall. You also have to pay £10 'airport development' fee for the privilege of going through security! Avoid at all cost and pay the small extra to fly from Manchester.

I have read numerous reviews complaining of the car parking and the development fee. Yes the car parks are not smooth tarmac, but both are fenced with access control and CCTV so in reality they are as secure as most airports. As for the terminal I can imagine it struggles when at capacity, but for the majority of the time the slots are such that there is only one full size plane at a time and for this the facilities are fine. There is not the glitz of most modern airports, but for us this is a plus point. From check-in, though security and to departure gate is probably no more than 100 paces. There are not many shops, but a basic duty free shop, a cafe, bar and Newsagent.

Left to fly to Alicante. Checked in on line to save time but spent approx 50 minutes in a corridor queuing to travel less than 50 yards for security checks - they only have one baggage scanner. There were plenty of security staff on hand but they didn't seem to be doing much and only had one speed - very slow. Elderly people and those with young children would have struggled. As we arrived in the departure area our flight was being called. Our return flight back to Blackpool was delayed leaving Alicante meaning it would have arrived at 12.30am, Blackpool only stays open until midnight. The result was we landed at Manchester and had to be bussed back to Blackpool. The other problem at Blackpool is the £10 airport development Fee levied on every adult passenger. Goodness knows how much airport authorities have raked in from this scam but there is absolutely no evidence of any development taking place whatsoever. As for Blackpool International Airport, an airfield would be a more apt description.

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