Coventry Airport

I live in Valencia and work in the UK and use the round trip service fortnightly and have done so from the beginning with thomsonfly. Although the facilities are small and limited at Coventry this seemed to be reflected in the cheaper flight prices and at the same time suits my needs of a reliable bus service to and from Valencia. But recently I have noticed the flight prices increasing without the offer of discounts for regular flyers with this in mind I have looked elsewhere. Staff at Coventry are polite friendly and helpful but it will be all in vain if you have no customers.

Use the airport regularly and it's great parking facilities are next to the terminal so no need to go on a five mile cross country slog with children in tow nor wait for a packed shuttle boss and try and cram all luggage and children on board. As stated before the airport is small and basic (understatement) but then again I don't use airports to sit in or spend all my holiday money in shops before i even depart the UK something which I think happens at many of the larger airports. A very short walk from the terminal (the interim passenger facility as it is more technically known) to the plane and then you are away on your flight. Coming back is so easy as well the arrivals area is a seperate building from departures. If two planes arrive at the same time then I am under the impression that one has to wait for a short period of time foir the arrivals area to clear. However after disembarking getting through passport control and getting to the baggage claim belt we were waiting for about two minutes and then hey presto the bags started coming through. Again a very short walk to the car park (ever present taxis and an hourly bus service to/from the railway station and city centre are also available) and we were off...home within 30 minutes of landing...at a bigger airport just down the A45 I have been waiting for 30 minutes just for the baggage carousel to start revolving. All in #all it is basic but it does exactly what it says on the tin - it's a building (well two buildings) for passengers getting to or arriving from a city by air - and it does this with minimum of fuss and least amount of time. In some ways it is a good alternative for any inbound passengers wishing to avoid the congested London Airports - the bus to the railway station and frequent trains to the centre of London could have you in the capital very easily. Here's hoping for the new terminal an increase in services and more airlines. I know I shall be a regular user of Coventry Airport and so shall my friends family and colleagues for many years to come.

Flew from Coventry for the second time. We found the trick was to check- in and then go to the café across the road before continuing to departures. (There's nothing there but a little 'shop' and toilets.) Watch out if there's 2+ flights as the limited seating can fill quickly with full flights. No problems with the baggage or staff. Return flight was cancelled however due to 'inappropriate landing facilities' at the airport due to the bad fog. Small airport good in general but could do with some major improvement if there's going to be a big passenger increase.

This was the first time we had used Coventry Airport to travel to Barcelona. Having been used to departing from the larger airports oh how we laughed!! The porter cabin style check in and the cattle shed style arrivals made us laugh and laugh. The coffee shop was like having a cup of tea in your front room. What fun to be escorted to the plane by the same person who checked us in we wouldn't have been suprised if they had flown the plane too! The only hitch was when we arrived back there was already a flight in we were held on the plane while they found someone to escort us to the so called terminal? We giggled at the thought of someone shouting "Stan! Can you leave the loo cleaning and get the next lot off the Barcelona flight?" We will be using Coventry again if only for a good laugh.

I travelled from Coventry to Naples this year and found the airport limited but satisfactory. The checkin area reminded me of the old days with cardboard flight destination signs and this was an area that could be easily changed for the better. The lines crossed each other to the destinations and did cause some friction between customers. The car parking was an experience but again was satisfactory. I do not understand why the local bus companies especially those going to Leamington. Stratford do not call in. On returning the baggage was certainly a LOT better than Birmingham so a plus there. In the departure lounge there was a good choice of food and drink at great prices - no rip off here. Also a small point . The newspapers were out and available from about 0500. Birmingham they are still under wraps at 0600. Good value and friendly. Hope they get permission for the bigger one soon.