Alicante Airport

Whilst the new terminal has the general ambience of better-known international airports corners have been cut in the detailing probably due to the Spanish economic situation. The car rental situation is quite ridiculous. I have been through the new terminal 3 times since it opened and the route from the car rental desks to the car pick-up area is confusing without any adequate signage. There are always groups of bewildered people wandering around lost. You have either to go down by escalator from arrivals cross the road and up in a lift or up in a lift from arrivals to a bridge cross over and then down in a lift (the levels are numbered differently on each side of the bridge). The car rental booths need to be better staffed to alleviate the long queues that build up. Everything is pre-booked so they know what to expect.

The new airport is a lot larger so be prepared for a route march to get luggage etc on arrival. Going back we had rude and unhelpful check-in staff. Food and drink is astronomical it will cost you about 7 euros for a sandwich and a drink and 2 euros. When we got to the allocated boarding gate there were no seats which meant my daughter sitting on the floor and elderly passengers struggling to stay standing for the 40 minutes we had to wait there!

I was treated at the control area with great disrespect. After taking off my footwear as requested I proceeded to walk through. As I entered the boarding side this security woman approached me and snatched my scarf from around my neck without any explanation As I speak Spanish this was completely uncalled for and in my opinion showed a vast amount of ignorance on her part. I appreciate that checks are necessary for the safeguard of passengers but she and maybe all of the staff there need a lesson in customer facing care.

Arrival from Stansted a breeze straight through immigration. On departure 10 minutes through to departures. Not keen on being forced to walk through tax free shopping area. New terminal very bright and airy although a long walk to Ryanair departure at area B. Extensive catering choice but as has been said already prices very expensive.

The irony is that since this new airport opened the frequency of some flights seems to have fallen. I refer especially to the internal flights from Alicante to Madrid particularly on Business Class. Iberia now only operate 2 flights per day compared to about 8 per day from the old airport. The parking is ok apart from the fact that only 1 level out of 5 is available for parking private cars Level 5 has been closed for months. While the catering facilities are good the prices are very high.

Nice new terminal building is a vast improvement on the old ones although there's a lot more walking involved. Processing was efficient and the air-side environment is very enjoyable.

Modern and convenient airport but lots of walking both upon arrival and departure. In the public area limited food facilities with overpriced offer: EUR13.40 for two sandwiches and a 50cl Fanta! Bus line C6 connects the airport to downtown Alicante every 20 mins - EUR 2.60 one-way travel time around half an hour. However bus schedules are rather approximate - each time had a delay of 10-15mins. Upon departure check-in was hassle-free - however=self-service machines are for Iberia flights only. No queue at security friendly staff with good command of English. Good air conditioning in the terminal. Limited seating areas at the boarding gates. Business lounge is spacious and fairly comfortable.

Arrival processing and baggage reclaim fairly quick but a lot of walking down shallow ramps that double back several times. Nevertheless only about 25 mins from gate arrival to exiting. Departures not such a good experience Iberia handling is very slow and not enough desks open for the number of departing flights (not really the airport's fault). However security is fast and efficient with no lines to speak of. Plenty of space airside but it was a quiet winter Thursday. Adequate food outlets but very expensive for basic items. Travel value shop to be avoided where possible as all prices are well above those in shops outside. The current terminals are operating at near capacity and a new terminal is due to open this year.

Went to Alicante today to collect relatives over for a 3 week holiday. Parking good and fair price. Arrivals hall terminal one fair but several broken seats in waiting area. Food at snack bar good quality but very expensive we live in Spain and know what is a fair price this wasn´t. Toilets at terminal one arrival dirty smelly no hand drying facilities as dryer broken no soap available no paper towels. Disgusting state and NOT representative at all of Spain. Poor introduction for first time visitors. Those responsible should be ashamed.

Modern and clean airport. However on the airside of the airport cafes prices were expensive with poor quality sandwiches and snacks - a pack of sandwiches with uninteresting filling cost about 5 Euros which is even more than most (low cost airlines) charge. Tax Free (?) shops has reasonable selection of wines cigarettes and other products.