Blackpool Airport

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.

A basic and small airport which although advantageous at times is also its downfall. On the third time of flying out of here recently myself and my family were booked on one of the two flights scheduled to depart at the same time this showed how inadequate this airport is at handling more than one flight. The sole cafe in the departure was overwhelmed to a point where the lack of staff meant they could only offer bacon/sausage/egg barms instead of the other breakfast offerings such as a Full English. It is unacceptable that the facilities are not geared to cope with more than one flight. The second criticism is the car park. Spaces are effectively unmarked and in bad condition the overflow car park to the side of the terminal building is a large lawn with some tarmac for cars to drive along. The £10 Airport Development Fee - I am struggling to see how this could be justified there is little evidence of this having been spent since its implementation and little/no evidence of development plans with this money. If they were using this money then I wouldn't have much of a problem but as this is not the case I do. Overall I was not impressed with my recent experience.

Just used Blackpool airport must say what a complete shambles this place is - from so called car park to terminal which is very dirty and ill kept. As to £10 charge what do they use this for - it is not cleaning and refurbishment looking at state of place.

A small and quite basic airport. On arrival the baggage area felt quite temporary. It was small and a semi-permanent warehouse type of building. It was a kind of heavy duty plastic panel building. It was OK in summer but might be pretty cold waiting for bags in winter. Departing was fine clear and well signposted. The shopping/eating facilities were not great nothing wrong with them but just limited. The entire departure section of the airport appears to be 1 hall. So all the gates are easy to find and don't take any time to get to.

My experience of Blackpool Airport was not a positive one and I will certainly not be flying from this airport again. The free parking one of the airport's selling points is a less positive feature when you realise you are parking in a field a long distance from the terminal building. It would frankly be an insult to charge anybody to park on what is essentially a glorified field. The Airport Development fee though much needed in terms of the airport requiring a lot of development is also a very irritating element of this airport experience. There is certainly no evidence of this money being spent on the previously mentioned car park or in fact the terminal building which reminded me of a scout hut in terms of build and facilities. My experience was not helped my officious staff many of who were clearly on a power trip indulging in their own self importance. The highlight of this was in the cafe in the departure lounge where the man serving decided I did not have time for the bacon sandwich I ordered (without even knowing which flight I was on or in fact what time I was departing). The facilities are extremely basic. On our return entering the scout hut via a fire exit added to the sense of amateurism that surrounds the whole experience of flying from this airport. Unless flights were a complete bargain I would certainly not choose to fly from Blackpool again.

Nice small airport but agree that Airport Development Fund is a bit much. Hopefully it will be used to improve car park and signage. Had to park in a field masquerading as car park 2 no shuttle transfer so you have to drag your cases through the mud. Rest of airport is very pleasant with a nice departure area and on our return a very prompt luggage retrieval.

It was only after I booked a flight from Blackpool airport that I discovered our family would each have to pay £10 passenger Airport Development Fee which I think is too high. I now wish we'd chosen Manchester airport which does not charge passengers extra just to reach the departure gate. Blackpool airport is OK as it is without the 'enhancements' which are not always worth the extra expense.

A nice small airport with a friendly atmosphere. Unfortunately this impression is spoilt by the Airport Development Fee which is cheekily charged to all adult passengers (you have to buy a ticket for £10 before you can enter the Departures area). This does discourage me from using the airport. We were allowed to enter the executive lounge (with free drinks) but I'd rather have kept the £20 - it represented about 10% of the flight cost. I don't particularly want the airport to "develop" as it's a good small size at the moment and small airports tend to be much better than big ones (see how Liverpool Airport has deteriorated as it has "developed"!).