Paphos Airport

Agree with previous reviewer the holding cages are an absolute nightmare what on earth possessed anyone to come up with such an sadistic idea and even worse who approved it? I have often stood in that queue for well over an hour and only once less than 30 minutes waiting to board the 13.55 Ryanair in the Cyprus heat that is no joke. There are no seats it has a corrugated tin roof and with all the people under there it becomes more akin to a sauna. There is no understanding of where the priority boarding queue is the staff certainly could not care less if they tried. With all the problems dramatically referred to locally as "The Crisis" that Cyprus is going through one would have presumed the least they could do was look after "their Customers" who are bringing in that much needed liquid capital. As for the rest of the airport it is quite small although it is fairly quick going through the check in desks and past security. It has enough shops and refreshment areas so not a problem there it is clean and bright toilets are also clean. Security is the usual amalgam of surly jobsworths who think they are doing you a favour by being as moody and miserable as possible but that is hardly unique to this airport. I use this airport only because of the ease of access to my home to and from Stansted or else I would avoid like a plague.

The staff in this airport are rude. This is my third time flying from here and every time some member of staff has gone out of their way to be difficult.

The holding cages are a joke. Why is it necessary to have passengers moved from the departure lounge to these cages way before boarding their flight? It looks like a convenience for the handling agents and the airlines to have a quick turnaround. The cages have totally insufficient cover and very few seats so beware if the weather is wet or very hot as you will be soaked or fried. The new Paphos airport was looking good when it opened but this "improvement" puts it in third world category for passenger comfort. Flight was with Easyjet but have been told Ryanair also use the cages. I noted that there are now shop type stalls for Hamleys and a food company inside the departure lounge taking up even more space. This airport will be a disaster in the height of summer but who cares if the "customers" are treated like cattle?

Arriving was fine with no problems but I agree with the last reviewer on the holding cages. We flew from here on 4 December 2012 and were called urgently 1 hr and 20 mins before the flight was due to leave in fact our plane hadn't even landed. It was really cold with driving rain. We were herded into the cages where there were 6 fixed seats at the front and 6 at the back of the cage. These cages have 3 foot bars with spaces in between some flyover metal roofing and sail like material but with great gaps. There were many OAPs and several people with small children. This was a full Easyjet flight. There were many objections to this but the ground staff were unsympathetic. When objections kept coming the ground staff held the remainder of the passengers in the Terminal. The actual Terminal was by no means busy so it seemed ridiculous to hold us there. We were all soaking wet and frozen by the time we got on the plane. Goodness knows what the heat will be like in the height of summer with everyone on a full flight standing in these cages for an hour and a half. Buses eventually arrived to get us out of the rain but of course we were still standing and had to wait in the bus for some time I think the Easyjet pilot had realised our plight and insisted we were put on buses. He made an announcement to the fact that our boarding had been totally inappropriate and he would put it in his report.

What on earth is the recent installation of the Holding Cages all about. On a trip last Thursday to Manchester we were herded outside even before the flight had landed. Held in a cage for what seemed ages before being released onto the runway for the normal bun fight on our Easyjet flight. Fortunately the weather at the time was ok but goodness knows what it would have been like if the storms had been in full throttle. There appears only to be a handful of seats in each cage and our flight was carrying a large number of OAP's who objected to having to stand for so long. Goodness knows what will it be like next summer!

Flew from this airport twice last year in April and October and was surprised at how quick you can get through the airport. Flew in with easyjet from Gatwick and on both times we landed within 10 minutes of 2 other aircraft. So with around 500 people only 4 people at passport control you would think it would be a nightmare. Wrong. Was off the plane within 10 minutes of touch down and bussed straight to the terminal. Within 20 minutes me and the family (4 of us) had passed through security got our bags and was in the hire car! For our departures very little queuing time when you purchase speedy boarding only confusing part was the check staff starting checking in another flight to Manchester first which was actually departing after ours! No queues at security and was through very quickly. Only downside was the lack of shops inside the departure lounge. Although the duty free has a large selection of things this is all you really have. Very spacious and clean though and they dealt with the boarding process very well!

We landed to this airport with a Ryanair flight from Patras Greece. This airport is not very big there were 2 long lines to pass customs but waiting was not too long. The airport is connected to the cities of Paphos and Limassol by bus. Security clearance went smoothly on my return flight. There's a few duty shops after security and the staff at the information desk is helpful. Overall Paphos airport is good enough.

Only use this airport in the low season when it is adequate. But there is a strange anomaly in that passengers who have printed their boarding cards only have cabin luggage and so go straight to security then are called for at the boarding gate to change their boarding passes for another issued by the handling agent. This causes confusion and disrupts the orderly queuing at the boarding gate.

Airport unable to cope peak day on a Wednesday. Why only 2 out of 4 hand baggage scanners in use on the busiest day of the week? The air conditioning was not working properly. People sitting on the floor standing waiting for flights because of insufficient seats. Catering areas overcrowded by passengers who could not find anywhere else to sit. Flights delayed departing because of poor organisation of transfer buses from gate to plane. Avoid Wednesdays and weekends - nearly as bad as the old terminal.

Airport clean practical efficient. Avoid Executive Lounge - 40 euros each we were charged for small unclean cramped overcrowded lounge. Staff slow poor attitude - nothing going for it at all.