Edinburgh Airport

Edinburgh airport is a small regional airport and is one of the best I've been in. Check in was quick and efficient as usual. Land side there was a number of shops and a newly opened/refurbished food hall which was clean and well maintained. We were able to pass through security within 3 minutes without any problems. The first thing I noticed airside was that all the windows had been boarded up making the gates look dull with poor lighting. I initially expected this had been done for security but I found out that they are currently increasing the size of the lounges and they will be opened in phases between 2009 and 2010. Virtually the same facilities are available airside as landside so I wouldnt bother spending anytime landside and go straight through.

Dropped off couple of yards from entrance by Edinburgh Park and Fly so no problems or hold ups for travel to airport (Edinburgh is having some major roadworks in the city centre at present that could affect journey times out to airport (8 miles) until maybe 2010) or with on site parking rates (make sure you use the correct car park for the duration of stay or use an off airport service for better rates). Busy on a Monday morning but no queue at check-in which is ground floor then upstairs to dept. lounge. Joined security queue at 10.05 out to lounge at 10.25. Most gates being used no real hold ups just number of pax. Signage in lounge quite clear on overhead electronic boards. Avoid the duty free shops though - still high priced compared to many other airports. 3 coffee bars and cafes if wanted. Sufficient seating for number of gates. Some wifi available if needed. Pleasant airport to use - fine for the volume of business and though looking to expand the operation at present the lounges can cope well with the volume of pax.

Old and sad inside. It has a small feel about it and this makes it quite crowded. The land side is pretty poor and check in is not good. Once through to airside it is also pretty spartan and as you approach the gate give up all hope of creature comforts.

I am a regular user if Edinburgh airport and find it a pleasant experience. I do however have three moans - baggage delivery can be very slow. Recently even though I was last off the plane I noticed that there were still no baggage handlers in the vicinity so obviously there was going to be a delay. Short term car park is very expensive and makes picking up people expensive as well.

I was pleasantly surprised with Edinburgh Airport. Flying to Milan-Malpensa return I found security speedy yet thorough and the Departures Lounge was comfortable with loads of seating and a good selection of reasonably priced bars and shopping facilities. Toilet facilities very clean and tidy. Checking-in and boarding was also quick and easy. Generally the airport has a very comfortable and welcoming feel.

EDI-LHR T1. From the check-in kiosk to clearing Security was this time 20 minutes but that owed a lot to the time of day (0800) and this time of year. The queue this particular day was a long one but they worked hard to keep it moving. However I don't see where they could add additional security screening capacity - short of taking out two shops to provide some sort of Business Fast-Track.

From the bag drop (had checked in online) to past security and airside was a shade over ten minutes and this at 1630. Can't really complain about the airside facilities or indeed much else. On the return leg the baggage was at the carousel by the time we had got there. The only problem was being held up by the bus service for twenty minutes because they couldn't get it to restart and a whole bus load of pax and their luggage had to change to another vehicle (but this is a Lothians Buses problem). Otherwise I still rate it a very good airport in the 5m - 10m passengers per year category.

I have not used this airport as frequently as some commentators but I was recently there and disagree with some of the previous comments. True it is busy and needs additional facilities also the shops and restaurants are usual BAA fare but there was plenty of seating and information was good - my outward flight was delayed but not really due to the airport (the local weather was poor when it appeared very good everywhere else in Britain). My real disagreement is with transport links there is a bus to the city centre every 10-15 minutes which costs £3 and when I used it took less than 20 minutes which seems as good as any other airport I know of in Britain. Obviously it will take longer when the traffic is busy however there is much publicity about a tram to link the airport and city to be opened in a couple of years so it is not really fair to say the problem is not being addressed (albeit rather late).

Unfortunately I have lost confidence in Edinburgh Airport. The last few years have seen it improve a fair bit from where it came from. However there has been a period of growth over the last year or so and the airport is struggling to cope. The transport links to the airport are poor and appear to be getting worse. There is no word of any investment into improving the traffic problems in the area either. I also find the queuing times in Edinburgh mean that the time spent in the airport is no longer enjoyable while it seems that delays hit the airport more and more. I travel to Heathrow often and use Edinburgh but it would appear that whenever a flight is to be cancelled it is from Edinburgh. Leaving us passengers late for business meetings. Coming from Kirkaldy Fife I am delighted to see the upturn in Dundee's airport and I will certainly be using Dundee as opposed to Edinburgh from now on.

Despite the increase of passengers in the recent years Edinburgh Airport remains still a small and cosy airport. There are however few issues which could be improved; those are: playing area for children better connection between Glasgow Airports and a safe cycling path from the city centre as well as other parts of Lothians for the staff commuting every day to work like me. Although Edinburgh Airport is a non-smoking airport it is difficult to believe it simply because the smoking area outside the terminal limits to one bus-like shelter very poorly signposted so people smoke just at the exit doors.