Lanzarote Arrecife Airport

✅ Trip Verified | Terrible airport, especially for departure. There are 3 million tourists to Lanzarote every year. All arriving by plane. At this airport. Yet they still have not managed to install online-check in and efficient bag drops. It seems like a deliberate insult. When you leave and have spent all your holiday money, we don't care about you any more. Get lost. So Check-in is like in 1984, 50 m long queues on both designated check-in desks two hours before the flight. Horrifically inefficient staff. I had business ticket with Edelweiss airline to Zurich. The business counter was filled up with economy passengers. Staff didn't bother. There is no priority security. At boarding time, there is no priority boarding. This time staff shouted 'business class'! Only audible for about 4 meters, I did go through, but just had to wait much longer in an overheated bus for all the economy passengers. So business class here really is a financially masochistic exercise. A total waste of money. Even worse experience than economy. I hope more people would complain about this. How can it be that a country totally depended on tourists arriving by air are so useless in investing in this crucial first and last impression people have when visiting. I have been many times in Lanzarote, but every time I dread the ridiculous queues at the check in.

✅ Trip Verified | I have never posted a bad review, I simply don't return but our experience at the hands of a particularly heavy-handed security person at the gate has made me question if I want to return to Lanzarote. We had a wonderful time but were treated like criminals with the guard shouting in English, to his Spanish colleague to perform "extra security checks" on my husband. I was appalled and embarrassed then they did the same to me and I was left standing unsure what to do. I asked a female member what to do, who just shrugged her shoulders. Dreadful customer care! I appreciate security is important but this treatment put a real dampener on a lovely holiday. I suggest the airport spend time training these people to respect customers and not assume everyone is a criminal.

Not Verified | Waiting over 20 mins for steps to the aircraft to find over an hour for baggage to arrive. No information given for the delays. Terrible service! Not looking forward to the journey home!

Not Verified | The worst airport I have ever experienced. Despite arriving 2 and a half hours before our easyJet flight we nearly missed it. The queue for check-in was unbelievable. There were very few desks open and 3 members of staff standing around and having a chat. This queue lasted 75 minutes. Then was the queue for security which was like nothing I have ever seen before. We were in the queue for an hour, which stretched the whole length of the large check in hall. Once we finally reached the front the staff were rude and extremely slow. Once again there were staff members sitting around chatting whilst there is a huge queue! Cannot comment on the shops and other facilities as after queueing for a total of over 2-hours we had to run for our flight. People behind us in the queue missed the flight and airport staff did nothing to ensure they got on, even though it was their own fault. Also alarming that our passports were not even looked at on arrival.

✅ Trip Verified | My wife and I both need assistance and this was provided superbly; as far as we are concerned the airport staff could not have done any more. The area in the departure are for those requiring assistance has been moved and enlarged since we were last there; much improved

✅ Trip Verified | Check in staff were not the friendliest, no hello, please or thank you, no acknowledgement at all. Security staff also not very friendly, no need at all to be rude. Lady scanning the bags was also rude and wanted to make my life as awkward as possible, making me walk back through the metal detectors to put my bag through again with all the stuff of my bag taken out to go through. My flight from Stansted to Lanzarote did not make me do this. At the Lanzarote airport I was literally made to feel like a criminal. The staff need to learn to smile and learn some customer service skills. A smile, a please and thank you wouldn't hurt. The ladies toilets were smelly. I did like the range of shops though, the only good point I'm afraid. I was also quite concerned how when I first arrived at the airport after my flight, the passport security were not actually checking peoples passports, everyone was just being waived through which is quite alarming.

✅ Trip Verified | I was absolutely appalled by the way I was treated going through security at this airport. The woman who waived me through the electronic barrier stared at me with the most unpleasant expression on her face. On noticing I had sunglasses on my head she ordered me to take them off - I did so immediately. When I went through the barrier there was a bleep - I wasn't wearing any metal except a small pair of earrings. She then, again with the same awful expression, ordered me to stand to one side with the instruction 'wait'! She then continued to process other people through the barrier. At this point my partner turned and noticed I was being held. I therefore told him, fairly quietly, 'I have to wait.' The security woman turned to me immediately and ordered me not to speak. After a few minutes a male security person came towards me. He asked me for my case but I didn't have none - (my cased had been checked in). I indicated that I had a handbag which was still on the conveyor belt. I was not body-checked, but he proceeded with swabs to check over the contents of my bag and jacket, which was also on the conveyor belt. These swabs were then checked against an electronic device. Of course, I was totally in the clear - I assume this was a check for drugs? I was then let go. This whole experience really upset and annoyed me. In my opinion it is security wrongly and injustly exercised. I was made to feel like a criminal, when, in fact, I was a totally innocent holidaymaker trying to have an enjoyable time. The travelling experience is, I believe, as much of the overall holiday experience, as everything else. I believe that airports should look at the overall way in which their security staff and processes treat travellers - their customers - and exercise a more appropriate and relevant service. Surely, they can keep people safe, without treating them in such an appalling way. Also, the female member of staff who checked my suitcase in, was extremely sullen faced and unfriendly. It makes me wonder if airport employees somehow get a kick out of treating travellers with contempt.

Not Verified | Catastrophically bad. Utterly disorganised, no staff whatsoever, huge queues. At one point they just simply reversed the queue leading to screaming and an almost riot. Not one airport staff member visible or helping. We've been 3 times and other 2 were actually fine. This last one was so bad our children were in tears and we will never visit Lanzarote again after this. Such a shame as such a nice place but let down by the worst airport I've ever been in and I travel a lot. I don't know if it makes a difference but this time was a Saturday evening and wow was it busy, so if you're umming and r-ing about dates, I'd certainly vote a non weekend flight a better idea not that there's often a choice Shocking level of incompetence. Horrible horrible day, the anger and near violence really upset my children and I find that unforgivable. It's easily avoided by paying a few more ground staff.

Not Verified | Decided to wait until airport for duty free. Wow I was floored with the prices a £3 Toberlone in the UK is £6 in the duty free. 3 euro for a 500ml bottle of water - scam all the way. The actual staff though are brilliant. We did find a water fountain on the main stretch of shops. Shop your duty free before arriving

✅ Trip Verified | We departed Lanzarote Airport on the 10/11/2018 we used special assistance for my disabled daughter, the staff were extremely helpful when we approached them for help. When the special assistance people approached us they put my daughter at ease and explained to customs that she gets very distressed, they exported us through customs where the security were all smiles and encouraged Hayley to go to them, she normally panics with the machines etc, special assistance then escorted us to the seating area where they came back for us at boarding, taking us through boarding right up to the plane talking and smiling the whole time. We would like to say a big thank you for making our usually stressful journey very relaxed.