Palma de Majorca Airport

It's ironic that my last posting on PMI should have referred to wheelchair passengers because on this latest transit my wife had temporarily joined their ranks. The PMI pages on the AENA website were a useful guide to what type of assistance we could expect but when we actually landed at Palma my wife needed to stretch her legs after 2 hours of sitting and so we walked slowly from the gate instead of waiting for one of the 7 wheelchairs which would have been needed for our particular flight. For our return journey we did use the PRM facilities which didn't work quite as smoothly as those at LPL. None of the special call points around the airport seemed to be operative so we had to report to the information desk in the centre of the check-in area for assistance to be summoned. We then had a wait of perhaps 15 minutes before assistance arrived a form was filled in (with copy attached to the wheelchair) and we were then taken to the special security area for PRM passengers. There appeared to be a relay system after security but we were allowed to make our own way to the gate rather than wait for the next available "pusher". And yes we did have the gate number long before it appeared on the screens for everyone else. A delay to our flight resulted in a Belfast flight being allocated to our gate and more wheelchair handlers arrived ready to assist PRM passengers onto that flight so we quickly had to explain that we weren't going to Belfast! One of the handlers was good enough to ring through to ask for the new gate for the LPL flight and even to wheel my wife to it. When eventually our flight was called PRM passengers were the first to board with more handlers to wheel them along the airbridge to the door of the plane. Unfortunately my wife's "pusher" talked loudly on his mobile phone most of the time leaving only one hand free to steer the chair and failing to avoid the bumps! The only time when he came off his mobile phone was when he saw an associate some 20 yards away down the airbridge and had a shouted conversation with him. My wife was glad to board the plane! So though PMI has a clearly defined system for PRM passengers its operation was not as smooth or efficient as we had hoped though no one was actually unhelpful. We didn't see any of the motorised buggies which used to transport PRM passengers so efficiently in the past but perhaps they are reserved for passengers being taken to the more distant gates as on this occasion we flew into and out of area A. As for PMI itself it was less busy than we've seen it on some occasions and there were few queues....but then we bypassed the main security area.

I know my name already appears several times for comments on PMI but a January transit provided a completely different experience from any of our previous visits. It was pretty quiet when we arrived on a Saturday morning after a long taxi round to area D though there was a queue at passport control as 2 flights ex-UK arrived almost simultaneously. Departing on a Tuesday morning though was positively eerie: the place was almost deserted and at security there were just 4 staff and 2 of us! I've never seen an airport so quiet. Yet even with only 3 flights departing during our 2 hours there we still had to wait a while before our gate number appeared on the screens. I can't understand the reluctance of airports to announce the designated gate well in advance because the staff who take wheelchair passengers to their departure points always seem to know which gate long before the number is displayed on the screens. Despite checking in online I even had to go to an easyJet desk (also deserted apart from the staff) simply to find out which area (D again) to head for after security. Is it to keep passengers on their toes that information is only released bit by bit?

Surprised to find how busy Palma was midweek halfway through October (not even UK half term week). Both inward and outward flights involved bus transfers from/to remotish stands and through area A which was fairly crowded. We were told on our return flight that one runway was closed so perhaps all flights were concentrated to just part of the airport. The result was shorter walks but busier concourses. Perfunctory passport control on arrival long queues at security on departure though the queues did move reasonably quickly. Even so some people had to queue-jump presumably to avoid missing their flights. Also there were lots of flight calls for named passengers who had failed to board on time. PMI is a very big and busy airport and you need to allow for this if you want to reach your gate on schedule.

Surprisingly efficient by Spanish standards or perhaps not so surprising considering that the main user appears to be Air Berlin and the majority of passengers German. A long security queue was cleared quickly the airport is spacious and pedestrian traffic seems to flow well throughout. Overall a good experience.

Back at PMI again but as this was early April it was noticeably quieter than on our previous transits. Easyjet flights seem to be using area C again after being in area A for a while so it meant we were back to the extra long cross-airport hikes. No delays at passports in either direction and quite swiftly through security on the return journey. We didn't have to take our watches off this time but there were notices advising that certain types of footwear would have to be removed e.g. ladies full length boots. The only minor hiccup was that our return flight to Liverpool seemed to be omitted from some of the screens which could have been difficult for passengers who had checked in online. Quite a few of the food outlets were not yet open but otherwise the airport seemed to be functioning efficiently. PMI seems to be one of the more congenial holiday destination airports so long as you are prepared for the long walks!

Good airport surprisingly efficient. It can suffer like most charter airports from peak time crowding but it seems to cope ok.

Much of what I said last year still applies to Palma in some cases even more so. My wife and I were on our own this time and travelling with hand luggage only yet both transits took approximately an hour. The chief problem on arrival was the passage through passport control: we joined a queue that stretched halfway along a main bridge/concourse and shuffled forwards slowly only to discover that the other equally large queue to our left had to filter into our queue at the end as there was only one man checking passports! Had he actually been doing any more than merely glancing at them it would have taken even longer still. Given the cursory nature of the check I did wonder what was the point of any check at all. (There was none at all on our departure in contrast to our experience last year.) The hold-up on the return journey was through security where the queues stretched back from a double and very long set of "chicanes" into the main concourse. Again it proved the case that the twin queues filtered into one (because of building alterations going on?) so transit through security took over half an hour. Security is still fairly strict with watches having to be removed but there are plenty of staff who seemed both efficient and pleasant. Even so transit at the height of the season (this was September) must be a nightmare. The metal detectors through which one has to pass also seem to go off fairly frequently: I set it off and the only possible reason was my spectacles which have never been a problem before. These delays apart Palma still seems to function fairly well: plenty of seats in the gate areas loads of shops etc (if you want them) though they don't seem particularly cheap and loos at regular intervals. You do have to walk long distances though and watch out for the electric "buggies" used to transport the less mobile. It was noticeable that there were frequent "last calls" for missing passengers so anyone departing from Palma needs to be aware of how long it can take from check-in to departure gate. Also if you do need to check in and have luggage the desks are on one floor and departures are on the floor above but the indoor route from the car park accesses the upper floor with limited lift availability to the floor below.

An airport for the energetic because of the huge distances to be covered from arrival gate to baggage reclaim or from check-in to departure gate. Everything seems to work well but there could be more lifts because access from car parking/car hire collection or return to check-in usually involves going up or down one floor with a laden trolley. Transfer of less mobile passengers is usually efficient but on our return journey from Palma to Liverpool yesterday the two elderly and less mobile members of our party were deposited at the wrong location and I had to start searching for them! Luckily I found them fairly quickly but it could have been a real problem. Security is thorough and slow moving: even wrist watches have to be removed. Passport control en route to departure gates was also slow yesterday: two queues 50 yards or more in length gradually combining into one with just one man to inspect the passports. All in all you need to allow plenty of time to make your way from check-in to departure gate: 30 -45 minutes at least.

We travelled via Palma Airport in Sept 06 and both ways it was clean efficient and friendly. It is enormous and seems well designed to cope with the number of folk who travel to Majorca each year. The shops airside had prices much lower than Majorca or UK.

We found it to be a very clean efficient airport - obviously noticably busier in May then in the winter months. I can imagine it must be heaving in July/August. Depending on where your aircraft lands you are probably in for a long walk although there are moving walkways to assist. There are plenty of toilets - in fact it seems that every gate has them. There also seems to be plenty of seating especially at the gates. Food quite expensive but then airport food always is. All in all - a good and pleasant airport.