david891,

Please refer to our respective airline and What Aircraft? threads. Aircraft types depend on routes / destinations. If you post flight details you intend on taking on the respective airline threads, we'll do our best to answer them.

Darren

I dont think Air europa or Spanair will base any aircraft at Belfast but they will most definetly visit the airport.

Spanair operate A321's, A320's, MD-82'83'87's and also B717's

Air Europa operate B737-800's, B767-300's and A330-200's

I hope this helps a little.

Thomas Cook have a based Aibus A320. There will also be visits from the fleets longhaul Airbus A330 for flights to Orlando Sanford, Cancun and Puerto Plata. TCX may also rotate the odd Boeing 757-200 through Belfast on a "W" patern from another airport (ie Manchester - Palma - Belfast - Palma - Manchester not that im saying this is a genuine route only and example of a W)

Thomson Airways will have an A320 and I understand it will have occasional visits from a 737-800 doing W patterns with the Dublin based 737.

Could any 1 please tell me who the following handling agents hold flights for

menzies
aviance
servisair

thanks ever so much

david891,

Aviance, Servisair, BA World Cargo and Belfast Airport Handling Ltd are the main handling agents. Refer to Airliners.net for more information.

Darren

PS can you please not use text type as per the terms and conditions of the site, thanks.

Is there anywhere airside which sells healthyish food. Trying to avoid fast food when possible at the moment due to being pregnant. I like pasta and baked spuds. Will eat pizza as well.

cate_taylor,

There's a list of the food outlets on Belfast International Airports website.

Darren

Thanks Darren, I knew about the food village before security but couldn't remember what was in departures lounge. Pleased there's now a Starbucks, can't remember that being there end July last year, there was renovations going on though. Starbucks do good sandwiches/paninis so will probably get something there or maybe see if I can persuade hubby to go to Cafe Rankin as I know they do baked spuds.

cate the airport is being refurbished at the moment and right through the summer. I think additional retail and food outlets are to be opened, which IMO is needed.

Airside you have Starbucks, Paul Rankin Cafe, There is a pub (Bar des Voyageurs?) that also sells food but it can be quite pricey.

Shops - Boots(they have sandwiches etc), WH Smith, Currys, Clockwork Orange, Duty Free shop and I think thats it airside.

http://www.belfastairport.com/en/news.asp?id=430

Warning to all flying from Belfast International.

Keep electronic items down to the minimum. Both hubby and I had to open our bags after they'd been x rayed. I thought hubby had accidentally put something in his hand luggage that's on banned list and mine, I thought the problem was the earrings in my jewellery box. The man who id my bag realised that I was concerned that I might be about to have something taken off me and was really friendly down to saying the book I had was a good one and he's read them all. It turned out that the problem was that I had ' a lot of electronic things' close together in my bag which apart from mobile phone were in protective cases which meant there were 'lots of buttons'. By the time everything had been removed rrom the cases (yes you are allowed to have games consoles and ipods in protective cases, I thought maybe that wasn't allowed) and the electronic things put through the x ray again and the cloth to check for explosives run over the electronic stuff and after that, I'd repacked everything, hubby and I only had half an hour to get something to eat before we had to be at gate for boarding. Security staff did say that the checks on mine and hubby's bags were random but from what we or rather I could see, it did appear that a lot of bags being searched by hand were ones with electronic things in them. We got food in Starbucks as that was first place we saw after finally getting through security and a quick browse in the tax free shop. to easyjet who have policy of not opening check in till 2 hours before departure time at Belfast. Hubby and I won't fly from Belfast International once our twins are born unless we can time flight so that they're not due feed between check in and flight time.

In case anyone is wondering how much electronic things we had, here's the list and I don't consider it 'a lot'.

Hubby: Mobile phone, digital camera, personal CD player, Nintendo DS.
Me: Mobile phone, external hard drive, ipod, Nintendo DS.

I know that security is needed in this day and age. My main gripe is with easyjet who knowing that hold ups are likely don't open check in earlier. Coming back, we checked in at Stansted just under 3 hours before flight time. So it must be Belfast policy. The captain said once we were on plane that he was waiting for people who'd been delayed at security.

to security who let me by pass the metal detector and have a pat down search instead. They did say that most pregnant women walk through as I'm expecting twins, they wouldn't take any chances.

I had a similar experience at gatwick, in my bag didgicam,2 sets of batteries to fit,mp3 player 6 spare batteries to fit, mobile phone and charger, a quick bag sort and wipe [no re scanning] didn't take long

wizard

Thomson Airways have lost the contract for Spanair and Air Europa flying from Belfast International to Reus on a Saturday and Air europa flying to Ibiza also on a Saturday. Fights to Ibiza or now being operated by a Jet2 B737-300 on a saturday , Departing BFS @ 22:30 arriving 02:20 and returing to BFS @ 05:10.
Flights to Reus or now being operated out of George Best Belfast City Ariport by a FlyBe Bombardier Q400 aircraft alos on saturday , Departing BHD @ 14:15 arriving 17:50 and returning to BHD @ 20:05.

Has anyone on here flown from Belfast International with children/babies in last couple months? If so any tips on how to minimise chance of being delayed at security?

cate_taylor,

In theory, all airports operate to the same security standards so it's not just Belfast. The main thing is to make sure the contents of your hand luggage aren't going to cause you a problem, ie they meet the security restrictions. Make sure any restricted items are readily available for inspection, for example liquids and gels in a clear plastic bag and at the top of your bag. Minimise items in your pockets, especially anything metalic; keep as much in your bag as possible so you don't have to start emptying pockets. If you can take these steps to prevent any 'alerts', you'll have no problems.

Darren

Did all that Dazbo and still had to have bags hand searched due to having electronic stuff in them. Man who did mine said I had ' a lot of electronic stuff with lots of buttons close together'. All I had was ipod, Nintendo DS, mobile phone and External Hard Drive for laptop. From what I could see, they were hand searching any bags with electronic stuff in them although hubby asked if that was the reason and was told that it was random search. I can understand the need for securirty but in future I'm going to have all my elctronic stuff in a clear bag at the top or is outer pocket of hand luggage.

cate_taylor

Any electrical items will often require a hand search due to current security protocols. Unless you pack them in your hold luggage, you'll not escape it.

Darren

Thanks Dazbo. Am going to email both Easyjet and Belfast Airport to get some reassurance on this. Also going to ask on parenting websites if 2 babies age 4-4.5 months could be changed, fed and burped in 30 minutes. If it's possible then I would consider flying from Belfast.

Just to let evryone know that Belfast International is being seriously revamped. Stage 1 which is the new security area has already been done. I had all the liquids and gels in the regulation type and size bag. I also showed staff before joining the queue what hubby and I had for the girls. No problems there, when we put our bags on the roller I took my external hard drive out of my bag and put that in a seperate tray (thinking being that that might have been the item that caused hand search last year) and asked about the other electronic things (all of which were in see through bags and packed so they were at the top when my bag was put through the machine). Hubby had our camcorder in the bottom of his hand luggage. Neither of us had to have our bags hand searched. Maybe we were lucky but I think that the machines in the new area are more up to date and can see electronic things better than the older machines.

To explain where the new security area is, after you've checked in, you no longer turn to the right to go down to where the food hall is and then go through security, instead you go through the doors in front of you and then up the escalators or the lift to the new area. After security there's a short very open corridor before the food hall. There's then a very open corridor where security used to be which has WHSmiths on one side and nothing the other. The next phase is going to include airside shops being moved around, Starbucks is going into part of the duty free Shop and the duty free Shop is going where Starbucks is at the moment.

Maybe I didn't see them due to not needing them but there didn't appear to be many baby change facilities at Belfast International. Boots were out of Cow & Gate hungry baby milk but they did have stage 1 so I got that for the girls.