By this time the tannoys were urgently calling the Gatwick flight (they had been on our transfer coach) so all those passengers had to push their way to the front through those 7 rows of tightly packed passengers. This was followed a few minutes later by appeals for the Manchester flight (also on our coach) so more chaos as those had to push to the front. At the actual screening my wife literally received a hard push in the back through the screening arch from a female officer. There was very little room, nowhere near as much as at Corfu, to collect your possessions from the tray and get dressed again. It was utter chaos!
Just had time for a quick visit to the loo and grab a bottle of water before we boarded and we had arrived 2 hours 40 minutes before take-off time.
I agree about the airport at Corfu. I have been to many greek islands, most with much smaller airports than Corfu, but the experience we had there put us off for life from ever visiting there ever again. It is typical of Greece to put all the flights landing or departing on the same day, they probably get away with not paying the workers every day that way!! but the airport was so crowded when we went, there was not a square inch to stand, let alone sit down. It was a real health and safety issue. This was not the worse thing, I have to say I did not find the people as friendly in Corfu as I had in other Greek resorts, to me they are seemed a little jaded by the English. (By the way I never holiday in the mad resorts, here we stayed in Paleo) Anyway we had a terrible experience with a woman in the airport, she worked on the perfume/gift counter. I was having a drink of juice at the end of her counter, trying frantically to find some space anywhere and she decided I had put some rubbish (food wrapper) on her counter. She started calling me all the names under the sun, telling me I came to her country to litter, I was ignorant etc etc. I told her it was not mine but she did not listen, and actually flicked the wrapper at me to get it off her counter. An argument then ensued as she would not listen and wanted us to move quite a few feet away from her counter (there was nowhere else to go!!), another man got involved (saying it was a disgrace etc) So she then announced she was getting the police. I was terrified, and on the verge of tears ( we all know the police are armed there) Anyway the policeman turned with his gun!! and before we could say anything the man who had got involved and had a baby started telling the policeman he had nowhere to sit with his child, it was roasting and the woman was being unreasonable behind the counter. He apologised about the situation and led him away (without speaking to us) to find him somewhere to sit. That left us with the woman glaring at us until our flight was called, Horrible!!!!
Must admit I have just used this Airport when I came back from a Cruise, and thought much the same. The check-in was ridiculous, there was queues outside in tram lines, across the other side of the road there were coverings with more passengers, presumably in case it rained or to shield from sun, and took forever to get inside. You then checked in, without your luggage which you took to another queue and loaded that on a convenyor belt and then queued again to go through passport control to come come out the other side with toilets that you had to queue for, one food/drink place which I did not even bother with as queues so long, and seats were just not enough of.
We flew in to Corfu with on Sunday 12th Sept. & came home last Wed 22nd. Never experienced any trouble or delays at all ( and that was with EasyJet ). Could i suggest anyone going to somewhere with a small airport do a bit of planning first, & be prepared for a few problems especially during peak times, don't expect it to be like Gatwick or Heathrow. Oh, & if you couldn't cope with Corfu whatever you do don't ever go to Dabolim airport in Goa !!
If you fly Easyjet you just stroll into the airport and check in, no worries!! All the people in the Q are on a package holiday and the reps let a few in at a time. Should have seen the airport 10 years ago, a right mess!! The tour coaches drop people off far too early and the check in desk is not open, hence you are kept outside untill they do so. Take a taxi and just stroll in through the arrivals hall which connects to departures, simples!!
Before getting off the coach our Thomas Cook rep informed us all where to queue for the flight; two lots on the path outside the airport and one lot over in the shaded area by othe outside cafe. Three lots of flights were leaving from our coach and I say luckily we only had to stand in a queue for about 40 minutes outside. Yes it was hot but bearable as I was prepared for a wait after reading up on the airport and so came armed with the last of my mossie spray and bottles of water for the kids.
Once inside you immediately notice how small the check in area is, however the reason for it looking so cramped is to the left and right there are check in desks and queues in the middle for security checks. It is a bit different here when checking in compared to other airpoirts as they take your luggage seperately.
At the check in desk you get your boarding pass and they weigh your luggage. Then you take your cases to the far left and right end of the row of check in desks to the x-ray machines, this is when your luggage will leave you. After that you will then join another queue to go through security. There are plenty of reps and airport staff around to help so no need to panic feeling helpless or lost.
Once through to the departure lounge there are the usual duty free shops, restaurant and toilets etc. There are screens all around showing the flights and to be honest because we only waited for about an hour in the lounge the wait was bearable. The lounge is air conditioned but it does get busy by the constant stream of people flowing through. Get yourself a seat and chill! Hope this helps.
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