We caught the 6.22AM flight from Prestwick & all the usual outlets were open, but I'd have to say we found the airport rather grubby, the worst I've ever flown from, the Gents toilets were shut so we were using half of the Ladies!

I know the airport may be a little grubby but at this moment in time the airport only handles around 2 or 3 pax aircraft an hour at peak.

Does anyone know if those little sealable hand luggage bags are handed out at Prestwick airport? The ones for liquids under 100ml?

I have one bag from my recent trip to London - i was given it at Edinburgh airport. Will probably need another one for the OH (To carry the rest of my liquids no doubt, as he hardly has any!).

Thanks in advanced!

GG x

I don't know but you can buy them at supermarkets.

I use an ordinary re-sealable freezer bag - you can buy them from most supermarkets. So long as it doesn't hold more than a litre is should be ok.

Not sure whether Prestwick give them away or not, some airports charge, others are make them freely available.

A friend who's visiting me in Dumbarton for the weekend in early March, booked her flight with RyanAir last year. When she booked, the return flight was supposed to depart Prestwick Airport at 11.30am. They've now changed that to 6am, so she would need to be at the airport at around 5am-ish!

Any suggestions on single accommodation close to the airport? (even a decent B&B would be fine). I'm assuming that would be far cheaper than taking a taxi from Dumbarton to Prestwick? And of course no other public transport at that time of the morning.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you,

T

Have a look at the Manor Park hotel - link below:

http://www.manorparkhotel.co.uk/

Nivsy

Not a personal recommendation, as I have never used it, but there is a Premier Inn adjacent to the Dutch House Roundabout on the A77 at Monkton near Prestwick Airport.

There are some more hotels on the airport's own website:
http://www.gpia.co.uk/AirportInfo/hotels.asp

David

Thanks everyone - much appreciated. Will look into those.

Hi, I was wondering if anyone can tell me if, when flying out of Prestwick with Ryanair you normally get a shuttle bus to take you to the aircraft or does this airport have the covered walk way direct to the plane?

I want to know so that I can decide if it's worth paying for priority boarding. A friend has said that she and her family flew Ryanair (not out of Prestwick though), paid for priority boarding but that only got them on the shuttle bus before the rest of the passengers. Once they all got off the bus they didn't get priority to get on the plane. It was therefore a waste of money because as they were one of the first on the bus, they were one of the last off it again and most of the seats on the plane were taken.

Hi, I was wondering if anyone can tell me if, when flying out of Prestwick with Ryanair you normally get a shuttle bus to take you to the aircraft or does this airport have the covered walk way direct to the plane?

Neither, in my experience Janine. Any time I have used Ryanair at Prestwick, it was an open air walk from the departure gate to the aircraft. I have never been aware of the scrum which is often reported at other airports.

David

Hi David

Thanks for your reply. You were right we did just walk out on to the tarmac and into the plane.

Thanks for that info cos we did end up buying the priority boarding and it was well worth it. We got seats together at the front of the plane and got off first at the other end - in time to be the first in the queue for the car hire desk. Just as well as the queue was huge by the time we finished our paperwork and got the keys.

Cheers!

Looks probable that Ryanair are axing the flights down to Stansted late this year from Prestwick.

They have been on the decline over the past few years.

Nivsy

Cheap and very very nasty. Having used Airports throughout the WORLD I think Prestwick International is up amongst the worst place to depart or to arrive. Firstly the facilities are sparse, cold and unwelcoming, Then through the security, WARNING don't, Just DONT say anything to these people, They are hyper and looking for ANY excuse to stop you boarding your flight, If you manage to run the gauntlet of these persons you will enter a shopping area, Well sort off, No bigger than some convenient stores, Then the Cafe/Bar Very expensive, More so than major Airports of Manchester/Liverpool or Gatwick. and so called Departure lounge, again cramped with hard seating, Everything is over priced except the Newspapers and mags. but you want a can of Coca Cola, Sorry cant have, but you can have three for about £4.50. (Less than a pound outside) Then the real test of your strength, The GATE to the departure corridor, Guarded by Ladies and sometimes boys in pink shirts. "Stand in line" you will be ordered, "No reading in the queue Pay attention" Wow your back in the school playground once more. Weigh your hand luggage, One bag per passenger, "Excuse me, your camera has to go in your bag, Yes and your bum bag that's got to go in as well. now bring it to MY scales so I can charge you of it is a gram overweight" Oh yes they get a share of all money they can extract from you at the gate, If you have negotiated that without loosing your cool, Then the long walk to the Aircraft, Out into the open with the biting wind sweeping the airfield, Queues to board and everyone freezing by this stage. On the Aircraft eventually and a seat at last. Relaxed, No not really, You may need to return and that's even worse.
I found some the staff just doing their jobs but they are the cleaners and shop assistants, The Prestwick ground staff are consumed with power and the desire to give passengers the most hassle and discomfort as is humanly possible. You could complain, But no matter how valid your complaint would be, These Ayrshire people always stick together.

My advice, Leave or arrive at Glasgow or Edinburgh, Prestwick may be cheaper, If you get away at all., We will pay the little extra and use a major airport in future.

It would be interesting to know who you flew with because I suspect that you didn't have a Prestwick experience so much as a Ryanair one

Then the real test of your strength, The GATE to the departure corridor, Guarded by Ladies and sometimes boys in pink shirts. "Stand in line" you will be ordered, "No reading in the queue Pay attention" Wow your back in the school playground once more. Weigh your hand luggage, One bag per passenger, "Excuse me, your camera has to go in your bag, Yes and your bum bag that's got to go in as well. now bring it to MY scales so I can charge you of it is a gram overweight" Oh yes they get a share of all money they can extract from you at the gate,

In my opinion, all airports are overpriced when it comes to refreshments etc and I'm not especially bothered about the airport 'shoppping experience' - all this just comes with the territory - but I've seen exactly the same happen at the gate at Liverpool, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Birmingham. The common denominator has been that these have always been queues for Ryanair flights. And I can't say that I have much sympathy for those caught up in it - Ryanair's conditions re one piece and REALLY only one piece of handbaggage along with their weight limits are clearly set out on their website when you book.

All the gate staff are doing is enforcing company policy - one that they might privately agree with you is petty to the extreme - but it really is more than their job's worth to gainsay O'Leary on this. Ryanair's business plan is entirely built around offering a rock bottom, basic product at the lowest price possible and then finding as many ways as possible to make sure that they wring as many extras out of you as they can. The moral of the story is never ever think that the Ryanair rules don't apply to you - they do and they will be strictly enforced. Don't forget that the reason why Ryanair use Prestwick in the first place instead of Glasgow is because it is cheaper for them to do so. You only ever get exactly what you pay for with Ryanair and not a single thing more (even 1 gram!) which is why I never use them unless I really have not other choice of airline. And why I haven't used them in a while but I can't remember ever using an airbridge for a Ryanair flight - they all seemed to involve that wet, windy walk over the tarmac. I suspect because this too is prat of the cost-cutting on their part!

SM

One bag per person means just that. So they are correct in saying that your bumbag and camera have to go in it. Same as a lot of other airports - and airlines. No airbridges at Blackpool. Cold and wet there as well. All airports are expensive - captive market so they can charge what they like.
My hubby flew to and from Prestwick every week for 12 months and I don't remember him complaining about it.

I agree if you are not checking in bags with ryanair and I'm assuming you flew with them they do say quite clearly that one bag means one bag and any handbag etc goes into your wheelie case or holdall. What you do once past that check is another matter

Having said that though we have just this last week flown out of prestwick back to stansted and they were the strictest there I have found Ryanair to be.i always carry a small cross over body handbag (although I always make sure I have room to put it in my wheelie if stopped ) and must admit I usually get away with it . I did at stansted but our return from Prestwick was very strict . There was a guy checking everyone and getting as many people as he could to put their bags in the grate or weigh them .Based on this one experience only No chance of getting away with it at prestwick.

We also waited an hour at the car hire desk . Only 1 member of staff and they had run out of cars . It really is a small airport and all flights I saw with Ryanair only but we only paid 9.99 per flight so I've no complaints..

Glasgow Prestwick airport has been put up for sale by it's owner Infratil (who has also put Manston Airport in Kent) on the market.

Around 1.5Million passengers use Prestwick which has seen a recent decline in Ryanair flights. Freight operations using large wide bodies has however increased of late.

Nivsy

Prestwick airport is in the position where on some days during the winter it will handle just one scheduled passenger flight from its only scheduled operator Ryanair.

On landing at Glasgow airport yesterday I was surprised also empty apron with one A321 (the one that brought me from LHR) and handful of Flybe on the ground. Not one international stand was occupied.

It appears to me that Scotland would benefit from just one major central belt airport that could handle all of GLA/EDI/PIK traffic. It is obvious through recent trips that EDI is flourishing with carriers, Glasgow while attracting the "delights" (very tongue in cheek) of Ryanair fails to attract sustainable growth with new carriers and PIK is just about as low as it gets now.