Detailed review by fluffy69
fluffy69
Torpoint, United Kingdom97%
LANZAROTE AIRPORT (ACE)
The airport is located on the South West coast of Lanzarote 3 miles from the capital of the island, Arrecife and about 3 miles from the popular tourist resort of Puerto Del Carmen.
The busiest day for Arrecife Airport is Thursday with most chartered flights arriving and leaving on this day. If you book a holiday to Lanzarote the chances are your departure and arrival date will be Thursday. Whilst a Thursday is a common day they do operate flights on other days, it may mean travelling to another part of the UK though.
Despite it being so busy on a Thursday it is always clean, airy and comfortable. In such a hot country it is quite nice to be in a ‘cool airport. The island is very dusty due to the winds, sand is blown over long distances and it is often volcanic sand (black). In many places the floors are so dirty but in the airport they are kept very clean and tidy which is quite pleasant.
TERMINALS
Lanzarote Airport (ACE) has two terminals. Terminal one serves international flights such as those from the UK. Terminal one consists of two floors with departures being on the upper floor and arrivals on the lower floor. When you arrive you will be on the lower floor where there are wide selections of car hire booths and taxi offices. On the top floor you will find a large shopping village with Canarian craft and souvenirs as well as food outlets, duty free and clothing shops. Terminal two serves the national (Spanish) and inter-island flights (those within the Canary Islands). The airport is full of international ATMs if you have spent all your cash on holiday and do want to buy duty free items. You must use your passport and boarding passes to buy items in most of the shops.
HOLIDAY AIRPORT: LANZAROTE
Arrecife Airport was featured on the famous ITV ‘fly on the wall series ‘Holiday Airport: Lanzarote. The TV crews went behind the scenes with ACE handling staff (Arrecife Airport staff). The airport maybe unheard of to many and only known by those who travel to Lanzarote in search of sun, however the documentary featured the ups and downs of a busy international airport.
In fact during 2002 we found that we had entered a baggage handling strike and our bags were then taken over Europe on the plane due to no one offloading them. The bags had a short stay in Germany, then a night in Madrid they then travelled to Manchester and back to Lanzarote safe to say our bags are better travelled than we are.
Erkin one of the famous characters of the show dealt with this problem and kept us up to date on the location of our bags later delivering them 3 days later. Despite this issue I have travelled into Lanzarote Airport over 7 times and to only suffer one negative experience I am pleased.
SECURITY
Security measures are high in Lanzarote however this is mainly to comply with laws than any other reason. Lanzarote is a very safe place to be. There are no political issues or threat of terrorism, this probably why the airports perimeters are so unprotected. The runway starts in the sea. Planes start decent in the sea and fly into the airport over a piece of corrugated iron.
This is a great place however to watch planes landing. On a Thursday you have the ability to see and take photos of many planes that are very low. The runway starts in the sea and continues onto the beach into the airport. In 1994 my dad found this lovely little stretch of beach, a sun trap with a great view. She soon learned however that it was also a very windy spot. As you can imagine the kickback of the plane engines combined with the usual windy conditions on this island this stretch of beach is more for the plane spotter than the batherswell unless you actually want sandy sarnies.
I wish I could display photos on this review as you really need to the perfect quality of a close up, over head image of a plane against a pure blue background to actually believe me. The pictures I have are beautiful and the sort of pictures you would only see in a professional aviation magazine. I cant think of many places in the world that would be as amazing as this, only seconds after going overhead the plane has touched down.
TRANSFERS
Taxis run a regular service to most tourist areas in Lanzarote for a cost of 10 20 euros, in fact you can get to almost any destination via taxi. If you are travelling a little further the ‘Arrecife Bus is regular and reliable and is very reasonably priced stopping at all popular hotels and apartments.
Many will be fortunate enough to have transfers included in their holiday package and for these people the tour reps will be ready and waiting at the arrivals lounge. They are easy to identify and whilst I cant really comment on this service as I have only used hire cars and taxis to travel to a from the airport but I have heard many people saying that it is good.
You can also purchase hire cars in the arrivals lounge and travel to your destination. The cars come with insurance and a quarter tank of petrol so are ready to drive out of the airport. All cars come with ‘English maps that are easy to follow. It is easy to navigate in and out of the airport which is a good thing when you are in a hurry. From the airport all directions and resorts are clearly labelled and are easy to follow. It is quite hard to get lost in Lanzarote and if you think you do the signs will get you back to a large roundabout leading off to your destination.
FLIGHT PLAN
The flight plan is what makes the journey to and from Lanzarote such a pleasurable experience.
On arrival to the airport the plane will fly over the volcanoes (from North to South) and will start decent over the mountainous terrain. The plane will then take a curved route out over the sea completely passing the island. The plane will then descend further in the sea, this is a terrifying experience for new passengers. I had explained the route to my partner who had explained to me that many airports are like this on landing he was speechless with awe. He pointed over to the beach and said I cant believe how close we are to the beach, there is only a fence separating it. I laughed. This is clearly one of those places you will never appreciate until you have experienced it. I would recommend sitting on the left hand side of the plane on arrival as you will see the beautiful coast of Lanzarote.
On departure the plane will fly off towards the Northern part of the island, over the mountains. Travelling through the low areas of cloud and being so close to the peaks and troughs of the many volcanoes is a great experience. On the journey home a seat on the right hand side of the plane will give you the best views.
From the North of England expect to travel over the Atlantic Ocean, North-West France and Mainland Spain you may even see a part of Africa on the route. From the South of England expect to travel over Atlantic Ocean, Mainland France and Southern Spain, the Balearics and possibly parts of Africa. On a sunny day pictures are beautiful from above so go prepared with plenty of batteries and disk space/film with your camera.
SUMMARY
Lanzarote maybe unheard of to many people but it is a beautiful airport. Many seen to forget how important the airport is when planning a holiday, especially when such issues as facilities, staff and baggage issues can severely ruin a holiday. This airport is pleasure to travel to and from and I would highly recommend the airport and Lanzarote as a holiday destination.
Aeropuerto de Lanzarote10
Ratings
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Accessibility
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"Must See"-Factor
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Budget Friendliness
