Convenient Airport outside the city (Belfast International Airport (BFS))

Member Name: gpollock

Product:	Belfast International Airport (BFS)
Date:	13/03/09 (231 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Not too big

Disadvantages: Further away from Belfast city centre that the George Best City Airport

Belfast International Airport is Northern Ireland's main airport located centrally within Northern Ireland making fairly convenient to people from all parts of the country.

In terms of scale Belfast International Airport is fairly small compared to most international airports but it does cater for quite a wide and ever expanding range of worldwide destinations. Certainly a lot more than there used to be!

The main airlines which fly out of the airport are:
*Aer Lingus
*bmibaby
*Easyjet
*Continental
*flyglobespan
*Jet2.com
*Manx2.com
There are also plenty of chartered flights which go to all the well known holiday destinations!

There's not a great deal of shops or restaurants/bars at the airport. There are the usual airport shops such as WH Smith, Tie Rack, Nail bar and the 'duty free' shop but that's about it really. There's two or three bars, an internet area, a starbucks and a Paul Rankin Cafe but again nothing to get too excited about!

The airport is handy enough to get to and from with Belfast city centre being about 20 minutes away by car. It is very easy to get to Belfast city centre as it is pretty much a straight, pretty well sign posted journey to the city.

It is no longer possible to be met directly outside the airport for those being picked up. Due to increased security measures over the past few years it is only possible to leave people off quickly at the front door. Anyone going to pick someone up has to go and park in the main car park and pay the minimum charge of about a pound which is a good money making scheme for the airport! The majority of people these days tend to wait along the main road to the airport for whoever they're picking up to phone them on their mobile when they've landed with the result that there's usually a line of cars parked along the road waiting!

To get to and from Belfast if you don't have your own transport arranged it's probably best to take the bus. The Airport Express 300 bus now operates a 24 hour service between the airport and Belfast with buses departing every 10 minutes throughout the day. It's only within recent years that this has started going 24 hours a day which is a lot handier as many people travelling in on delayed flights in the evening would have missed the final bus into the city centre. The bus leaves from the bus stop located opposite the terminal exit and travels into Belfast via the M2 Motorway into the city centre, stopping in Royal Avenue, Castle Place and finally at the Europa Bus centre. The journey time normally takes about 30-40 minutes depending on the time of day and traffic conditions. During rush hour allow for an hour or more at least. Tickets are £7.00 single and £10.00 return which is much better than getting a taxi unless you are sharing a taxi with others. The slightly annoying thing is the airport bus to dublin also costs roughly the same for a 2 hour journey!

It's also possible to hire a car from the airport or else taxis are available outside the exit over to the right. Only taxis approved by the airport are permitted to use the taxi rank and a typical fare to Belfast City Centre is approximately £25.00 - £30.00. You may wish to phone one of Belfast's other taxi companies - value cabs or phonacab. Price's may vary slightly but they should be in and around the same price.

For those going on holiday and wishing to leave their car at the airport it is possible to park in the car park just in front of the airport which is very handy but very expensive! The short stay car park works out to be about £32 per day. The Main Car Park is suitable for customers wishing to park for a few days at most and it works out to be about £11 per day. After a few days though the price rises quite steeply and there is also a difference in price - cheaper if you have already pre-booked.

It's much better value to book into McCauslands or Cosmos across the road which work out about £8 per day and a courtesy bus takes you to the airport entrance and also collects you again outside the airport to take you back to your car. You can book your car in online in advance to save time and to ensure that you are guaranteed a space on arrival. I would always tend to use either of these companies rather than using the short or long stay car parks.

On the whole it isn't a bad airport. Even though it is a bit of a distance outside of the city centre it is still relatively convenient. For those arriving in from other parts of the UK and staying in the city centre the George Best Belfast City Airport is probably handier for you as it is located only a mile or two outside the city centre and is only about £5 into the city centre by taxi. Ryanair and Flybe are the two main airlines that fly into the city airport.

As airports go, the International isn't the worst i've been to! It's not so small that there's nothing to do at all (i've been in one like a shed in Sicily) and it's not so big that you get lost - or get your luggage lost!

Summary: Not a bad airport