Small but sweet (East Midlands Airport)

Member Name: philip2001

Product:	East Midlands Airport
Date:	22/03/02 (153 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Location, Size, Personal Service

Disadvantages: Public Transport Links

I use East Midlands quite often as it is the most convinient one for me to get to, apart from the fact I live about 20 miles away, they serve Dublin which I commute to about 3 times per month.

======= LOCATION =======

The airport is situated right on the border of Nottinghamshire,Derbyshire and Leicestershire next to Junction 22A of the M1 motorway making it within east commuting distance for someone like myself. The M1 itself has excellent links with the M69,A50,M42 making it an alternative airport to the likes of Birmingham which sometimes can be a nightmare to get to because of the notourious M6! EMA is well signposted on approach to the junction southbound and northbound, after exiting the motorway it's a simple 5minute journey along a road running paralell with the main runway so you can't miss it!

======= PARKING/TRANSPORT =======

The airport has the normal car parks, long stay and short stay with the latter located near the terminal building. Prices fairly reasonable for anything under two hours, any longer then consider a second mortgage.
Using public transport can be OK, there is a shuttle bus that runs from Loughborough train station(the nearest station) only costs £1 but only runs on the hour! National Express Coaches stop here along with their subsidary Flitelink coaches.
Local buses run here from Derby,Nottingham,Leicester and Loughborough but tend to all arrive via the scenic route!

======= DEPARTURE TERMINAL =======

This terminal is only at the most 3yrs old.As you enter the terminal you feeel an immediate sense of space and unstuffiness.The checkin desks are well spaced and the terminal i sbathed in light both natural and artificial, creating a relaxed atmosphere. The normal tour operators desks are opposite the check in desks and with plenty of flight departure boards it would be impossible to miss you flight(don't take me up on that though!) When I was last there the pl
ace was busy with at least 7 flights checking in (alot for a smallish airport I might add) the terminal still seemed calm.
Not many shops landside,Boots and Virgin Records to name but a few.
A big choice of food and drink though, located on the first floor all over looking the apron, taxiways and runway.A great place to kill abit of time, beware food abit expensive for what it is(motorway style)

On entering the departure hall airside can get a bit congested but only due to the high diligence of the security staff who do an excellent job x-raying and random searching but that's only to be expected. Once airside there is a large duty free shop, cafe,bar and kid's play area.The gates are reasonably space out but over an excellent ground floor view of your plane being prepared etc...It can get quite busy though on the international side though, goods resonabley priced in the cafe and shops.
Staff are friendly and because it's a small airport the service is very personal. If your plane is parked in front of your gate it's just a short walk across the apron as they have no airgates here, however if your plane is some distance from the terminal then it's a short bus ride acroos the apron.

======= ARRIVALS =======
On arrival at the airport it does'nt take long to alight the aircraft as you don't need to wait for an airgate to be positioned just a truck with a ladder on it(not as bad as it sounds. Your baggage comes off quickly and can sometimes be off ond on the belt before going through cutoms. The arrivals hall and baggage belts is spacious and before you know it you are out of custome and into the arrivals hall itself to meet friends and family. All major car hire firms have a presence here except HErtz(who I use) thay are based in the Hilton Hotel on the airport but are quite ingenious,as long as when you book you give Hertz your flight number, they will have someone meet you off your flight with your c
ar.

Overall I would recommend this as an alternative to the larger airports in the vacinity as they also offer a wide choice of national and international destinations.
****Stop Press*******
Budget airline Go have announced that East MIdlands will be their 3rd base in the UK offering budget flights to Europe and the UK starting in May 2002.

Hope you enjoyed my views on EMA!

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