Terminal Illness (Reus Airport Barcelona (REU))

Name: stoffy

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Product:	Reus Airport Barcelona (REU)
Date:	18/07/02 (12601 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: situated in a good location for Salou and Tarragona

Disadvantages: poor security, lack of facilities

Reus is the second-string airport to Spain's second city Barcelona, a sort of Luton airport if you will, only without a name-check in an advert. Reus is actually in the middle of nowhere, about one hour's drive south of the Catalonian capital in the heart of the Costa Dorada. Where as most holidaymakers tend to use the main airport in Barcelona for travelling to north-east Spain, my holiday allowed me to sample the delights (ahem) of Reus. Reus tends to be used more for people wanting to holiday in Salou, and other resorts in Tarragona rather than those heading for the big city.

Unlike the busy Barcelona airport, (the one where you'll end up if you fly with EasyJet's cheap return package), Reus is much less busy, and where a plane spotter can finish a full flask of minestrone soup without having so much seen a jet in the air. In terms of numbers, 3000 flights and 630,000 passengers are annually handled at Reus. The fact that there are only 9 or 10 flights a day to and from Reus gives you an indication of its minuteness.

My flights to Reus was from Manchester airport via Britannia Airways, and took a fraction under two hours. The flight was my first ever time on a plane (yes, I had gone 20 years without sampling the delights of airline food...), and after the experience of miles of moving walkways and acres of shops in Manchester, I was somewhat surprised to see the plane land on a strip of grass that resembled a big school playing field rather than an airport.

After landing and entering the airport building, we were required to flash our passports, before receiving a customary nod from the 'checker' (although I got the distinct feeling that even the most blasé terrorist would have also received a tired 'Si' before being allowed to move through...).

There was then the fun trying to get our baggage (we had been delayed by 3 hours on the flight and it was 11pm Spanish time by that point). Aft
er about 25 minutes, the baggage started to come through a conveyor belt. The only problem was that on a flight of 300 odd people, the conveyor belt only had room for about 12 bags before everyone's swimshorts, bikinis and lilos disappeared around the back.

It reminded me of the 'Generation Game', and of Bruce Forsyth's chin whilst the TV studio audience yelped in delight as an oversize novelty teddy bear appeared into view. So much so, that when I was transported back to the real world, I glimpsed my suitcase slip round the back at the last minute. Whilst lots of angry Mum's and Dad's tried to scramble for their cases ("get back from there Thomas, it's dangerous!" they would say, before snatching their holdalls from the fast-moving conveyor belt with the finesse of a hippopotamus on ice), I sat back and waited for mine to come around the block. And oh how I waited...

After I finally manage to track down my bags (and my tour rep), it was off to go and enjoy a fantastic holiday in the sun, and forget about the trauma of airport...

Just under 7 days later, I returned to the airport. Browner and a lot poorer, we were told there was going to be another delay on the return flight (not the airport's fault at all, mind). So we sat in the waiting area after checking in. This was clean and was relatively spacious, although there was a lack of entertainment for children and adults alike, and the shopping area consisted of a tiny gift shop selling overpriced imported fudge.

Luckily for us, we had no queue for our check-in desk, which was a good thing as I didn't start fudge-shopping out of boredom. However, the other flight leaving at roughly the same time had a horrendous backlog that took about an hour to clear - not exactly what you want to be doing on the last day of your holiday. I got the feeling that they were just a little bit understaffed...

The main duty-free area was
in the departure lounge, but it wasn't overly impressive. Although it was as cheap as you may expect, there wasn't the range of choice that you had in Manchester duty-free.

Perhaps the most perturbing thing about the airport was the complete lack of security. Upon boarding the plane, a flash of a ticket was all that was needed, and my passport remained firmly in my pocket. This was a complete contrast to the security-tight Manchester, which had passport checking points in at least 3 points. Manchester airport also checked our passports upon our return...

Although there was the requisite scanning of both yourself and your hand luggage on the way back, it felt rushed and not very thorough. I think that this just goes to highlight the inconsistencies in airline security. Although I never at any point felt less than safe (I'm not sure a chartered flight back to Blighty from Tarragona was ever going to be a number one terrorist target), the principle remains that it would have been extremely straightforward to have smuggled anything on board. It actually turns out that I had a lighter in my hand luggage (which I only discovered on my return), which was a prohibited item according to the airport rules. If they didn?t spot that, what else would they have missed?

Although I didn't have a directly bad experience at the airport, (i.e. no lost luggage or massive delays), the laxness of the security was really surprising. Although my airport experience is extremely limited, I've come to the conclusion that either UK airports must be extremely cautious, or this particular airport lacked adequate measures to prevent any major safety issues from arising.

However, there are some positives about Reus. There were taxis in plentiful supply outside, and although this was to be expected as most holidaymakers were in package holidays with pre-arranged transport, it would be a welcome relief for the independent travel
ler. Also, the car park is barely a 30 second walk from the airport terminal, so there isn't a couple of miles to navigate before you find your lift...

North-East Spain itself is a fantastic holiday destination, and I wouldn't hesitate to go back there, even if it would include having to use that airport (after all, the standard of the airport you fly into is only a tiny part of a holiday...).

However, if I do go back to Reus again, I'll be careful to block out any memory of Bruce Forsyth whilst I'm trying to find with my baggage on the carousel...

Summary: