Santiago de Compostela airport (Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ))

Member Name: siantone

Product:	Santiago de Compostela Airport (SCQ)
Date:	19/05/09 (15 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: lowkey and hassle free considering how popular the city is

Disadvantages: confusing baggage reclaim system when you land

Santiago de Compostela airport is known as Labacolla airport if you see road signs in the area. Although the city is a great place of pilgrimage you won't necessarily find many travellers/pilgrims on your flight as many will visit the city by walking there on the Camino Santiago. The airport thus feels like a regional airport rather than a major airport used to handling lots of international arrivals. The majority of passengers are flying between Spanish airports and so signage, announcements and refreshments are aimed at domestic travellers.

I flew in from Stansted on Ryanair- you can find the Ryanair desk in the main lobby. Note that other airlines have their desks elsewhere in the building.

You disembark on the runway but the airport is so small that it is not far to the arrivals area and your passport is checked within 10 minutes (there are not plane loads of people arriving from international destinations).

The confusing part was trying to find the conveyor belt to pick up my suitcase. The airport has five conveyor belts for luggage- three are in Hall A and two in Hall B. If suitcases are reclaimed in Hall A, passengers need to go to arrivals lounge A; if suitcase are reclaimed in Hall B for international flights, passengers need to go to arrivals lounge B. Keep your eyes open as this is not very clear at first sight.

There are four car hire offices in the main lobby- easy to use with English speaking staff who are very helpful. The cars are parked just outside in bays connected to each hire car company.

There are a few roundabouts to negotiate when leaving the carpark and airport envrions so again keep your wits about you as you can end up going round it the wrong way and cause a jam. WHen you come back to drop your car off do not try and park near the offices of the car company- these members of staff only want the paperwork and keys back. Instead park in one of the bays connected to the company and walk over to the office to hand in your keys. The Hertz people didn't seem that keen to check the car over about 30m away, very relaxed, letting me go into the terminal to check-in.

Summary: Recommended as the easiest and most hassle free way fo getting to a fabulous city