Malaga airport

Grumpy_chap

Malaga airport is not well arranged and the passport checks now seem to be specifically co-ordinated to cause the maximum inconvenience.

Whenever we fly, the check-in / bag drop only opens 2 hours before the flight departure time.  That seems constant irrespective of which airline.

You then do security.

You then have all the refreshment places, which are always very crowded.

You then go through passport control.  They still insist on manually stamping the passport, which is what takes the time, and that makes no difference if you went through the e-gates - they still require you to get a physical stamp.  IMO, the e-gate is a far more reliable means of assessing the number of days in a year spent in EU.  This is a management / political decision to require the stamp.  If that is the decision, the authorities should invest in sufficient capacity for the number of travellers - all part of the cost of operating the airport.

Once you are through passport control there are no refreshment / rest places of note.

It does seem, as though the passenger numbers have increased at Malaga and really exceed the capacity of the terminal.  Investment in a larger terminal is needed and, ideally, that would have the shopping & eating places on the air-side of both security and passport control.  That would then mean you can arrive, check in, security, passport, then relax.

NoodleDoodleMan

"Just not sure what you want TUI to do about it."

Persuade senior management at Malaga to have staff on duty organising/supervising queues.

That was the absolute root cause of the problem on 12/05/2024 a lack of a basic operating procedure IMO ......  AGP is the fourth busiest airport in the country.

TUI are a major league operator in the world of the Spanish travel industry and therefore presumably have influence in the corridors of power ?

The transfer coach took us from the hotel to airport in good time, not less than 2 hours - check in and security were conducted with minimal delay - no issues there.

Thanks to positive responses from recent travellers, that's encouraging.

la531983

All you can do is feedback to TUI then, the more people who do the more they will realise there is an issue and put pressure on Aena to deal with it.  it isnt a complaint against the airline you can actually make.

NoodleDoodleMan

Agreed, the following day I had my local travel agent forward a letter to TUI explaning the problem in detail.

TUI would not make any meaningful response other than to acknowledge the issue - the TA advised that that was standard, even though the complaint wasn't against TUI

I raised the matter with TUI direct a few days ago -  a least I got a reply this time, although it was equally lacking in substance.

They advise calling pre travel services to raise an enquiry.

In other words - a request to go way please, we don't care.

Unfortunately we can't get the hotel we want through Jet2, otherwise we'd have no hesitation in booking with them - they actually respond when you have a problem.

la531983

Suppose you could try and mitigate it, get there well before 2 hours by your own steam and join the check in queue, forget their transfer coach. Always found the train service very handy along that coast and it now goes under the airport (havent been since they moved it). 

unforeseen

Whenever we fly, the check-in / bag drop only opens 2 hours before the flight departure time.  That seems constant irrespective of which airline.

Seville is the same. It may be the way that AENA has decided to run their airports

Doshwaster

la531983 said:

All you can do is feedback to TUI then, the more people who do the more they will realise there is an issue and put pressure on Aena to deal with it.  it isnt a complaint against the airline you can actually make.

Then Anea's response is likely to be to raise fees for airlines to pay for better services.

NoodleDoodleMan

la531983 said:

Suppose you could try and mitigate it, get there well before 2 hours by your own steam and join the check in queue, forget their transfer coach. Always found the train service very handy along that coast and it now goes under the airport (havent been since they moved it). 

We've been to that same hotel numerous times and TUI have provided the coach transfer to arrive with sufficient time to allow 2 hours to negotiate check in and security before queuing for flights.

TUI have the check in procedure well organised with ample desks in use to keep passengers moving with minimal delay. Also, I don't think the check in desks open for specific flights more than 2 hours in advance

Our hotel is on the eastern Costa Del Sol, so no train service. 

The local authorities east of Malaga are lobbying for the coastal railway to be extended to serve the likes of Torrox and Nerja - however it seems to be making slow progress within governmental departments.

Doshwaster

NoodleDoodleMan said:

la531983 said:

Suppose you could try and mitigate it, get there well before 2 hours by your own steam and join the check in queue, forget their transfer coach. Always found the train service very handy along that coast and it now goes under the airport (havent been since they moved it). 

The local authorities east of Malaga are lobbying for the coastal railway to be extended to serve the likes of Torrox and Nerja - however it seems to be making slow progress within governmental departments.

They've been.talking about extending the coastal line eastwards to Nerha (and west past Fuengirola to Marbella) for at least 20 years

The UK isn't the only country which is slow at infrastructure projects.

Hoenir

NoodleDoodleMan said:

In other words - a request to go way please, we don't care.

Vast difference between not caring and having zero influence over another business. What leverage do TUI have? They could threaten to pull out from the airport. Lose their slots. Wouldn't achieve anything from a business perspective. People will still want to fly to this destination. As you know what it can be like. The choice is yours whether to continue to travel through this airport or find somewhere less crowded. Europe has plenty to offer.