Marignane-Provence
Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) is the primary airport for the Provence region. Situated 16 miles (27km) northwest of Marseille, the airport is the primary hub for resorts such as Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, and Miramas.
Flights to Marseille Provence Airport come from all over Europe, including London, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Casablanca, Barcelona, Lisbon, Geneva, Milan, Brussels, Amsterdam, Rome, Helsinki, Ajaccio, Venice and Athens. There are few intercontinental routes, including flights from Montreal, Ouagadougou and Mauritius.
Processing more than 7 million passengers per year, the airport built a new terminal specifically for budget airlines; however the terminal is generally regarded to have a “budget” feel to it, and can have uncomfortable waiting periods and a lack of seating in busy periods.
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Merignac
France’s wine region is world-famous, with its rolling hills layered in vineyards and dotted with cozy villages. While most visitors to the country fly into Paris, traffic to regional airports such as Bordeaux Mérignac Airport (BOD) is increasing steadily. Located in the town of Mérignac, six miles (10km) west of Bordeaux, the airport is small and efficient, saving passengers much of the hassle and queues that have become synonymous with major hubs such as Paris’ Charles de Gaulle International Airport.
There are almost hourly flights to Bordeaux Airport from Paris, and daily flights to nearly all other French airports. In fact, it’s possible to fly almost anywhere in Europe from Bordeaux, including weekly services to London, Prague, Geneva, Madrid, Amsterdam, Lisbon and Milan.
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National/Zaventem
A busy European airport, Brussels International Airport (BRU) is well-situated for further flights around Europe and Asia, but handles traffic from all over the world. Brussels Airlines is based here, and flies directly to more than 40 cities around Europe. Most recently, Thai Airways International and Brussels Airport have established a direct route between Bangkok and Brussels.
Located 7 miles (11km) northeast of Brussels in Zaventem, the airport was awarded Best Airport in Europe by the Airports Council International in 2005. Although that was a few years ago, the level of service hasn’t changed, and the airy and spotlessly clean airport is a genuine pleasure to use. You should, however, keep your belongings close at hand, as pickpockets are becoming more common, especially in the public areas before security. Also note that staff shortages have seen the average luggage collection wait-time increase to over 30 minutes.
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Newcastle
Located only 5.8 miles (9.3km) from the city center, Newcastle International Airport (NCL) is easily accessible by train, bus or taxi. It's currently one of the 15 busiest airports in the UK, with several daily domestic flights to Newcastle Airport arriving from London, Belfast, Southampton and Bristol.
Newcastle itself is a compact, friendly city known its nightlife, music and sport. The city has seen greater domestic and international tourism over the past few years since it regenerated. It is now considered to be a trendy cultural destination, gateway to areas of outstanding natural beauty such as the Pennines and the Northumberland coastline.
The airport has several shops, restaurants and kids’ play areas, and is well equipped.
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Norwich
Norwich International Airport (NWI):www.norwichairport.co.uk is 4.5 miles north of Norwich.
To/from the airport:First UK Bus (tel: (01603) 760 076) operate a service between Norwich city center and the airport terminal. The X5 bus runs hourly.
Facilities: Bureau de change facilities and ATMs are available. There are two bars, a restaurant and a café in the main concourse and the departure lounge of the airport.
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Okecie
Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport (WAW) is just six miles (10km) from the center of Warsaw, and is the primary airport for Poland, serving nearly 9 million passengers per year.
LOT Polish Airlines and EuroLOT offer plenty of flights to Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport as they use this facility as their regional hub. The airport also has plenty of flights connecting it to various cities across Europe as well as Istanbul, Casablanca, Reykjavik, Tel Aviv, Minsk, Kiev and Moscow.
Passengers with time to spend at Chopin Airport will be pleasantly surprised as there’s a lot to do. The business lounges are great and the shopping and restaurant facilities can keep a person happily entertained. Also, the airport has a number of kid-friendly facilities and shops.
Warsaw’s airport is easy to navigate with both terminals housed in the same building. The airport is also well served by public transport and taxis, making it easy to get to and from your hotel.
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Orly
Often overlooked as a poor relation to the mammoth Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Orly Airport (ORY) is nonetheless a great facility. Operated by Aeroports de Paris along with its more famous sibling, the airports share state-of-the-art facilities and efficient services that usher millions of visitors into Paris each year. Far from being an also-ran, the small Paris-Orly does its share, processing more than 26 million passengers each year.
Many frequent travelers like the shorter queues and more personal feel of Paris-Orly and there are some cheap flights available via low-cost carriers such as easyJet and Flybe. The trade-off is fewer destinations to choose from, although flights to Paris-Orly are available from a number of cities, including London, Milan, Berlin, Kuala Lumpur, Ouagadougou, Antananarivo, Athens, Budapest, Geneva, Madrid, Istanbul, Lisbon, Havana, Barcelona, Ibiza, Casablanca and Malta. There are also frequent local connections to other French airports such as Nice, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier and Ajaccio.
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Oslo
Oslo Airport (OSL) handles more than 18 million passengers each year and is the second-largest airport in Scandinavia. Situated in Gardermoen, just 29 miles (47km) north of Oslo, the airport is well connected to many cities across Norway. It takes less than 20 minutes to get from Oslo Airport to Oslo Central Station on the fast and efficient Airport Express Train.
A single terminal with two piers branching from it, Oslo Airport is easy to navigate. Passengers using the airport will find that it’s well stocked with shopping opportunities and duty-free options in the departures and arrivals sections of the airport. The restaurants and bars at the airport are also great, but they can be a little pricey if you’re traveling on a budget.
There are more than 20 domestic flights to Oslo Airport and close to 100 international flights to Oslo Airport. The airport is a hub for Scandinavian Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Wideroe. It is used by several other international airlines and charter companies as well.
Oslo Airport’s terminal is well designed, in terms of architecture and passenger flow. There’s also a fun selection of public art on display at the airport – making for a more interesting airport experience. Oslo Airport is a great introduction to the region.
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Palma de Majorca
The island of Majorca may be small, but its airport, Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI), is big, big enough to accommodate the legions of vacationers who arrive every summer to enjoy the sunny beaches of this Mediterranean island.
Along with Ibiza, Formentera and Minorca, Majorca is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the Spanish Mediterranean, and the airport processes more than 21 million passengers each year.
Flights to Palma de Mallorca Airport come in from around Europe, including most of the UK airports such as London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and East Midlands. There are also flights from Brussels, Paris, Prague, Moscow, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Venice, Geneva, Istanbul, Rome, Budapest, Frankfurt, Zurich, Sofia, Madrid and Warsaw.
Palma de Mallorca is built for large crowds, but in the peak summer season the queues for budget flights back home to the UK are annoyingly long and the airport is often packed. The staff members are helpful however, and do their best to assist with problems.
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Pisa Galileo Galilei International
Pisa International Airport, or Galileo Galilei Airport, (PSA) is less than a mile (1km) from central Pisa. It’s a great airport to use when traveling to the Tuscany region and it is only 37 miles (60km) from Florence.
Although Pisa International Airport has a wide selection of passenger amenities, it does tend to get a bit crowded, particularly during the peak summer season. Passengers using the airport have loads of seating space in the restaurants and cafes, but the terminal itself is a little small and cramped.
With a number of low-cost airlines, such as Ryanair and easyJet, offering cheap flights to Pisa International Airport, it’s easy to find a ticket to suit your budget. There are also a number of regional carriers offering flights to Galileo Galilei Airport from cities across Europe, including Madrid, London, Rome, Athens and Barcelona. There are even some flights to Pisa International from further afield, such as Moscow, Sharm el-Sheikh and New York.
Pisa International is well serviced by public transport options and it’s a great airport to use as a gateway to the Florence region.
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