Our Review of Alicante Airport

Table of contents: Our Review of Alicante Airport Pros and Cons of Alicante Airport Mini-Guide of the Airport (2' Guide) How we calculate On Time Performance Some Stats

Our Review of Alicante Airport

At Plan Your Trips, we have analyzed hundreds of airports around the world, gaining a clear understanding of what users expect when visiting an airport. With this know-how, we have created this guide, placing passengers at the forefront of everything, aiming to simplify and enhance the airport experience.

In this Guide,our goal is to present information in a manner that is both quick and reliable. Recognizing that passengers often have limited time and may be in a hurry, we strive to ensure that they do not waste time unnecessarily.

Another key focus of our guide is to highlight the strengths of the airport and also the weaknesses, and in some cases, offer recommendations to travelers. In alignment with this approach, we provide users with aggregated information on delays and on-time performance, analyzing both airlines and individual flights.

Other Reviews

This analysis is based on real user reviews from Google Reviews (thousands of traveler ratings) and Skytrax, one of the most recognized global platforms for airport evaluations based on passenger surveys. Additional insights have been cross-checked with traveler review websites.

Reviews Summary

Highlights (Positive)

Cleanliness and modern design: many users describe the airport as “very clean and well organized”
Spacious and bright terminal: good natural light and open layout
Easy to navigate: clear layout and generally smooth passenger flow
Good range of services: wide selection of shops, restaurants, and seating areas
Overall efficiency: reasonable waiting times under normal conditions

Most Common Negative Points

Queues in peak season: especially at security and car rental desks
High prices: frequent complaints about food and retail costs
Poor announcements: some users mention unclear audio in public announcements
Transport delays: occasional long waits for taxis or buses in summer
Crowding: increased traffic leads to congestion during busy hours

Overall Ratings

Google Reviews: ~4.0 / 5 (consistently high ratings)
Skytrax: ~3 stars (average, standard European level)
Other platforms: ~3.5 – 4 / 5

Final Score: 7.8 / 10

Justification:
Alicante Airport stands out for its cleanliness, convenience, and ease of use, making it especially popular among international travelers. However, it loses points due to peak-season congestion, relatively high prices, and some operational limitations. Overall, it delivers a solid and efficient experience, though it does not reach the level of major European hubs.

Pros and Cons of Alicante Airport

PROS

Location: Alicante Airport is conveniently located about 8 km southwest of the city center, making it easily accessible. It serves as a gateway to Alicante, Elche and Costa Blanca area.

Modern and Clean Facilities: The airport is known for its modern facilities -with a recently new terminal.

European Connectivity: It offers a good range of European and domestic flights, being a hub for airlines like Vueling. The airport has direct flights to some major cities around the world. The 80% of the total traffic of the Airport are passengers from international countries.

Accessibility: Offers straightforward access from the city center, with a variety of transport options including bus.

Spacious Design: The design and spacious layout of the airport have been well-received, offering a comfortable and pleasant environment for passengers.

CONS

Public Transport Connectivity: Although various transport services are available, the frequency and convenience of public transport to and from the airport might not meet the expectations set by other major European airports.

Seasonal Overcrowding: The most important thing about El Altet Airport is that is a seasonal airport. The airport experiences substantial congestion during tourist seasons, resulting in longer queues and a more chaotic atmosphere.

Limited Long-Haul Connectivity:Compared to other big Spanish airports, Alicante Airport offers few international long-haul destinations and is not as significant a hub for global airlines.

Poor Dining Options in terminal: The selection of dining options is very limited.

Mini-Guide of the Airport (2' Guide)

- There is one passenger terminal with access to transportation.

- Transport to and from Alicante: ALC Airport is connected through public bus, taxi and transfer services. There are many options to go from the airport to the city center, but plan accordingly if you arrive after midnight, as there are fewer connections.

- Check-in area is located inside of the main terminal of the Airport, in the Departures area.

- ALC Airport counts with lots of basic services for all passengers: family with children, shops, restaurants, among others.

- There is one vip lounge available for all passengers.

How we calculate On Time Performance

On various pages of our website, you will encounter a metric widely utilized in aviation and other forms of transportation known as OTP (On Time Performance). We believe that providing this metric assists passengers in planning their trips and exploring alternatives before purchasing their flight tickets.

We calculate the On Time Performance for all flights and airlines, when we have enough data to do so. In certain instances, it may not be feasible to accurately compute the On-Time Performance for a specific flight or airline due to inadequate or non-representative data, which could result in misleading conclusions.

Our calculation of On Time Performance and delay information solely relies on arrival times. This approach is chosen over calculating departure delays, as we consider arrival punctuality to be of primary concern to passengers.

The On Time Performance displayed on our website is calculated as follows:

On Time: Flights that arrive within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time, or earlier. In the absence of data for a specific flight, we assume the flight arrives on time, to avoid penalizing airlines for data unavailability.
Moderate Delay: Flights that arrive with a delay of 15 to 30 minutes.
Significant Delay: Flights that arrive with a delay of 30 to 60 minutes.
Major Delay: Flights that arrive with a delay exceeding 60 minutes.
Average Delay: The average delay is calculated by considering flights that arrive early as having a delay of 0 minutes. Early arrivals do not contribute to reducing the average delay calculation