In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=fab1985;92420]Silly thread I know but for those of us who have travelled around Italy might have some interesting points to add:bigergrin:
I was impressed with Malpensa, Linate, Fiumicino, Turin, Palermo and Catania!
Parma, Forli, Pisa and Ciampino seemed some what outdated.
The UK may have many problems but we can't complain about our airports and most public services![/quote]
Luton??? lol
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Surely the worst Italian airport is the one that you have to leave by to come back to the UK?
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In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
"most public services", This is a forum about Italy, so I wont even start on the NHS, where basic hygiene in wards seems to present a huge challenge.
A.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=fab1985;92420]
I was impressed with... Fiumicino...[/quote]
I also have been impressed by Fiumicino, but not favourably.
I think it's a ghastly welcome to Italy: much of it is generally grubby and confusing with a baggage reclaim area that's huge yet somehow manages to be claustrophobic. Unless things have improved since the debacle last year, the inefficiency of the luggage handling system means one must generally spend at least the better part of an hour in this gloomy cavern filled with clamouring crowds milling around trying to figure out which belt their luggage will appear on. More than once, I've seen planeloads of people patiently standing by one belt shift [I]en masse[/I] to another because someone who knows how Fiumicino functions (to use the term loosely) noticed his bag on a belt other than the one indicated by the board.
If you do manage to find your way through the plane-side terminal, collect your bag and make it through the crowds of sign-holders that pack the even more cave-like Arrivals hall, you step outside to be hassled by touts for thieving taxi drivers and possibly run over by some idiot desperate to escape the place.
As for parking, I've given up on using the multi-storey car parks near the terminal due to the typically inconsiderate parking habits of Italians making it all but impossible to move through the structure without multiple three point turns. If I need to collect someone these days, I park up somewhere near the terminal and wait for them to phone so I can then swoop in and rescue them.
I do wonder if those in charge of Fiumicino just don't care or if it's perhaps the case that they've never travelled outside of Italy and passed through places like Schiphol or - dare I say it? - Stanstead.
Al
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Or Ancona Al, bright new, spacious in a smaller way, never seems frantic, good bar, easy access from the motorway, close to hire car when we used one, loos so posh that to fathom out where the brushed steel entrance doors were was a introduction to Italian styling.
A
[quote=fab1985;92420] .................. but we can't complain about our airports ![/quote]
Not sure Heathrow passengers would agree!!!!!!!!!!