Cardiff Airport Lounge in The Vale of Glamorgan

A very busy airport but just finding workers helped me locate the terminal I needed to find but was not documented on the ticket. That was an airline ticket document error that was fixed for me by the Cardiff workers.

All facilities look good, but almost empty airport 😕 Cardiff needs to attract more flights and visitors

Extremely disappointment decision by the airport authorities with the £3 drop off few for 10minutes. Very disappointing amount too as it could be £1 instead : it’s already so difficulty to her to the airport from the city centre, as public transport unfriendly unless you fancy travelling on a bus for 90mins from the city or a train followed by a bus which again takes an hour! Car is the only option! Very empty check in area- only Logan air counters open. Upstairs to departures- much better now, More organised and smoother security without waits as previously with more security aisles. Duty free still the same size albeit missing champagne deals. Three options for seated food and drink: tap and brew, y Castell and Costa Coffee. WH Smith around the corner. The lounge only accepts dragonpass and not priority pass.

Horrendous 4hrs sat on plane runway lights not working Back into lounge another 3hrs wait for our 3hr flight to lanzarote No information, poor management of why runway has no lighting Change over of crew didn't even know if we were getting a pilot Another 8hr delay so disappointing

Unfortunately, nothing happens here.

No signage to get to carpark 1, many cars going through £3 parking barriers by mistake. Just paid over £20 for a luke warm breakfast and cup of tea. Bristol airport in future

The cleanest airport ive been in, very well kept lovely staff

Excellent welcome again at this lounge. This is our 2nd visit in a few months and the service is outstanding from all. Food very good.

Excellent Service, fantastic staff. Warm and welcoming, perfect for waiting for flight, very quiet and peaceful! Would highly recommend!!

We didn't fly out of Cardiff but were diverted there instead of Bristol due to bad weather. The staff there were brilliant, friendly, helpful and efficient. Kept everyone there informed and opened up a tuckshop to supply everyone with free tea and coffee and biscuits. If it had been down to Ryanair we'd have basically been abandoned (they sent through a £3 voucher per booking for use in any of the closed shops/cafés two hours after we arrived and then said they couldn't sort anything and make our own way home -at 10pm on a Saturday night in snow)but the staff at Cardiff sorted transportation home for everyone. Very impressed with the staff there! Thank you.

I personally wouldn't recommend this executive lounge. There are nicer venues in the departure lounge. Although the staff were polite and friendly, the lounge lacked atmosphere and felt very clinical. Guests are escorted to a table and cannot move around freely. There are no views while seated, except for one window that overlooks the arrivals area. When I went to another room with views of the runway, I was asked to leave because my access was restricted to the first room as rooms are used on a flight allocation. The food options were very limited—not worth the £34.99 fee. While the sausage & egg muffin was acceptable, it didn't justify the price. I do appreciate that the lounge offers local Welsh products, but that's about it. Crisps were served in a bowl rather than in bags, and the brownies and Welsh cakes were unimpressive. When I asked for a glass of prosecco, I was told this wasn't possible because they wouldn't open a bottle for just one person and didn't have enough customers to warrant it. This says a lot about the lounge's success if they can't open a bottle of prosecco. I could buy a bottle if I wanted, but I shouldn't have to pay extra. You have to leave the lounge to use the toilet which is out in the departure lounge. The lounge didn't feel worth the money spent, and the atmosphere wasn't pleasant. You just listened to staff chatter and the sound of morning television. It felt more like adhering to COVID restrictions—being told where to sit and waiting for slow service, likely to limit consumption. Beer wasn't served in fully measured pint glasses either. Overall, a disappointing experience. Nathan Dixon (_travellingwelshman) on Instagram.

Cardiff airport is surprisingly small. We arrived around 5pm and it was like a ghost town. I assume most people had family pick them up because there were a few of us tourists desperately trying to get a ride to city central (about 35 minutes away) and COULDN'T. There was a tiny taxi service that announced no taxis would be available for at least 45 minutes. Apparently, it's a good idea to arrange a taxi service ahead of time, which could still be an issue if your flight is an hour late, like ours were. I recommend you research the bus/train and travel light.

Very friendly. Clean and tidy. Very quiet. Several drink options. Glad we called in as it was very quiet with comfy seating. Well done

Why are your Web sites crashing all the time. Very poor service.

I know the airport is having trouble making ends meet - but it’s sad to see that it seems they’re resorting to finding ANYTHING to fine you on. It’s The only Ryanair hub where I’ve been asked to present a boarding pass and if I didn’t have it, 55€ fine! It’s the only airport I know that enforces this policy. Also the only Ryanair hub where I had my backpack checked as well and they check your size and weight too at the gate. Feels like a bunch of scammers trying to swindle money out of you. I avoid this airport when I can. I added a star because the security is high tech and quick

Wonderful handling. Small and clear

All round a decent very airport , very expensive drinks but then we are still in rip off britain i suppose.

Useless Security! Despite their shiny new scanning equipment they were hand checking 2 out 3 trays for no real apparent reason without the trained staff to support it! Everything seemed so disorganised. If they adopted the same approach at Bristol the queue would’ve been out through to the carpark. Please re-train the scanning staff!

Excellent airport, just need more traffic! Fly from here to Rhodes as often as we can. When the price is right! Very good airport though.

Update Dec 2024, Yes they have changed the parking again, might be a good idea to add signs on the road to the airport. More improvements going on inside, I just wish there were more flights available as all told it's a handy place to travel from, but there again the eco warriors frown on travel. Use this airport as often as I can and the experience just gets better all the time. Easy check-in and the facilities are always improving.

Good. Not exactly in Cardiff but close enough!

Very welcoming. Very accommodating and helpful staff, always made sure we had everything we wanted. Ali was exceptionally helpful.

Old shabby and lots of steps with suitcase or trolley to car park/ pick up points

Convenient but not very "international", can only get a coffee from 08h00.

Really enjoyed my first departure from here on KLM to Amsterdam. This is how airports where meant to be experienced - physical and psychological space for us, not just surrounded by boozy Brits early in the morning like in many other regional airports in the UK. Ban the alcohol before 1700 in transport hubs!

Very small airport but so relaxing too.

Two years ago my review would have been a one. But this November the airport worked just like it should. Efficient and friendly. We went though all areas quickly, no ques. Then on return the same. Really was much better. Well done guys.

Nice and cool Airport with beautiful scenery. Ample parking space with less crowd. Staff are friendly with adequate security check point

Limited hot food choices, only allowed four alcoholic drinks, no Prosecco unless you pay extra, plus side staff are very good. A gentleman tried to purchase a glass of wine outside of the limited four drinks and was told he would have to purchase at the main bar. Don’t use unless you get free access through loyalty programs as very poor value for money.

Linda and Katie gave us a very warm welcome and excellent service while we were waiting for our KLM flight to Amsterdam. Even though we were only with them for a short amount of time, they made sure that we had whatever we needed. Nothing was too much trouble. Thanks very much both!

small, functional and fast airport

Lovely airport no issues going through it

Took an hour to unload our baggage. No staff around or updates and no seating Couldn't cope with 2 flights arriving. Shambles

Friendly staff in coffee shop and departures although was disappointed liquids equipment not installed yet and so still have to be separated. Boarding was quick and efficient and departure on time and arrival early.

What a crappy location for an airport... never again. Busses to the closest train station to Cardiff run once every 2 hours. The chance to get an Uber is very rare and then there's the taxies which there might be one there by chance. No comments on the airport itself because the location trumps anything good I can say about it.

Quiet airport especially after morning rush so no delays through security and no crowds in the departure area. Facilities in departure a bit limited but adequate.

From start to end, the whole process of getting away on your holidays are made so easy via the quite excellent standards that Cardiff Airport uses. All meet with above and beyond expectations. Very efficient and user friendly. Especially compared to other international airports. 👍

Expensive, relatively speaking.

Quick service. Pleasant and attentive staff. Table service with a smile A special mention to Max who looked after us very well

Nice airport, i like the shops.

Cardiff airport has to be the single most useless airports when it comes to ground handling and baggage carousel - ten mins stuck behind the “iron curtain” aka carousel C

Lovely staff but food choices minimal and VERY

Very nice and clean environment

Smooth check in, fast security Good exec lounge.

Visited a lot of lounges in a lot of airports and this is really one of the best (good enough to review). Staff make it worth a visit if you get chance. Good Welsh produce and locally produced food, etc. Always look forward to visiting here when I get chance.

Nice and chilled environment, and the food was really nice and fresh. The staff go above and beyond. Our sun really enjoyed the fresh fruit and snacks available

Pretty good overall for an airport, quick though security. Everything was clean.

Arrival is quick. Also, picking up the luggage is quick and organised. I guess few people arriving on this airport or it was just in my time to travel that few people. The exit is easy to find. Bus stop is near the exit. Depending on the schedule of the bus you can choose any bus going to the city centre. You can choose bus 905 from Cardiff Airport going to Rhoose station. Then from Rhoose take train and it will go to Cardiff Central.

It's ok not much fly's out from there

Great Airport currently undergoing renovations. It's a bit quiet compared to other airports in the UK.

The Sun newspaper TODAY advertised Cardiff to Iceland for £53 RETURN. I just checked website for PLAY AIRLINES. It was £93 to fly out and £87 to fly back. The CRAZY thing is, on there website after end of October there are NO FLIGHTS advertised. MADNESS!

I think it's disgusting how they can charge £3 for dropping off,I was there for 3 minutes.no wonder people prefer Bristol or Heathrow

Greatly improved and a lot cleaner than last time we flew from there, but the prices being charged for food and drink are exorbitant. Costs families a fortune before they get to their resort.

If I farted there they would probably want to change me for that , very expensive there ,

The small but nice aeroport. Profesional staff.

Awful place.. New pay as you leave System not working so expect a wait. They get it working soon though won't want to lose money...taking money off people who use the airport .

Has had a refurb. Very lovely. The lounge serves lovely food. Checking in stress free and security very smooth.

Working more efficiently these days. Some improvements in security and passport checks. Handy airport if you're local because there aren't enough flights for it to get too busy......

The ongoing refurbishment is making the airport more presentable, however, I agree with comments by a previous review. We had a 3 hour delay from Kos and on arrival were kept almost an hour waiting for baggage. There was no one from the airport staff in arrivals to discuss the issue with. With stiff competition from Bristol airport it needs to be a bit more professional or will loose customers.

Quite a pity they're going to be adding further charges to pick up / drop off. Due to the overall low demand of the airport I can't see this being overly lucrative for them in the grand scheme. They should probably work on making the airport more attractive to people rather than less?

Parking was close easily walkable to the terminal. The airport is small so easy to navigate around with good facilities. I must give a special note to all the special assistance crew .For a small airport outbound and inboard they couldn't do enough absolutely brilliant way better than any other airport so thanks very much for being so helpful with my wife .An overall good experience compared to other UK and overseas airports will use again and again .highly recommended

Always support Cardiff Wales, parking facility and staff always helpful reception and security efficient and the departure room and bar facilities are clean and staff overall great. Biggest issue with return to UK early morning is limited baggage crews meaning a 55min wait this is a regular occurrence and baggage staff are quite rude and could not give a damn, probably short staffed and no job satisfaction. Big shame as i embrace the small airport feel, will continue to use this airport however any future early morning flights will use Bristol.

Very comfortable airport. It's just a shame there's not enough flights out of here

I have never seen a smaller and emptier airport than Cardiff. When I arrived, my plane was the only one on the entire runway and when I returned to Spain it was the same. The hallways were all empty. There are plenty of seats at this airport because there are hardly any flights or people taking planes from there. My return flight was the only one that left all afternoon and in the morning there had been only one flight to Amsterdam. Not many Spaniards come to Cardiff. On my Ryanair flight, I was the only one Spanish. The others were all English and there in Cardiff I didn't hear anyone speaking Spanish either

Not at £50 to park at Cardiff last saturday. Twh hours twenty one minutes for £50 outrageous.id rather drive to bristol. Ripped me off.

Enjoy using Cardiff airport, no fuss (because it is never very busy). There was quite a delay in the baggage reclaim upon arrival, and I don't know what the problem was. I will continue to try and support the airport.

Nice airport shame there's not more flights and destinations

The passenger assistance team were absolutely brilliant. I Required assistance outbound but no wheelchair was necessary but on my return I needed it & the team were so kind. They even took myself & Husband on a bus to the long stay car park. You are all an asset & thank you.

Fantastic place. VERY easy to use and great staff

Sofar everything going smoothly, check inland security was seemless.

I didn't actually use the airport myself just dropped my wife off however, I have to say that it's so much nicer to drive to CWL than Bristol and the fact that you're not charged to drop someone off is brilliant. C'mon guys let's get behind this airport and make it great again.

Parked on long stay car park OK found access ramp concrete breaking up made it difficult to push trolley/suitcase Checking was smooth,no issues going through security quite fast Duty-free,ok cafes food OK

Took an age to get through security, but that's probably because of the work going on to improve things. Had food and drink in Y Castell and in fairness, considering the amount of people in there the waiting time to be served and our food to arrive was quite impressive

Had to wait over 30 mins for our cases to be available to us. The walk from the plane to baggage collection was up and down stairs, not good for people with mobility issues, however there are lifts available .

Friendly small airport. Always quick and friendly staff. This is the perfect blend of functionality, friendliness and size. There are buses going there, and it's easy to get to by car too.

Have had really good experiences at this airport in the past but recently it seems to be pot luck on how long the baggage takes to arrive after landing. Is it a lack of staff? Either way this issue is impacting the reputation of an otherwise amazing airport to fly from!

needed special assistance and the staff were lovely very helpful and attentive

Straight through and no delays.

Actually very comfortable, but we had to wait an hour for the taxi and until then we were more tolerated than given any service, which was due to an after-work request, as we noticed when the taxi arrived. By the way, we had to look for and order the taxi ourselves. Something strange. But otherwise very polite staff and nice little airport.

Pleasant experience flying from here. It should be used more.

Cardiff airport needs to expand and have more airlines with more routes. The Welsh government needs to get a move on with the airport before it's closes down

Cardiff Airport is a small airport which is disappointing as it is the only Airport in the Welsh capital. You can get some flights to destinations in Europe and it also offers some connecting flights to destinations in Africa and so on. Sometimes, flights tend to be more expensive compared to, let's say, Bristol airport. Dropping off is free here and picking up is a pound for the first few minutes.

Flown to and from here a few times over the years. It’s local to me, organised, not massively busy, car park easy to use. Much prefer this airport to some of the other I’ve used in the past.

Not enough destinations every day.

Cardiff airport was great, small, with limited flights a day

It's a very small airport. Don't expect to find everything

Well what can I say absolutely superb Cardiff Airport! Meet and Greet increbible two minutes walk to the entrance thank you very professional! Check in staff very knowledgable and efficient . Security went through in 2 minutes then straight into the executive lounge staff very freindly and super efficient.

Great little airport but could be so much better with some tweaking. As well as getting more varied flights in Cardiff Airport could do with having less extortionate parking fees and a pharmacy based shop such as Boots or Superdrug, also we suggest having a decent Costa with better opening hours serving decent coffee for passengers on early morning flights, ideally get a Starbucks in like Bristol. We all know coffees on planes aren't great and uncaffeinated early fliers are happier with better coffee in them. Let's improve Cardiff Airport and bring in more / happier customers

Very small, easy to pass through security etc however, I personally would never fly from here again! We got to the airport on time our flight was delayed but we were never told it was delayed. Just kept telling us the gate will be opening shortly which was a big fat lie as we later discovered it was still on it's way from wherever it was coming from! This happened to us on the way back too! For a small airport that hardly has any flights running I was expecting a smoother journey! Absolutely nothing to do here, duty free was smaller than my back garden (which really isn't big)! Never flying from here again no matter how much cheaper it is. This was on a painful experience!! Lesson learned next time just pay a little extra because this airport just isn't an airport!

A very small airport and very rigorous controls that sometimes even piss off...

Helpful staff if you're not sure of the procedures. Shops quite expensive. They do have water dispensers so..take an empty bottle to fill b4 your flight. Nice clean loos.

Soooo easy and efficient!!! Cardiff airport has been ongoing some major expansion and renovations. This gives me hope that they will start to introduce more flights so us Welsh don't have to travel all the way to Bristol and get ripped off with the congestion and drop off charges!!! Bristol airport is a logistical nightmare!!! Please open Cardiff airport to all budget airlines and long haul flights!!! We can only 🙏❤️

Last week I took flight from Cardiff airport and it was smooth experience

What a pleasure it is to fly from Cardiff Airport. The airport is clean and very well sign posted. The security staff are absolutely brilliant and so helpful. Nothing was too much trouble. Plenty of food and drinks are available before your flights as well. This is by far the best airport to fly from. It's not too busy and comfortable. I can't wait until Qatar Airways starts flying from there again soon. A lovely experience again at Cardiff Airport, so calm and well organised, so much better than Bristol Airport by far. Well, after my experience today, 18th July 2024, I would say it was a total disaster getting through security. They were completely and utterly useless and so slow, and if being honest, ridiculous. They pit my bags through security and decided to pull me to one side for extra checks, which I don't mind at all as it is for security of us all after all. But they decided to use a new guy to security on me with a supposedly supervisor explaining what to do. I appreciate that we are all at some point in life new to something and need training, but this was a joke beyond jokes. I have used the same manbag for the past 10 years or so for travelling and its never been so stripped of it contents like this previous and I never empty it after previous trips as I just add my wallet and phone to it when going away, my book and pens etc just stay in the bag all the time. Well it was that bad that they were even taking the tops off my pens, they took 90% of the contents out of my bag and then sent it back through a scanning machine and then bring it back and empty the other 10% of the contents out. They found absolutely nothing to stop me going through security. Now if they were doing their job properly, why did they leave a small tube of toothpaste go through and also a small tube of spray aftershave, these realistically should have been put into a clearing with the rest of the 100ml liquids. They were totally inadequate and just wasting my time and there's and for what, training, well that was a waste of time really as they did not do the job properly and it was a total joke. I did always prefer Cardiff over Bristol, but now I will have a serious rethink as this has never happened to me in many trips flying from either Bristol or Cardiff. We then wonder why Cardiff is on the decline. We'll if people get treated like that and waste 20 to 25 mins and not do the job properly after all, why do it. To say I am very disappointed in Cardiff Airport and the way I was treated is an understatement.

Only fly from here for work. Airports nice and clean and tidy staff are all helpful. Shame it's out the way and not closer to M4 .

By far the friendliest and most convenient airport I have ever been to. Everything seems well-organized and all staff are very helpful.

Very nice , spacious and spotlessly clean. Food lovely and service great, comfy seating and cool atmosphere, table service a nice touch

Disappointed there is not an easier way for dissabled pick up

Spot on great service was brilliant Couldn't do enought for what we asked, Food was really good and hot, nice and quiet area to relax before your flight

Nice Airport.not far from Cardiff central.little More busy will be nice. Drop off and pick up free for 20 minutes.