This mediocre airport could do with a personality transplant

1 week ago 6

The flight

Citilink Indonesia formation QG1671 from Lombok Praya to Denpasar Bali, departing astatine 8.15am.

The arrival

Lombok – the land has much entreaty than its airport.

The airport’s home and planetary flights are serviced by the aforesaid terminal and the drop-off country is not engaged erstwhile I get astir 7.15am for my home flight. I locomotion down a agelong achromatic corridor to a sparse, somewhat sterile wide unfastened abstraction with precocious ceilings. It houses a ample woody sculpture – of what, I’m inactive trying to enactment out. There’s besides a tiny section edifice and the dreaded Baggage Services, which offers integrative wrapping of luggage, an unnecessary information measurement that’s frustratingly fashionable successful this portion of the world.

The look

Plenty of seating, but fewer eating options.

It’s a mostly nondescript gathering successful request of a property transplant. The exterior is simply a premix of bluish reflective windows and alloy beams with a woody arch connected the apical that mimics the signifier of the island’s accepted Sasak villages. Inside, wide spaces are sprinkled with the unusual souvenir store and a fistful of mediocre eating options.

Check-in

The self-check-in kiosk is not co-operating, truthful I enactment up astatine a desk. Despite being astatine the beforehand of the queue, different man is served up of me. I’ve purchased 15 kilograms of checked luggage, but I’m astir 3 kilos over, albeit with minimal carry-on. Staff won’t let maine to shuffle things astir to marque the value limit, truthful I wage the 150,000 rupiah ($15).

Security

Given the clip of time and however quiescent the airdrome is, the enactment is abbreviated and moves swiftly. I’m done successful astir 3 minutes and with lone a fistful of gates wrong the aforesaid portion of the airport, I find excavation quickly.

Food + drink

Once done security, determination are a mates of java shops, specified arsenic Starbucks (steer wide of the chai latte, which is undrinkable) and Danti Coffee. If you’re hungry, you’re amended disconnected eating section fare astatine Nasi Balap Puyung (if it’s open) successful the country earlier check-in. It serves 1 section Lombok meal dish: steamed atom with shredded chicken, chillies, agelong beans and roasted peanuts. Lombok is simply a Muslim-majority island, and determination are nary bars wrong the airport.

Retail therapy

It whitethorn not beryllium the world’s champion terminal, but it’s not a atrocious spot to prime up section souvenirs. Check retired the colourful men’s songkok oregon peci truncated cone hats astatine Lombok Living oregon caput to Kayu Manis Oleh-Oleh for woody sculptures, Indonesian textiles and T-shirts.

Passing time

There’s tons of seating astatine the gates, but not overmuch other to do. And that’s good by me, with conscionable an hr to termination earlier my flight, which departs connected time, and arrives successful Bali astatine 8.55am conscionable 40 minutes later. The airdrome offers escaped nationalist Wi-Fi, which is an awesome feat for an airdrome of this size.

The verdict

A decent land airport, but lacking successful ambiance and eating options. However, with astir Aussies flying domestically to Bali alternatively than internationally, an hr is the astir you’ll person to walk present unless determination is simply a hold (which does thin to hap rather a batch betwixt the islands). See lombok-airport.co.id