Airport review: This party island’s airport keeps the good times going
By Jenny Hewett
The airport
Ibiza Airport, Spain
The flights
Inbound with Austrian Airways flight OS387 from Vienna to Ibiza; outbound with Iberia Airlines flight IB8519 from Ibiza to Mallorca.
Ibiza airport – watch out for the stragglers nursing their souls like live sculptures on the terminal floor.Credit: Getty Images
The arrival
After waking at 4am in Berlin and narrowly making our connection in Vienna following a short delay on the tarmac, I arrive in Ibiza around 11.50am feeling like I’ve already partied for three days straight. The party island’s modern airport is buzzing with holidaymakers, and most of them look like they’ve actually slept. There’s no Uber here, so the easiest way to get around is to hire a car or take a taxi. We get a taxi to our hotel on the foothills of San Antonio, which is about 30 minutes from the airport and costs €60 ($100). During our stay we hear about a Fiverr-style group where local drivers bid for ride-share jobs (see ubiz.es) but end up also using a taxi for departure.
The look
The airport is modern, glossy and surprisingly better-equipped than when I last visited 10 years ago. There’s a smattering of confusing signage and lots of curious glass doors, but none of them seem to point in the direction of the baggage collection. Located on the edge of the World Heritage-listed Ses Salines Natural Park, not much else surrounds the terminal except supersized billboards advertising the season’s top parties and DJ residencies. The cheerful, supersized mug of Aussie DJ Fisher greets me on exit.
Check-in
After a solid four-day marathon in Ibiza, we have the hotel call a taxi and arrive back at the airport for our 4pm departing flight to Mallorca. It’s a short 50-minute domestic hop, booked with Iberia Airlines but operated by never-heard-of Air Nostrum (a Spanish regional airline). Check-in takes less than five minutes as there are no other passengers at the counter when we arrive 90 minutes before the flight. They’re probably all still in bed.
Security
It’s reasonably swift, but you wouldn’t want to be cutting it fine. My friends wait for about 10 minutes to have their bags checked as the staff member is agonisingly slow and holding up a long line of passengers at the conveyor belt.
Food + drink
There are a few places to keep the party going before security, including Irish-style sports bar O’Leary’s. Beyond security, there are a handful of food court-style delis selling pizzas, bocadillos and bocatas (baguettes and sandwiches) and yes, even sushi. I part with a staggering €23 ($38) for eight pieces of sushi because it is about time I ate a vegetable.
Retail therapy
I veer past the Pacha nightclub merchandise store, Desigual, Sunglass Hut and Duty Free, and make a beeline for deli Gourmed for some last-minute Iberico ham, pork pate and vacuum-sealed saucisson to eat before Border Force in Australia can take them off me.
Passing time
The Gourmed store has a little section of high tables and stools; our gate is located right next door and starts boarding almost as soon as we sit down. There’s more to do on the airside of the terminal, so I’d recommend passing through security as soon as possible.
The verdict
A pleasant airport with surprisingly good facilities and a decent selection of food and drinks. If you’re booked on an evening flight, mind the sprawled-out stragglers nursing their souls like live sculptures on the terminal floor.
Our rating out of five
★★★½
The writer flew at her own expense.
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