I just returned from a week of blissful diving in Roatan.
One complaint. The airport is a GIANT SH!THOLE with ZERO redemptive features. I traveled extensively through Africa and Asia and can honestly say that this rivals Port Harcourt in Nigeria for most rotten public facility in the world. It's small, staffed with undertrained people and completely inefficient. We departed from this hellhole last Saturday afternoon. To say that we were packed in is an understatement. There were at least six hundred people jammed into a space that can comfortably accommodate about 200. The heat was oppressive and there was no air-conditioning. No-one could move, there were no seats for most people and the temperature inside was over 95 with matching humidity. People were passing out. The line to the "restaurant" was ridiculous. People were complaining to no avail. We were in there for 4 hours and nothing was done by the staff to help.
This is an old facility that desperately needs updating. The entire island is tourist $ dependent and this should be their highest priority. Everything from the rinky dink entrance with the entry "fee" booms look third world. C'mon Roatan, you can do better!
What pisses me off most is that they charge a $39 departure fee and other fees on your ticket for this convenience. It would be easier to simply wire the money into the Swiss bank account of the official who is skimming those fees because it's not going to the airport authority. I've been there three times and despite loving CCV, I'm not sure that I want to repeat that experience. That goes for my whole group too. It's a pity because we had a great time and this experience soured everything..
I've flown over 2M miles with United and know a little about bad airports. This one is down there with the worst.
One complaint. The airport is a GIANT SH!THOLE with ZERO redemptive features. I traveled extensively through Africa and Asia and can honestly say that this rivals Port Harcourt in Nigeria for most rotten public facility in the world. It's small, staffed with undertrained people and completely inefficient. We departed from this hellhole last Saturday afternoon. To say that we were packed in is an understatement. There were at least six hundred people jammed into a space that can comfortably accommodate about 200. The heat was oppressive and there was no air-conditioning. No-one could move, there were no seats for most people and the temperature inside was over 95 with matching humidity. People were passing out. The line to the "restaurant" was ridiculous. People were complaining to no avail. We were in there for 4 hours and nothing was done by the staff to help.
This is an old facility that desperately needs updating. The entire island is tourist $ dependent and this should be their highest priority. Everything from the rinky dink entrance with the entry "fee" booms look third world. C'mon Roatan, you can do better!
What pisses me off most is that they charge a $39 departure fee and other fees on your ticket for this convenience. It would be easier to simply wire the money into the Swiss bank account of the official who is skimming those fees because it's not going to the airport authority. I've been there three times and despite loving CCV, I'm not sure that I want to repeat that experience. That goes for my whole group too. It's a pity because we had a great time and this experience soured everything..
I've flown over 2M miles with United and know a little about bad airports. This one is down there with the worst.