Could The World's Worst Airport Be In Roatan?

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tridacna

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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.
 
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.
If you think it is bad now, you should of been there back in the early 80's..no runway, flew in on a DC 3 , out of Tecucaligupa and La Cieba, landed on grass and dirt."terminal" was actually about the size of an outhouse . Compared to back then present airport is luxury.
 
I do not remember the Roatan airport, but my connecting flight to Roatan was from
Toncontín International Airport and that flight scarred the c$%# out of me. We almost hit the side of the mountain.
 
I never considered it to be that bad. I have never been through when there was more than two flights worth of people though.
It has also improved a lot since our first visit five years ago.
I thought the airport in Cayo Largo (Cuba) was worse.
 
I've been there three times and despite loving CCV, I'm not sure that I want to repeat that experience.

I'm not disagreeing, the airport was poorly conceived, poorly designed, and the subsequent architectural fixes were seemingly designed by two monkeys with CAD.

The physical layout dictates the annoying transition of baggage during departure, just look around and realize how lucky you were to be brought through it by Nora and the CCV staff, nobody else has it that easy. Nobody.

The multiple layers of authority in Honduras exacerbate the experience. No step in the process can be seamlessly blended because of this.

Watch intently the various cluster f's that occur as departure gates switch from one airline to another. Tables are moved, set up, taken down. One set of portable herding tapes aren't acceptable, each airline must erect and take them down between planes. Like two monkeys and a football.

They check your bags once, then when you think you're done, the rifle through them again at the last minute before boarding. I've had all sorts of piddly stuff snatched from me, I know of two Leatherman tools that they missed.

The old airport was quaint, they controlled the passengers with a chicken wire maze.

Again, with CCV you had a chaperoned experience. Just sit out front and watch the other poor sunburned and sand flea bitten exiting tourists struggle through it, A lot of the RTB process has improved, in no small part with assistance from CCV. (The streamlining of paying departure fees, for one big example, also the allowing of select credentialed resort staff within the baggage claim area)

At least the Air Carrier services have improved substantially, due mostly to competition by other carriers. When SAHSA, then TACA was the exclusive carrier, the experience was maddening. Delta, United and others have caused a major change for the better.

But you're right, in total the airport blows.
 
Ha ha ha port Harcourt is way worse. It might of changed but last time I was there you had no AC nothing to eat and you got searched ten times and the police rob you. But yeah roatan is brutal
 
Yeah. Going in you can make it less painful if you go on the Honduran gov web site and do the pre-immigration paperwork. Then you can skip the tourist line and get into the resident line. Probably saves about 1½ hours. Leaving is still brutal. Never going to or through there again. (And I thought Aruba was bad - lol).
 
It is not great. But I hate the airport at Providenciales (Turks and Caicos) more. I have not had such a bad experience at RTB so maybe I am due.

I'll find out next week. First time flying United. Delta was good but I have miles to redeem.
 
I'm not disagreeing, the airport was poorly conceived, poorly designed, and the subsequent architectural fixes were seemingly designed by two monkeys with CAD.

The physical layout dictates the annoying transition of baggage during departure, just look around and realize how lucky you were to be brought through it by Nora and the CCV staff, nobody else has it that easy. Nobody.

The multiple layers of authority in Honduras exacerbate the experience. No step in the process can be seamlessly blended because of this.

Watch intently the various cluster f's that occur as departure gates switch from one airline to another. Tables are moved, set up, taken down. One set of portable herding tapes aren't acceptable, each airline must erect and take them down between planes. Like two monkeys and a football.

They check your bags once, then when you think you're done, the rifle through them again at the last minute before boarding. I've had all sorts of piddly stuff snatched from me, I know of two Leatherman tools that they missed.

The old airport was quaint, they controlled the passengers with a chicken wire maze.

Again, with CCV you had a chaperoned experience. Just sit out front and watch the other poor sunburned and sand flea bitten exiting tourists struggle through it, A lot of the RTB process has improved, in no small part with assistance from CCV. (The streamlining of paying departure fees, for one big example, also the allowing of select credentialed resort staff within the baggage claim area)

At least the Air Carrier services have improved substantially, due mostly to competition by other carriers. When SAHSA, then TACA was the exclusive carrier, the experience was maddening. Delta, United and others have caused a major change for the better.

But you're right, in total the airport blows.

Doc - no matter how much lipstick you put on a pig.... its still a pig.
 
So will all the Roatan "regulars" be going elsewhere in the future, to avoid the airport ?

To be honest if you want a good airport experience, you have to stay away from most of the good warm water dive sites.......with the possible exception of Cozumel.
 
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