After obtaining the boarding pass, we can access the Boarding area through the security control.

There are many services offered in this area, the purpose of which is to make waiting for the passenger as pleasant as possible until the departure time of their flight. You can walk around and access the services in this area, but don’t get too distracted or lost. Do not forget to check the information panels about the schedules and status of your flight, the indications to know where you are at all times and how far you are from the access gate assigned to your flight.

For the plane to depart at its scheduled time, passengers board the aircraft approximately 40-60 minutes before departure time. This time is called “boarding time”, which will be communicated to you when you check in and appear on your boarding pass.

The plane’s departure time is the takeoff time, not the boarding time. Do not confuse these hours and get too distracted by the airport because if you arrive at the boarding gate when it is already closed (it closes before the plane’s departure time), you will not be able to board, and you will miss the flight.

Security controls:

To access the boarding area, it is necessary to go through the security controls, where it is checked that the passenger has the documents needed to board: personal documentation (DNI or passport) and boarding card, and the passenger is limited, and your hand luggage through X-ray machines.

Carry-on baggage to be transported on the plane is verified by X-ray scanning. Laptops and tablets must be removed from their carrying bags and placed on trays for X-ray examination. In addition, they must have enough battery power to start up if the control personnel so require.

Your personal belongings must also be deposited in a tray: mobile phones, handbags, keys, metallic belts, or any metallic object capable of giving a positive signal in the metal detection arch.

At the control, liquids that do not comply with the liquid regulations will be removed: bottles or small bottles of water and soft drinks (empty reusable plastic bottles are accepted.

Passengers must go through a metal detection arch to avoid travelling with prohibited objects. You are previously requested to deposit in a tray the clothes that can hide an object: jackets, scarves, boots, etc. On certain occasions, the passenger may be subject to a foot scanner or a more detailed analysis by a security officer of the same sex.

Get more information about the objects prohibited on the plane and the security controls to access the boarding area in the “Security controls” section of the “Carry-on baggage” section.

Restoration, leisure and shops – Duty-Free Shops – Shopping:

The restaurant offered in the boarding area varies depending on the airport. Still, in any of them, you will always have a minimum of bars, cafeterias or restaurants to cover your needs during the airport’s public service hours.

As in restaurants, the offer of the different types of shops also varies depending on each airport: from souvenir shops to shops of prestigious and luxurious fashion and jewellery brands, such as the Sky Center in T1 of Barcelona Airport El Prat or the MAD Fashion Hub at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport.

Regarding purchases made in the boarding area, if you purchase liquids, alcoholic beverages, perfumes or colognes, etc., check with store employees as these products must be wrapped in sealed containers, and you need a valid sales receipt from the store.

Duty-Free Stores:

Duty-Free stores are commercial establishments that offer their products free of taxes or fiscal fees to all passengers about to embark on an international flight from Spain. A passport and boarding pass may be required to carry out said flight. However, several brands and stores absorb these taxes on their products so that all passengers on international flights can benefit from them.

Vip lounges, waiting rooms and departure lounges:

In the boarding area, the passenger will have different spaces and rooms equipped for waiting with comfortable chairs and armchairs, sometimes reclining, and in some of them with armchairs that incorporate self-massage, although this service is usually paid.

It also has other types of rooms that are better equipped for waiting, called VIP rooms or VIP LOUNGES.

Access to the plane: departure lounge and boarding gate:

The boarding gates -doors through which you can directly access the aircraft- are distributed within the boarding area.

In some large airports, boarding gates can also be grouped by boarding terminals, docks or docks: a name was given to a large and specific area within the boarding area.

This information is detailed on your boarding pass and must coincide with the knowledge that appears on the information monitors that announce flight departures. If the information does not match, go to the nearest information desk.

The departure lounge is the waiting room closest to your flight’s gate, equipped with comfortable chairs and in some airports with certain services such as TV, plugs, mobile chargers or drinking fountains.

Passengers are advised to come to this lounge with sufficient time before boarding. Depending on the destination and the company, access to the departure lounge may be preceded by a security check.

Once in the Departure lounge, passengers wait for boarding time to access the plane. The boarding room communicates with the boarding gate.

Note:

not all airports have a departure lounge. In this case, waiting for boarding time near the boarding gate assigned to your flight and duly marked is advisable.

Remember to be at the boarding gate no later than the time indicated at the check-in counter (the boarding time is also printed on your boarding pass ). Once there, you must show your boarding pass and your documentation, depending on your type of flight or destination.