Have to agree with Buster re the new departure lounge.
Have been through it twice in the last 10 days, the first time at 6.00am on 1 July, the morning it opened. Chaos !!! Whilst the main area has a bright, modern appeal, and is a considerable improvement, lack of seating is a major problem. On my second trip, three days ago, at 6.30am, we simply could not find one spare seat that was not food related. The place was heaving, so had to buy a drink just to grab a seat of about 10 left. The heat was oppressive.
The walk down to gates 1 - 11 was unbelievable although when catching the wizz flight from the new pier, it was very quick. The long walk to the easyjet gates, passing through endless firedoors and grey, faceless plaster board panels was not a pleasant experience. Indeed my wife said, she expected to see airport staff at regular intervals handing out water to assist the passengers on this marathon trek to the gate. Definately not good. Is this always going to be like this. Is no "short cut" possible when all the other works have been finished ?
As for the baggage reclaim, Ugh!. The whole thing needs knocking down and being completely rebuilt, not just a makeover.
To summarize, the new departure lounge is definately an improvement but some extra seating is badly needed. If you are departing from gates 1 - 11, which covers most easy & ryan flights, then you are at a major disadvantage when compared to the old departure lounge.