We used the western apron walkway for the first time to depart, from gate 15 the penultimate gate of this 400-metre corridor. Having read a number of complaints about its length and stairs in various trip report sites we couldn't understand what the fuss was about, and neither of us is in the first flush of youth. On the return journey we parked at the aircraft stand at the far end of the walkway and found the stroll to Immigration very pleasant after an hour and a half seated on the aircraft, especially with the views from the first floor level windows of the western apron and beautiful countryside beyond.
What bugs me most about it is that they tend to call you to the (far away) gate way too early, and then you end up standing another 10-20 minutes in the gate area, with no seating available anywhere (part of the planning approval conditions I believe, but still). I find it merely annoying, but for many people, esp. elderly people, it's a real problem, or at least an inconvenience. This happens both with LoCos and full-service airlines like KLM/Air France btw.
And while distances are of course no greater than at other airports, there are no moving walkways, and they didn't leave enough space so they can put some in later either (from the looks of it).
What saddens me most is that they've done the walkway on the cheap. It radiates the charme of the plumbing section in a B&Q store. And it wouldn't even cost that much more to fix it: improve the lighting, put in a few more windows, put up some pictures, put in some vertical ceiling panels to hide the pipes and cables. I just hope that's not a sign of what the rest of the airport expansion will look like.
Does anyone know when work on that will start by the way?