I was able to sample the delights of the new Terminal 3 at Malaga Airport last week (yes, I managed to dodge the ash clouds!). Having travelled through Malaga Airport on a regular basis for the last 10 years, I was keen to see for myself the improvements that this new facility may be able to boast.

Firstly, I wasn´t even sure that I would be able to access the new terminal. I was under the impression that Terminal 3 would be off-limits to passengers flying with EasyJet, as they were amongst those carriers that would still be using the old Terminal 2.

Sure enough, after travelling from my property in Marbella I checked in for my flight in the same old place in Terminal 2, but instead of going through the normal security channels behind the check-in desks, I was diverted to the new security area in Terminal 3. It seems that Terminals 2 and 3 are effectively one and the same building now. Terminal 3 certainly offers a cleaner, more modern check-in environment, but if the shops and restaurants of the new terminal can be used by passengers for both terminals, then it doesn´t make too much difference who you fly with – it seems that everyone will benefit from the new facilties.

I found the security process a little longer than the queues in Terminal 2, and I seemed to be carrying several black trays filled with jacket, belt, coins, watch, laptop, liquids for quite some distance before I could place them all on the conveyor leading to the x-ray machine, so they certainly need to fix that side of things – my arms were nearly dropping off!

I have to say that the facilities of the new terminal are certainly impressive. Where Terminal 2 felt shabby in parts, the new Terminal is all shiny and new. There is a fairly impressive array of retail outlets and a very good, well-stocked duty free section, plus several decent places to eat, including a new Pizza Hut restaurant (hurray!!) – what a difference to the crusty old pizzas and dodgy English breakfasts of Terminal 2!

Once my flight was called, I had to walk back through to the old section of the building to board my flight from the B gate section, but the experience was altogether more relaxing than usual.

The new terminal certainly looks the business. In fact it reminded me of a scaled-down version of the new Terminal at Madrid´s Barajas airport. With a facility like this, we should all hope that passengers flock to the Costa del Sol in their droves.