I suppose the best way to start this review is to deal with the bad points of Frankfurt (Hahn) airport. For one thing, it is actually nowhere near Frankfurt – this is clear if you read the small print about the airport on the Ryanair website or elsewhere, but many passengers have bought their cheap flights and touched down in Hahn, only to find that they are still well over 100km from the city it purports to serve!

What doesn’t help is that Hahn is very tricky to get to if you don’t have a car. If you do have your own transport, it is pretty handily situated from all directions – although it’s not actually on a motorway, the connecting roads are now well signposted, and the main road linking Hahn to the A61 (which is how you approach it if you’re coming from Frankfurt itself, and all points south) is currently being upgraded to a dual carriageway, which has helped to ease congestion and reduce journey times. It’s still a good hour to Frankfurt itself though, or longer if you have to travel by coach – which is your only other option, as there is not yet any rail link to Hahn airport. Previously, you had to rely on a very irregular train and bus connection – Deutsche Bahn to Bingen, and then onward with various busses, but this took about 2 hours from Bingen alone.

If you do travel by car, parking is also an area that has recently been massively improved - when Ryanair first started offering flights from Hahn, virtually all the car parking there was free. You could pick a place anywhere on the old compound, and either walk to the terminal or wait for one of the (infrequent) free shuttle busses. However, free parking meant that your car was left unattended and potentially insecure for the duration of your stay - this has now all changed. Firstly, there is a short-stay area for about 50 vehicles opposite Terminal 1; this costs about €2 per hour, or €15 for the day. All other spaces are now to be paid for as well, but the rates are dirt cheap, at €3 for the day! The way to the terminal buildings is well signposted, the parking areas are fenced off, and securely equipped with CCTV, and there are plenty of pay stations scattered around - all in all, a great improvement.

The terminal buildings share a common design, with arrivals, departures, check-in and information desks on the ground floor, along with a couple of shops, and a bar, restaurant and viewing gallery upstairs. There has definitely been an improvement in the facilities over the last couple of years, as you can now get something to eat and drink, buy a paper and find somewhere to sit if you have an hour or two to kill. The shopping opportunities are limited (and very expensive if you do venture into the gift shop) but then who actually needs all the shops you get at Heathrow? I find myself spending a lot more than I mean to on stuff I don’t really need, so in a sense the more spartan facilities at Hahn aren’t so bad. You could say that I just need to exercise more self-control elsewhere though…

All in all, flying from Hahn has become a much more pleasant experience over the last year. I use Ryanair quite a lot, which means I have made quite a few trips to and from the Hunsrück over the last 18 months, and the improvements are noticeable with every visit. I’ve only ever had one major delay, which was down to Ryanair (currently the main airline flying from Hahn), and the airport staff have been friendly and helpful on most occasions. The airport facilities have improved beyond recognition – a second terminal, improved access and secure parking, plus more to do in the terminal if you are delayed. There are disadvantages with this airport being small, and some distance away from major cities (despite what the adverts may say), but I find that the time you save due to Hahn being so compact goes some way to balancing out these complaints. It's not perfect, but the flights are cheap - and if I'm honest, that's the main selling point!