This past Thursday I flew in and out of Terminal 4 with Kuwait Airways. The last time I flew out was around 6 months ago and when I did I posted about it. Since then, some things have changed, so here is an update on the airport today:
Firstly parking, I previously posted that parking is no longer free at T4. But, what you need to make sure of is that you don’t park your car in the short term parking lot by mistake when traveling, even if it’s just for a day. The tricky part is the entrances to all the parking lots look the same except for a small sign at the gate that mentions if its short term or long term. There are also multiple entries to the short term lot but just one for the long term, so it’s easy to park in the wrong lot. If you look at the map below I’ve highlighted the location of the long term lot.
The first time I flew out of T4, the self-check-in machines weren’t working. They work now and I was able to check in and print my boarding pass from one of the self-check-in machines, and then just head towards passport control directly.
Terminal 4 was packed when I was there Thursday morning. I think I actually prefer flying out of the main terminal because it no longer feels busy with Kuwait Airways no longer operating from there. T4 doesn’t have enough seating and the airport feels super packed because it’s so small and busy.
Right now the terminal duty-free area is going under major construction (pictured on top), but the following places are open:
Small temporary duty-free shop
WHSmith (a really nice one)
Blend It Kiosk
Costa kiosk
Starbucks kiosk
The following restaurants and cafes are planning to open up soon based on the hoardings I saw:
Cafe Coco
Caribou Coffee
Le Pain Quotidien
McCafe
McDonald’s
I spotted three lounges this time at the airport. Bayan Lounge, Al-Mubarakiya Lounge and a Transit Lounge. Previously the Al-Mubarakiya lounge was only for business class passengers, I think that’s changed now because there was a long queue outside the Al-Mubarakiya lounge when I passed by. I couldn’t check and see what cards would get you into the lounge but according to the Kuwait Airways page, it costs KD9 to enter it if you don’t have a card.
On arrival, the airport was empty since we were the only plane that had arrived at the time. So passport control was a breeze and it didn’t take long for me to be back at my car. This is really the biggest plus for me over the main terminal, a much nicer arrival hall.
Overall not a terrible experience, I just wish the airport had more seating areas (or preferably, a lot fewer people).
