Gran Canaria airport lounges

At €45.95 for up to three hours, it pays its way when you have time to use it. Aena expanded the lounge to 1,300 m², with room for about 188 people, and laid out a buffet with hot and cold food, a coworking area, a relaxation zone and a children's area. The 400 m² terrace looks out over the Atlantic, and on Gran Canaria the weather usually makes it the best seat in the terminal.

The sums are simple. A coffee, a sandwich and a drink at the airside cafés add up quickly for two people, and the lounge adds a quiet seat, wi-fi, power and a view. For a family of two adults and two children aged 6 to 10, the bill is €134.40; under-6s are free.

If you are flying early, it opens at 06:00. Café de Indias on Floor 1 opens at 05:00 for anyone who needs coffee first.

Yes. Aena sells the Galdós lounge for Schengen and non-Schengen flights alike, and Priority Pass places it after security and before passport control. That is good news, because UK passengers share the same lounge as everyone else, but it means the passport desks still lie between you and the gate.

Watch the departure screens in the lounge and leave in good time. The gates in Zone C are close by, but the queue at passport control sets the pace. The Fast Lane through security, at €11.10, is sold alongside the lounge on Aena's VIP site and gets you to the lounge sooner.

Priority Pass lists two places here. The Galdós lounge takes members from 06:00 to 22:00, for up to three hours, with entry from three hours before a scheduled departure, or four for transit passengers. On Priority Pass, children under 5 go in free (on Aena's own prices it is under-6s) and under-18s must be with an adult.

O'Learys, on Floor 1 near gate C18, gives €23 off the bill per visit between 09:00 and 18:00. Using both on the same trip spends two visits, and Priority Pass warns that repeated use within one airport trip may be charged by your card provider, so pick one.

Aena also opens the lounge to business-class passengers of partner airlines and members of associated airline club cards; check your own airline's lounge list before you pay.

It works well for children. Priority Pass lists a children's play area, and under-6s go in free on Aena's prices, while children aged 6 to 10 pay €21.25. Children aged 11 and over pay the adult price. The terrace gives space to move about before the flight, and the buffet means no queue at a café with tired children. Those under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Aena sells Meet & Assist at Gran Canaria from €149.45 for one adult, with the price per person falling for groups. Staff help with check-in, take you through security on a priority basis and leave you in the VIP lounge; on arrival they meet you and help with your luggage. It must be bought at least 72 hours ahead, after which Aena's agents phone to agree the meeting point and time. It does not include carrying bags or priority at passport control.