Best/worst airports you've been to?

Best - Helsinki.

Always a pleasure to use.

Worst - Geneva

It has been a lot better in recent years, but the awful queues I have had to put up with in the past on the way to, and from skiing have been a nigthmare.

Heathrow has always been a bit rubbish but I have always had a good trip through T5.
 
regulus said:
Vienna? Really? I didn't think that much of it. We had a house in Vienna and used to fly there at least once a month. It runs smoothly until delays or cancelled planes comes into play .. an hour later and it's at the point of melting down. I did enjoy the adult shop there though ;).
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I just came from Vienna (6:35am flight to Heathrow - just got home 10 mins ago!). I have to say I echo your sentiments somewhat - it's nice enough I suppose, but nothing special.

For me, airports are there for you to sit and wait for two hours until your flight is ready for boarding. I've never been in any of the "nightmare" airports (only European / US ones), so I can't comment there. That said, for me an airport is good if the flight is on time, and bad if I have to wait any longer than I expected. The amenities / shops / "entertainment" really don't interest me either way. I'm there to get on my flight, not to go on a shopping spree.
 
Narita is pretty nice. I don't mind the London airports.

McCarran was poor. As is LAX.

Tehran's old airport was pretty dire, haven't seen the new one.
 
I have to cheat a little and say my best airport has to be my local one.. Darwin.

For international flights.. check in a couple of hours before my flight. Drive 10 mins back to my house and put my feet up for an hour or so.
Arrive back at the terminal 30 mins before my flight, wander through xray screening and wait 20 mins for my flight :)


My worst airports are not international.. more like a hut next to an airstrip in aboriginal communities...
 
Bes said:
haha None of the airports in the UK are anything like a 'dump'. Both LHR and LGW are quite good by international standards. Let's bash the British shall we? :rolleyes:
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I actually have to agree with you. LHR or LGW or even Stansted or Luton aint really as bad as people make it out to be. Hell man, if LHR runs smoothly, which it does 95% of the time, the whole world is your hub, you have about 10 different ways of getting into London, passable shopping and they don't even lose the luggage that often either :p.

I don't like using Gatwick for the fact that it's usually populated with 'The Sun' type families on their way to a Thomas Cook holibob in Tenerife. Kids run riot while the dads are drinking beer and singing football songs. Well, that's my experience of the place. The infrastructure is adequate enough though.

Standsted and Luton are just weekend Euro breaks gettaways and as long as you can stay FAR away from the Ryan Air/Easy Jet sections, it's lovely little airports.
 
Worst: Moscow Sheremetyevo

Never had an issue with any other airport I have been to either in the UK or anywhere else.
 
Best:
Singapore Changi-clean and well air-conditioned thank goodness, and there is a swimming pool on the roof to cool off in if the stop-over is long enough :cool:

Barbados Grantley Adams (may not look the greatest, but you know you have arrived :D)

Madrid Barajas

Milan Linate

Worst:
Gatwick-horrible, just horrible. Glad to depart and dread the arrival :(
 
Why all the hate for Gatwick? Seriously? Some of you people havent travelled if you think Gatwick is anywhere near bad! Any French airport is horrific, one toilet between hundreds of people, awful food and cramped conditions. Best airport I've been to is probably Orlando, although a bit touristy. Worst would have to be Colombo
 
Nartia was pretty nice when I last went through it (admittedly we were in the JAL business class lounge).

Last couple of times I went through Heathrow were ok to with no real queuing in T3, (admitly again that was business class).
 
Manila - I hate it. Staff are useless, Terminal 1 is run down (terminal 2 is awesome but no one rents space there apart from Airphil and Cebu Pacific because its too expensive) and the airport tax irritates the **** out of me. Even worse for natives who have to pay a total of around £30 if they want to leave the country.

Perth International - the most boring airport in the world. The only good thing is that if youre a backpacker waiting for a flight you can sleep on the armrest-less benches all night.

Hong Kong - well maintained, plenty of shops, spacious and useful staff.

Changi - Awesome. Cant fault it one bit apart from renovations in some areas.
 
Morgoth said:
Ahaha, I've never seen that bus station but I see where you are coming from, although I did like how quickly you can get through the place.
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I intended my comparison as a positive of course! I also like how each gate has its own security and baggage reclaim so you only walk 20 yards from the plane to the bus stop outside. Very useful! and a design not used anymore so much (probably to keep retailers happy).

Another airport I liked was Bergerac, it was a portakabin with 2 departures a day from there to East Midlands. So simple!
 
madrid is nice. well set out and a good atmosphere, the way its set out means you either get a panoramic sunset or sunrise if your lucky with your timings.

madrid_airport_gf.jpg
 
Love how people are slating the british airports, they are amongst the best i have been to!

Madrid Barajas, Los Angeles LAX, Paris CDG, tons of bloody woeful ones in terms of facilities. At least the british ones have a fairly decent selection of shops and places to eat!
 
Worst for me is Tripoli, Libya by an absolute mile.

Dirty, no air-con, laughable organisation and security. The floor of the toilets was an inch deep in wee both times I was there and cockroaches were crawling over the tables in the departure lounge. Just utterly grim. Oh and no alcohol to help you forget about your surroundings...
 
Best - some airstrip near Lamu off the coast of Kenya. It's not really an airport but there was no waiting around, no security and it was far more exciting than any other airport.
Worst - Zakynthos, ~£6 for a cup of Nescafe equivalent, spent a long time sitting on the floor.
 
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