MY Favorite or Worst Airports! and WHY!

[_Q_]

Favorite:

Dubai - Feels like you're in a 5 star hotel. Shopping is great and it's easy to find something to do during a long layover.
Minneapolis - Great shopping. Lots of stuff to do. Very well laid out.
Heathrow - Looks dumpy, but there's tons of stuff to do.

Worst:
Cairo - Overcrowded & unorganized. It took about 45 minutes for our luggage to arrive (not sure what the hold up was). Security guards are shady. I got asked for money by a security guard so he can allow liquids in my checked luggage. Aparently it was a "new rule they were implementing". When I asked to talk to his boss, he quickly changed his mind and let it slide. Next security guard I patted me down and just flat out asked if he can have the money in my pocket.
Toronto Pearson - Everything closes at 10pm and signage sucks. Absolutely hate that place.
Amman - Security guards like to harass anyone with an Arab name. Took me 30 minutes of interrogation to get through security, while me non-Arab friend got through security in 5 minutes. Go figure, a Canadian Arab is assumed to be a terrorist in an Arab country out of all places. It just rubbed me the wrong way.

On a side note, I'm not sure what everyone loves about Vancouver airport. It's not bad, but not great. I'd put it in the same class as Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal. Pretty much the same as any medium sized Canadian Airport.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by jar_e

Have you ever flown in there? Arguably some of the best scenary ever once you actually hit the island and you have a clear day.

Yes, 4 weeks or so ago. It was a rare clear day and the co-pilot came in low all along the coast.

[ah123]

Haven't travelled too much, but here's my contribution:

Best:
Schiphol
Heathrow (T1, I believe)

Worst:
Nairobi - it is major hub, yet the airport has minimal amenities like restaurants, fully equipped washrooms (try finding soap or toilet paper!), or even places to sit

[Reneeee]

Best: Copenhagen, Denmark - Design and Asthetics excellent

Worst: Kiev, Ukraine - Poorly designed and nothing to do in it at all. It feels like a forgotten strip mall, random cellular phone accessories and not much else besides a duty free full of alcohol

[normtwofinger]

Originally Posted by J-bo09

Had to fly there in March on the way to Belize. The airport itself was not too bad, but customs in that airport gives me nightmares

The newer section is ok, anywhere else in Houston airport is terrible. The whole place (including newer section) is dirty and over crowded.

Dallas on the other hand is 100 times better.

[sclitheroe]

Toronto Island Airport (now Billy Bishop Airport) has a soft spot in my heart, it was the airport for my first ever flight (to Ottawa)

[tipenmat]

My favourite ones so far have been:
GPS - Baltra Airport: very small and you go right outdoors but it's awesome
IPC - Mataveri: same as above
ATL - Hartsfield Jackson: big and well organized
YHZ - Halifax Stanfield: for a mid sized airport it has lots of shops and places to eat.
AKL- Auckland: very nice experience and layout.

Worst ones:
LAX - LA: Lineups everywhere and just old and dumpy
YHM - Hamilton: just small and crappy
UIO - Quito: crazy scary runway - seems like you will plunge if you don't stop on time

[Kiran403]

Best:
Denver - I like the glass ceiling and the airport is generally pretty clean.

Atlanta - Even though it's massive, I found it pretty easy to navigate and the amount of random hot chicks strolling around made for nice scenery.

Newark - For the 3 major airports that service the NY-NJ area, I actually think that Newark's airport might be the best one. Train access direct to Penn Station is great and all the staff were very friendly.

Worst:
Ronald Reagan (Washington) - You have to keep going back and forth on different floors from where you check in to where you have to drop you bags off and then back down again to the gates. I flew into Dulles on the way into DC and it was much better organized.

Fort Lauderdale - Super run down and completely unorganized. The international departures/customs is an absolute joke. All the lines merge into one and none of the staff seem to know what is going on.

LaGuardia - It's not that I hate it, but it's just so small for the amount of traffic it gets. The only plus for it is the location.

Worst airline - Air Transat. Tiny seats and some of the older planes still don't have TV's in the headrests. My return flight from London to Calgary didn't have any TV's for a 9 hour flight.

[Kiran403]

Originally Posted by EYE_Overstand

Omaha's airport was so small! seemed like only 8 gates and one food stand and one stand for like 10 books and 20 magazines.

LOL Omaha's is so small. As far as midwest spots, I didn't mind Kansas City's though.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Worst
3.) Nha Trang Airport (NHA) The old US airbase, not the new airport. No A/C in the jungle, and the terminal really hasn't seen much repair since the Americans left it. Reminds you of a Chuck Norris MIA movie set. Was there 4 years ago on a charter.

2) Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Sadly I actually think this is the best airport in all of Zim right now... given it is 99% tourists. After you land you're in a cattle hall waiting to pay Mugabe's henchman his $75 cash only single entry visa. No conveyor belt luggage, it's all hand dropped so you have 200 people wandering around bags trying to find theirs. Way too small to handle 2 737's so you're packed in there in the non A/C heat. 1 barely there "lounge" available for feeble soft drinks. Oddly the pre security areas were not nearly as offensive, other than the tortoise slow gate people (a common theme in Africa)

1) Worst of all time. Nairobi. What a craphole considering it is East Africa's main airport. And this was the nice side - the "international terminal". Only had crappy benches for about 25 people, and 1 lousy coffee shop. About 6 places to buy smokes and booze though. Dirty, hot, and jsut crappy all over. Agents have cardboard signs they stealthily put up over the gate with no annoucements. Hope you like lines, as you can spend hours if you want get to the Kenyan Airways counter for help. Place was tiny too - About the size of the main floor at the Bay in Downtown Calgary except in a 25 foot wide strip. It's a circular building like the old Toronto T1. It's a major hub into Kigali but the Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda were worth it though. Oh and they lost my backpack here right before I went on a 15 day safari....I was luck to get it back as lost luggage here tends to stay lost....

Here's some pics:

yes it's that's narrow. Notice the lack of seats...anywhere. That plasma is bogus, none were working when we were there 2 years ago.


Seats are these weird roll around on your own deals. Usually all pushed into a corner. Note the everpresent unfinished construction:


Best

1) Hong Kong. In town check-in and a high speed train were absolutely amazing. It would be like checking your bags in at Bankers Hall downtown at a counter. Boarding a bullet train to the airport, clearing security and sitting in a chair by the gate in 23 minutes. Speedy, efficient, and clean. What more do you want?

2) Schiphol - Kind of dated, but having the metro, overland train, and airport all on top of each other are absolutely amazing. Contrast that with Heathrow and getting to St Pancras from Heathrow on the Tube....

3) St Pancras Eurostar. OK it's a train but what an amazing restoration of a Victorian era building. Taking the train is loads more civilized than flying. Relaxed and comfy preboard area. Good shops and eateries. Annoying lack of garbage cans - thank you IRA.

[EYE_Overstand]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

Worst
3.) Nha Trang Airport (NHA) The old US airbase, not the new airport. No A/C in the jungle, and the terminal really hasn't seen much repair since the Americans left it. Reminds you of a Chuck Norris MIA movie set. Was there 4 years ago on a charter.

2) Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Sadly I actually think this is the best airport in all of Zim right now... given it is 99% tourists. After you land you're in a cattle hall waiting to pay Mugabe's henchman his $75 cash only single entry visa. No conveyor belt luggage, it's all hand dropped so you have 200 people wandering around bags trying to find theirs. Way too small to handle 2 737's so you're packed in there in the non A/C heat. 1 barely there "lounge" available for feeble soft drinks. Oddly the pre security areas were not nearly as offensive, other than the tortoise slow gate people (a common theme in Africa)

1) Worst of all time. Nairobi. What a craphole considering it is East Africa's main airport. And this was the nice side - the "international terminal". Only had crappy benches for about 25 people, and 1 lousy coffee shop. About 6 places to buy smokes and booze though. Dirty, hot, and jsut crappy all over. Agents have cardboard signs they stealthily put up over the gate with no annoucements. Hope you like lines, as you can spend hours if you want get to the Kenyan Airways counter for help. Place was tiny too - About the size of the main floor at the Bay in Downtown Calgary except in a 25 foot wide strip. It's a circular building like the old Toronto T1. It's a major hub into Kigali but the Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda were worth it though. Oh and they lost my backpack here right before I went on a 15 day safari....I was luck to get it back as lost luggage here tends to stay lost....

Best

1) Hong Kong. In town check-in and a high speed train were absolutely amazing. It would be like checking your bags in at Bankers Hall downtown at a counter. Boarding a bullet train to the airport, clearing security and sitting in a chair by the gate in 23 minutes. Speedy, efficient, and clean. What more do you want?

2) Sciphol - Kind of dated, but having the metro, overland train, and airport all on top of each other are absolutely amazing. Contrast that with Heathrow and getting to St Pancras from Heathrow on the Tube....

3) St Pancras Eurostar. OK it's a train but what an amazing restoration of a Victorian era building. Taking the train is loads more civilized than flying. Relaxed and comfy preboard area. Good shops and eateries. Annoying lack of garbage cans - thank you IRA.

i Cant Agree with you more. Fast and passenger friendly! Great Airport!!! and maybe my Favorite city in the world!

[FurnaceFace]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

I still got you beat. Wheatland had no terminal, no gates, just a runway, ramp, and a crappy weather shack with an old leather couch.

A couch! Try Utila.

Originally Posted by troutman

Everywhere I landed in South America, there was great applause in the cabin. I wasn't sure what to make of that.

They do this in Europe too although it seems less so now. It's just a show of respect to the pilots.

Originally Posted by ah123

Haven't travelled too much, but here's my contribution:

Best:
Schiphol
Heathrow (T1, I believe)

Worst:
Nairobi - it is major hub, yet the airport has minimal amenities like restaurants, fully equipped washrooms (try finding soap or toilet paper!), or even places to sit

Agreed on Schipol and Nairobi. Nairobi has one little long term waiting room upstairs with uncomfortable wooden chairs.

Lots of small airports really blow. Utila above barely counts as an airport as its in country only..and there is something a little fun about basically waiting in a wooden bus shelter...though not for half a day. The sister island of Roatan is international and pretty bad. Once through security there are two waiting rooms with barely enough space. Two stores with nothing really in them and a snack bar. The worst thing, and I'll never understand why some airports in central America do this, is they search your carry on a second time as you othrough the gate and you cannot take any liquids you've bought at the snack bar. Bought a bottle of water or a pop? Nope, they confiscate it.

Also agree with the comments about Dubai being a mall.
Frankfurt can be hit and miss. Some areas are really industrial.
Orly? Yep pretty junky. CDG like Frankfurt depends which terminal you're in.
Has Seoul been redone? We were through there in 99 and it was surprising how old it was given they just had the Olympics. It must have been redone by now.

Placencia airport in Belize is fun. It's a tiny airport but a couple of fun aspects to the runway. The road to the airport runs across the top of the runway and the few cars in the area have to,stop and look for planes. The runway also extends out into the marsh. Fun for take off and landing, it's just barely long enough for a Cessna to land on...and barely smooth enough too.

[M*A*S*H 4077]

My favorite airports would be:
Frankfurt - giant but easy to find your way around.
San Diego - thought it was modern, nicely laid out and easy to navigate.

Average:
Newark
Vancouver
Edmonton
Calgary - would be among the worst for me but when I'm there it means vacation so that's a plus. The customs area is cramped and last time through some genius decided to put all the luggage from London, Paris, and Houston on the same baggage claim carousal...

Worst:
LAX - looks like a dump

Worst airline:
United - the staff are not very helpful from my experiences and they nearly lost our luggage last time

[saskflames69]

Edmonton's airport beats Calgary's any day, hands down. Except for the fact that it's 20 freaking minutes out of town. Might as well be in Red Deer.

Not sure why everybody hates LAX.

[RedMileDJ]

I was actually looking forward to my business / training trip to Chicago, this Monday.

...not anymore...

[EYE_Overstand]

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

I was actually looking forward to my business / training trip to Chicago, this Monday.

...not anymore...

AMAZING city! .... SUB PAR airport!

[saskflames69]

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

I was actually looking forward to my business / training trip to Chicago, this Monday.

...not anymore...

Because of the airport? I wasn't a huge fan of Honolulu's airport but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the rest of the island.

Have fun in Chicago!

[RedMileDJ]

Originally Posted by EYE_Overstand

AMAZING city! .... SUB PAR airport!

I'm looking forward to seeing the city, for sure!

Originally Posted by saskflames69

Because of the airport? I wasn't a huge fan of Honolulu's airport but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the rest of the island.

Have fun in Chicago!

I'm sure the city will be fine. I was referring to the airport...based on the topic of the thread.

To be specific, I'm going to Schaumburg. I'm not entirely sure if I'll have the time to go into Chicago. But I heard Schaumburg has an incredible mall. I'll probably check it out and do some shopping.

...and then try to expense it...hehe!

[Julio]

Haven't traveled nearly as much as some in the thread but...

Liked: SFO, except United sucks badly.
Denver...have only been there for a few layovers but very nice airport.
Vancouver...have travelled there for over 20 years, maybe I like it because it has got so much better over the years, but very much reflects the city. Also like the easy transit connection downtown.

Good and bad:
Halifax: Love the airport, it's a great model for new/remodeling mid sized airports like Edmonton and Saskatoon. Way, way too far out of the city though. Would that be because Shearwater is right at the harbour?
Saskatoon: Thanks to BigTime for the shoutout to YXE. I really like that airport, go through there at least once a year, but am really looking forward to their renos. They did their last expansion right before 9/11, so really no amenities on the other side of security.
Pearson: As stated above, depends on the terminal.
Dorval: Old, cramped but AC had tons of hot French women working there who were surprisingly very nice.
YYC: Meh...but that might just be because of familiarity.

Don't go there:
Oakland: I swear the gate next to us when we deplaned was going to somewhere in Mexico and there were livestock going on board, and that scene didn't look out of place in that crap hole.

[renny]

for me, i personally don't care about whether or not the airports are modern. I only care if it's convenient and gets me to where I need to go quickly and easily. Especially since I travel a lot for work.

For me most major airports do this well.

I hate O'Hare though, it's one of the worst airports I've ever been. It's ridiculous to have connections separated by 1H when it takes more than that to get from domestic to international since you have to exit the terminal, get your luggage and go through security all over again. I've missed 3 connections at this sh**y airport. Never again will I ever connect through O'Hare.