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World’s worst airport?

November 8th, 2009

Heathrow Airport I’ve spent a lot of time in departure lounges this year and it’s actually nice to be ‘grounded’ for a little while (although I did pilot a 737 last week!). In the past 10 months I’ve had 38 flights and passed through 24 different airports (and around 200 airport shops that I wandered aimlessly around in with no intent on buying anything). In one of my long flights this year I wrote down all the airports I have been to in my travels over the years (and yes I was bored – I’d seen all the movies and read the inflight magazine twice). I have passed through 142 airports (now that’s a lot of shops to wander aimlessly around). And during my travels this year I also managed to visit what I consider to be the best and worst airports in the world. And other travellers tend to agree with me it seems. A couple of weeks ago a global poll of airline passengers from 160 countries voted for the best and worst airports of 2009. My best and worst made the top three of both. These are the results from the survey:

Best airports

1. Singapore Changi

2. Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok Intl

3. Amsterdam Schiphol

4. Dubai World Central Intl

5. London Heathrow (ironically, Heathrow also rated as the worst airport!)

Worst airports

1. London Heathrow

2. Paris CDG

3. Los Angeles – LAX Intl

4. Frankfurt International

So for my two cent’s worth this is my top three best airports in the world:

1. Changi Airport (Singapore)

changi airport roof top pool
It’s not only me who likes Changi – the airport has won over 250 awards for airport excellence since 1987. I’ve been there so many times, but still haven’t utilized all their great facilities, which includes: free internet (they were the first to have it), free cinema, ‘napping’ areas (I love those!), spa and gym, very nice showers, free Singapore tours (for those in transit for more than five hours), a Nature Trail (with six themed garden reserves) and – you’ve gotta love this – a rooftop swimming pool.

2. Zurich
What can I say – they’re Swiss. Everything is spotless, everything runs on time, the staff are polite (and very officious!), the restaurants are good (they have fondue on the menu) and, best of all, they have lots of shops selling Swiss chocolate.

8. Manas International airport (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan)
I flew into Bishkek with Uzbekistan airways in Business Class (it was $50 more) and as the plane came to a halt on the tarmac, a shiny, new-looking green van with a huge white VIP emblazoned across the side pulled up next to us. Out of the five other Business Class passengers, a silver-haired fellow in a blue suit seemed the most likely to be of some importance. He looked like either a politician or a Very Important Accountant. I was right. Us six pointy-end passengers were let off the plane first and Mr Blue-suit was directed to the van. And so was I and the other Business Class passengers. We drove straight past the large entrance to the arrivals hall and pulled up in front of a small wooden door. We got out and stepped into a plush lounge bar where a bevy of waiters was lined up awaiting our orders. ‘Would you like a drink, sir?’ my personal waiter asked. A smiling lady asked me if I needed a visa and then took my passport away. Ten minutes later, the lady returned with my bag and passport with visa. ‘You can go through the exit door now,’ she said. ‘When you have finished your beer,’ she added with a beaming smile. I was still expecting to go through customs and baggage check before standing in a pointless queue so an official could grunt at me, but the exit door led straight out to the front of the terminal. I was in Kyrgyzstan. On the return leg I was pulled from the check-in queue and taken back to the bar. Now that’s what I call an airport.

And here is my top three worst airports in the world:

1. LAX (Los Angeles)
You’d think as a major airport and gateway to the capital of the free world that LAX would be a great airport. Well, it’s shit. Here’s why: they have lost my bags (twice!), there are no showers at the airport for transit passengers (you have to catch a bus to a gym near the airport and pay $10 membership to use their showers and no-one at the airport can tell you about this place – I found it on the internet), there is no ‘left luggage’ so if you are in transit for a few hours you have to lug around all your bags if you want to visit any part of LA, passport control are grumpy, rude and just a bit too paranoid. And when it comes to ‘restaurants’ there is lots of choice – as long as you like American chain fast food.

2. Domodedovo International Airport (Moscow)
The staff at Moscow airport have truly mastered the art of being grumpy, rude and bloody slow. At one point I left the horrendously long queue for passport control (when I was leaving the country) because I was simply intrigued on why it was taking so long. Now no disrespect to passport officials, but you could train a chimpanzee to do the job, so I just wanted to know why it took ten minutes to stamp each passport. Oh, and the shops at the airport were more expensive than Champs-Elysées, the toilets hadn’t been cleaned since the iron curtain came down and there wasn’t a comfy seat in the whole airport.

3. Léon M’ Ba Airport (Libreville, Gabon)

gabon airport
I didn’t have a visa for Gabon, so I was only in transit for a few hours en-route to São Tomé and Príncipe. Or so I thought. I may have been in more rundown airports, but I was stuck at Libreville airport for three days waiting to get an airline ticket out of the place. I slept on a ‘barbecue grill’ seat with Arctic setting air conditioning, the one and only restaurant only served croissants and beer, check in was something akin to a riot and they played French rap 24 hours a day on the airport PA (and you think ‘normal’ rap is bad!).

So, do you have a favourite (and least favourite) airport?

9 Responses to “World’s worst airport?”

On November 8th, 2009 Epiphanie said:

“standing in a pointless queue so an official could grunt at me” – LOL, so true

My Top 3 Airports would be:

Changi, Singapore – I have a vivid memory of lovely carpets and helpful, friendly staff
Narita, Japan – The efficiency and atmosphere
Siem Reap, Cambodia – Compact, cute and colourful, no queues, no overabudance of shopping outlets. A lovely surprise after a challenging day.

Bottom 3:

Warsaw, Poland – Unpleasant colour scheme, dirty floors, unpleasant staff who regarded me with high suspicion upon entering Poland on a one way ticket.
Sofia, Bulgaria – Communist style charmless building, generally dirty, clueless staff
LAX, California – I hear you on the paranoia!

38 flights in 10 months – Awesome! D
On November 8th, 2009 Epiphanie said:

That should be a smiley
On November 8th, 2009 Michelle Tunrer said:

Hey Brian,

Love your work Must say I’ve been to my fair share of airports too. Here are my favs:

1. Changi – Singapore
Have been here many times over the years, often with very long stopovers and there is always so much to do. Whether it’s looking the 100s of shops, the free movies, sleeping on the beds with alarms, eating, going for a walk to the other terminal or surfing the net…time just seems to fly when you are at Changi I think the ’snooze chairs’ are something every airport should have.

I remember back in 2002 they had a live game show running every hour in both terminals that was AWESOME (mainly because my boyfriend and I won $250 Changi dollars to spend). It was called ‘What’s My Range’ and was a general knowledge quiz thing. We won! Was easy – all the American tourists seemed to know nothing…even about their own countries! If you won the round you got to pick a box that had an unknown sum of money in it to spend in the airport…up to $1000 Changi dollars sometimes! We didn’t have to spend a cent on duty free that trip! Wish they would bring that back!

2. Suvarnabhumi Airport – Bangkok
Now I remember the old Bangkok airport being pretty damn shitty. I had been there 3 times before but the last time I went to Thailand in 2006, the new airport had just opened and it was beautiful. Such a light, airy, clean place and HUGE! Really funky and modern with 50 places to eat alone. I had lunch at a great Sushi bar in the middle of one of the walkways.

I had a 5 hours to kill and that wasn’t difficult. I sat in a cool bar and had few drinks. Plenty of good shops to hang out in as well. BUT one thing that is very odd…no public shower facilities that are free. Total bummer. What you can do though is go to the traditional Thai massage for $10 (and the massage was great) then you can have a shower there. Is a great way to relax if you have the time

3. Dubai Airport – UAE
In all my travels I have never seen an airport with such a HUGE cultural diversity of passengers. Sheiks, Arabs in full regalia, Africans in traditional garb, Europeans, Asians…a true melting pot! Had WiFi, comfortable chairs, sofas, long lounge sleeper chairs in departure area and open 24 hours.

Worst airports

1. JFK – New York – USA
Really surprised at how crap this place was considering it’s a major gateway. Arrivals and baggage was old and run down and we waited a whole hour for bags to arrive. Was dirty and staff were really rude, which was odd because I found New Yorkers to be very friendly for the rest of my 2 weeks stay in NYC.

2. Cairo- Egypt
After arriving at the airport with a broken spine, thanks to a crappy old taxi that had no springs in the back seat, the airport was pretty much the same. Broken and crap. Well, in 2004 it was. Only airport I’ve been to since 1994 where smoking was allowed and it was putrid. Gift shop(s) was crap, nothing was open, toliets were rank and there was nothing to do. We laughed about how bad it was at the time though and were kinda expecting it…unlike JFK.

3. LAX – USA

What a terrible place that is. Took forever to get through customs and so we were running late for our next flight. There were no directions at all to show you were to find a shuttle for the domestic airport. Was just bizzare considering it is such a busy place.
On November 9th, 2009 Gerbie said:

Hi Brian,

small detail I’m sure you’ll like.

The Zurich airport is actually near a tiny village called Kloten. Sometimes in the travel industry it is called Airport Kloten as well. Being Dutch, that sounds funny. Translated it means bollocks. So if you’re flying to bollocks, you might end up in Zurich.

I myself prefer airports that are tiny. The smaller the better usually. But my favorite still remains Mahon/Menorca. Be it only for the great girl at the second check in desk when I worked there as a holiday rep ages ago…
On November 9th, 2009 Josh said:

I recently spent 12 hours at LAX and agree with you – it is rubbish.
You could forgive a smaller or more impoverished nation for having a dingy airport, but we’re talking the Centre of the Universe!
The most nutritious food option was Burger King. There are no signs (well, ones that help in any way) and we waited over an hour for our bags to come out. And you think someone would sweep up now and again!
On November 9th, 2009 Craig Dunn said:

You dont need to look overseas. We have our own terrible airports right here – Perth domestic and Sydney International. Both airports are a national shame. For both airports I can’t believe you have to pay to transfer between terminals. There is nothing decent to eat (unless you like soggy food) in Perth. Pert has no decent public transport system to the airport while the train to Sydney airport from the city is so overpriced. And then there is the ridiculous cost of parking, and the food, and the…

My favourite airport is Dubai. Clean and modern, great shopping and, by the look of the locals, it’s more than okay to wander around in your night shirts
On November 9th, 2009 Brian Thacker said:

Michelle, I love the ‘game show’ idea! How cool is that. They just need a 24 hour karaoke bar as well and I’d be in heaven. And i too like Suvarnabhumi airport, but it doesn’t matter how many times I’ve been there I don’t think I’ll ever learn how to pronounce it! (btw – Suvarnabhumi airport came in at No. 8 for best airports in the online survey)

Gerbie, after landing at ‘Bollocks Airport’ you can catch a train to Small Vagina Corner (Kleine Scheidegg in the Swiss Alps). Or you could just go to the Swiss town of Wank!

Craig, yes the cost of parking in Australian airports is ridiculous. I found this great ‘comparison’:

‘Taking into account modest delays, you may need an hour’s parking to collect a friend. In Melbourne that will cost $12, at London’s Heathrow, £4.10 ($8.50) and New York’s JFK, $US6 ($8.70). For a clearer picture of what an hour’s parking costs, try the Big Mac index: in Melbourne it is equivalent to 3.48 Big Macs but only 1.79 in London and 1.68 in New York. Even worse is Sydney airport, where an hour costs $15 – or 4.35 Big Macs.
On November 9th, 2009 Lucie Turnbull said:

Heathrow terminal 4 is hell. I got caught there on the first day of a snap strike by check in staff (on the first day of the English summer school holidays, of course!) and it was absolute chaos. I still have nightmares about it now three years later!

Lucie

PS Brian, love your books. You’re a scream!
On November 10th, 2009 Beth said:

Haven’t been to hundreds of airports, but I have to say that LAX was the worst for me, too. I had the same experience–went through SO many security folks (whose down-trodden faces seemed to say, “I don’t really care what your passport says; I’m just getting paid to stand here”) and nearly missed my flight. Stressful!

For the best airport, I have to say Changi Airport in Singapore. I loved the free internet, showers easily available and the fact that I was allowed to sleep in an empty booth of a closed coffeeshop!

Thanks for the fun blog topic!