Which is the best airport in the world?

[Fundamental]

I like two Spanish airports

I have only one experience about Spanish airports and that was in Kirona.. the airport was just awful, hot + all the people were smoking inside.. that was quite a shock for me!

[N0W1K]

I like two Spanish airports

I have only one experience about Spanish airports and that was in Kirona.. the airport was just awful, hot + all the people were smoking inside.. that was quite a shock for me!

I was talking about Madrid's and Barcelona's...

Girona's airport it's a small airport, that it wasn't prepared to have the amount of flights that have this days. Ryan air and another cheap companies use this airport to the cheap flights. It was only a comercial airport. (If you pay less money, the company don't pay to the airport big amounts of money, so the airport cannot make big changes....)

Maybe with patience, money and some years we can prepare this airport in good condition, for to absorve the big amount of flights

[Olivier]

Yes, the customs in the US don't give a **** about if you make your connection, 2 hours is not enough for a transfer if you're arriving from Europe or Asia. I flew to Hong Kong sometime after 9/11 from Toronto thru Chicago, clearing Chicago is horrible, as I waited 2 hours for immigration and 1/2 hour for baggage, then I have to re-check it to Toronto. I missed my connection by 5 minutes, and waited 24 hours to get on the next plane, no compenation, nothing, I was even blamed for this.

The rule is: if you are European, never take a flight with a connection in the US!!!
Moreover since they demand a securized passport. I simply avoid the USA, now.

[Olivier]

Brussels Zaventem airport is also nice, pleasant spacious design and all.

Yes! I flew from Bordeaux (France) to Vienna (Austria) by Zaventem (Bruxels airlines). I really liked the place.

[Olivier]

I have experience only about the following international airports:

I have never thought about such a list... can't remember...
well... hem...

France:
Paris : Orly / Roissy - Charles-de-Gaulle
Strasbourg - Entzheim
Montpellier
Bordeaux (there were flight directly from Canada)
Beauvais (from London)

Europe:
London - Stansted
Madrid
Vienna
Roma - Fiumicino
Venise
Bruxelles - Zaventem
(can't remember the others...)

Africa:
Dakar, Libreville, Douala...
Cotonou? Abidjan?

America:
New York - Kennedy
Chicago - O'Hare
Washington
LAX (Los Angeles)
Boston
Toronto - Pearson
Montreal - Trudeau + Mirabel, which was nice but too far, and finaly closed this month.

I've ever been to Asia.

My father told me the airport in Beyrouth is very nice. The worst arrival was in Libya (nothing writen in english, only in arab). The worst organisation is in Africa. The best in Europe and America.
Worst welcome: the USA ("do you want to immigrate?" "are you a terrorist?")

[Viperazzi]

What about Schiphol Amsterdam?

Excuse me... But it looks like Sh**hole!
I've always had to re-read it when I've heard about that airport.

[Fjon]

My local airport (Dublin) is just awful. It really needs to be updated a bit as it hasn't changed in the last 50 years or so.
I liked LAX airport, but it was a bit "cold". Also the Hong Kong Airport was quite nice, but also a bit "cold".
I might as well put up my list of airports!

Europe:
Dublin
London - Heathrow
London - Stansted
Manchester
Amsterdam
Brussels
Paris - CDG
Paris - Beauvais
Nice
Düsseldorf
Frankfurt
Rome
Milan
Vienna
Graz
Las Palmas

Outside Europe:
Hong Kong
Bangkok
Cairns
Brisbane
Sydney
Los Angeles
San Francisco

[Donald]

I voted for Hong Kong. It is quite nice to look at, you find your way easily and it is very efficient in luggage handling. Once my flight from Amsterdam got delayed and there were only 35 minutes left for my domestic connection. When I disembarked from a crowded 747, a hostess waving a plate with my name on it directed me to my plane to Guanzhou. And I was nicely surprised that my case also arrived there with the same plane.

I made a different experience in Amsterdam, where they could not manage to bring my case from a small commuter plane to my flight to Tokyo within 60 minutes.

The Osaka airport (the one on the artificial island) has a beautifully designed interior. But I had a bad surprise there: After I had spent my last Yens in the duty free shop, I came across an automated turnstyle, which demanded an airport fee from me - cash.

I like Düsseldorf quite well, after the fire in 1996 they have modernized nicely. And Dresden is pure luxury, it is totally oversized.

The worst experiences I made in Greece. All airports I visited there (Athens in 2000, Mykonos, Santorini, Heraklion) were a desaster.

[Olivier]

I made a different experience in Amsterdam, where they could not manage to bring my case from a small commuter plane to my flight to Tokyo within 60 minutes.

In Madrid, they could not neither. My case arrived 2 days later from France to Canada and back. Going back without was no problem, but I needed my case at my arrival. No clean clothes for 2 days... ugh.

[airis]

I haven't travelled at all, so I have no idea. Well, Helsinki-Vantaa airport was quite nice.

Local "international" airports in Lapland are usually so quiet. Only in December they are busy, when mainly British Christmas tourists arrive. (Last Christmas season about 450 charter flights , this year they expect 600 Christmas charter flights.)

Well I think they don't anymore check passports outside (imagine -30 °C ) as they had to do sometimes in the past when it was too crowded inside. Nowadays it is not a problem when about 2000-4000 visitors arrive to Rovaniemi airport within 2 hours and most of them even get warm thermal clothes inside the airport building. I think they don't usually dress people in other airports.

[micro]

At first I liked this poll, but with only 9 options... I think it's hard to find someone who knows all 9 airports well enough to answer the question (I already feel lucky to have been to 8 of the cities and 7 of the 9 airports).

Mostly I'm much too excited to get to my destination quickly to take note of an airport, I just rush through it, following the signs. Airports are just means for travelling, I only take note if something goes wrong. And of the bigger airports I know only small parts like 1 or 2 terminals, other terminals may be very different from the one you've just seen.

I can only tell what I hated most: Terrible hours of waiting in the transfer area of Warsaw airport. A terrible night on the floor of Stansted because all benches were occupied (see also http://www.sleepinginairports.net/ for other people's nightmares).

On the other hand, I like these completely artificial cities within a city. The bigger the better. The cleanliness, the busy, sophisticated, technique-laden atmosphere, dedicated entirely to efficiency. The moving walkways, the automated people movers, the staff which are highly experienced in dealing with an international crowd.

Among the ones I found rather pleasing was London City, not too far away, not too big and not too busy, and, though most people take a bus, there's a suburban train station only 300 m away.

From an architectural point of view, I remember Chicago and Osaka to be the most beautiful.

Nice idea to prepare such a list. Here's mine (it was easy to get it sorted with MS Word):

Amsterdam
Athens
Bangkok
Berlin-Schönefeld
Berlin-Tegel
Berlin-Tempelhof
Cologne/Bonn
Copenhagen
Denpasar
Dortmund
Düsseldorf
Frankfurt
Glasgow-Prestwick
Hamburg
Hanover
Helsinki
Hilo
Honolulu
Jakarta
Jayapura
La Palma
Lanzarote
London-City
London-Heathrow
London-Stansted
Los Angeles
Lübeck
Manchester
Milano
Moscow-Sheremetyevo
Munich
Naples
New York JFK
Nuremberg
Osaka
Oslo
Palma de Mallorca
Paris-CDG
Rovaniemi
San Francisco
Singapore
Stockholm-Skavsta
Stuttgart
Tokyo
Toronto
Ujung Pandang
Venice
Vienna
Warsaw
Washington-Dulles

[eurobillsandcoins]

Hong Kong IA and Singapore Changi have always been at the top of frequent travellers to Asia and business men. There is a fierce debate over the internet which one is better. Hong Kong was ranked as the best airport in the world last year by some organization, with Dubai and Singapore topping the list. Hong Kong's old airport was small, crowded and 75 years old, the completion of Chek Lap Kok took about 8 years. When HKIA opened in 1998 there were major problems plauging the airport baggage system, causing perishable goods to go bad and luggage lost for hours. Helsinki Vantaa is also wonderful. The one on my top list are: Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Osaka Kansai, Kuala Lumpur, Heathrow, Copenhagen

[lmviterbo]

Well, it seems that the choice wasn't that good for a start

Anyway, here's my list.

BKK
CDG
DAD
FAO
FCO
HAN
HKG
HOR
JFK
LAD
LGW
LHR
LIS
SGN
SJZ
TER
VCE
VIE
ZRH

Have fun finding the codes' meaning

EDIT: added another one I had forgotten. Still not sure about 3 others...

[N0W1K]

Have fun finding the codes' meaning

it's easy (I worked in a travel agency )

[androl]

Amsterdam
Athens
Bangkok
Berlin-Schönefeld
Berlin-Tegel
...
Ujung Pandang
Venice
Vienna
Warsaw
Washington-Dulles

one should think you spend more time in the sky than on the ground