Talk among yourselves. I'll give you a topic: the world's best/worst airports and why.

To begin, here's a review at Salon (ad view required for non-subscribers).

I absolutely hate LAX, I'm not really sure that I like any airport. But I LOVE the idea of exploring a new airport.

I also am not overly fond of Toronto, the giant glass wall bothers me.

Sacramento is my favorite, but I think only because it means I'm finally home.

JFK wins dirtiest award in my book.

The prettiest I've ever been to is Houston.

All of the ones I've been to overseas have been under construction so I think it isn't fair to judge them that way.

i havent been to too many aiports so far. i have to say portlands is pretty easy to navigate.

the biggest one ive been too so far is the frankfurt, germany aiport. when i flew in it was easy, as customs pretty much leads the way, but when i flew out again, i swear i had to go through security about five times, because people kept giving me the wrong directions to my gate. maybe that was because it was the only united flight in a wing usually reserved for lufthansa. even though it was kind of big and scary, for some reason i highly enjoy airports. its sort of inspiring to see the people all about, going country to country.

I'd say that ATL is the easiest to navigate, JFK is the dirtiest and Warsaw/Fred Chopin is the worst to navigate (at least during construction).

Both the worst and the best: MAMITUPU AIRPORT.

It is located in Panama in the San Blas Islands.
Basically, the airport is a tiny bamboo shack, with a hay roof, with a huge sign that says "Bienvenidos! Aeropuerto de Mamitupu"
Obviously there are no services provided (There's one bench you can sit on...). But at the same time it is the cutest thing...

My least favorite major airport is Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

The best big ones are Seoul's new international hub at Incheon, and Singapore's Changgi. Amsterdam-Schiphol is also quite good, especially the train station in the basement.

i'm not at all crazy about minneapolis st paul. it's just so long and seems like my connections are always on the other side of the terminal.

quote:

Originally posted by Landire:
I absolutely hate LAX, I'm not really sure that I like any airport.

LAX is evil. (Stoo venting on LAX) Fucking evil.

LAX gets another vote from me...the way they arrange the international terminal makes it like a refugee camp! MIA and CDG are quite bad and disorganized too.

About my favorite, I would say Amsterdam Schipol and Munich International are both very user friendly, spacious (but not too spacious to travel from gates to gates like Houston Intercontinental!), and have nice shops. Munich even offers free coffee!

Yep, LAX is pretty darn bad! I believe PDX was actually voted best airport in a (whispers it very very quietly) Conde Naste survey (my excuse for knowing this is that they had a copy in the tailors in Hoi An and I was waiting for the missus to get her dress fitted).

I have to say that navigation out of HKG airport is nasty in terms of finding ground transportation (man trying to find teh right bus..jeez!).

Funkiest I think are joint winners - Peurto Iguassu (cant remember the name of it exacyly) for just being tiny and just so chilled when you come out of there! ANd Alice Springs for just being what it is...feels kinda like a personal air strip when you land and get out.

I love PDX. It's not well known that the vendors cannot charge any more for merchandise than they charge at their other stores. I'm just sorry that Machismo Mouse closed.

Frankfurt is gorgeous, in a cold, industrial sort of way, but getting off from an international flight was a real challenge as the signs were misleading.

LAX Terminal 1 is a disaster, what with the security lines snaking outside on the sidewalk, come rain or hot sunshine.

I happen to like O'Hare's United Terminal, especially the "Blade Runner" tunnel between the gateways and the terminal proper. And things there have improved a lot. It used to be that the only place in the terminal to get food also allowed smoking. The only food you could get was a heart attack on a stick. There is now a good no smoking policy and you can get an actual salad.

Istanbul's domestic terminal is a trip. You cannot get into the airport without going through the x-ray machines. Thus their "weapons surrender" window is just inside the front door. It's a bit unsettling, though also fairly reassuring, to see handguns and rifles being handed over to airport personnel.

I agree that the Vancouver airport is lovely. However, being as I missed a connection to Nelson because the immigration desk was woefully understaffed, my impression is definitely skewered.

best for me would be Changi Airport in Singapore, awesome facilities including an open air swimming pool...

worst by FAR is Heathrow....god awful hell hole cess pit of utter horridness

Funny. I love LAX. It's one of my favorite US airports. Terminal one is a zoo, but I don't fly Southwest so no biggy.

I'm usually in term. 6,7,8 (United), or Bradley. I've never waited more than 5 minutes to get through security for United, and I've done it way over 100 times counting smoke breaks. 6,7,and 8 have several decent food and drink joints, and are never severely overcrowded. At Bradley, security lines are usually 30-60 minutes, and post security is pretty dismal, but I really like the upstairs area pre-security where you can eat, drink, and people-watch the entire ticketing area.

Considering it's size, LAX is one of the easiest airports in the US to get into or out of. Being dropped off/picked up, driving yourself and parking, or renting a car are all ridiculously easy.

I wonder why so many here hate LAX. I also wonder if there is connection to the large number here that happen to dislike LA.

Toronto was until recently very high on the list of airports to avoid. As they closed terminal 2 and fully opened terminal 1 it got much better. Even though it's huge it operates very well.

London's Heathrow is hands down the worst in my books.
LAX and Chicago's O'Hare are not destinations I seek.

On the list of enjoyable airports I have:
Amsterdam - great shopping and easy to navigate
Dallas - pretty slick
Millwauke - the fastest in and out
Toronto - terminal 1,very easy to navigate
Lima - very easy to navigate, good food
Dusseldorf - good food and great shopping, very easy to get in and out

best airport would either be dubai airport, or bangkok also vancouver, worst is definately kabul airport in a afghanistan.