Travel experts reveal best and worst airports
Love them or hate them, you can’t avoid an airport. So which ones do the experts like best?
BEST
Changi, Singapore
Singapore’s futuristic hub is consistently named as the world’s best airport by travellers, pilots and industry experts. And it’s easy to see why. As well as being scrupulously clean and fantastically efficient, it’s also really fun. There’s a rooftop swimming pool, butterfly garden, tropical rainforests, two 24-hour movie theatres playing the latest blockbusters (for free!), video games, a spa, pay-per-use lounges, endless bars and restaurants, and world-class shopping. You could essentially spend your whole holiday there and still have a great time.
Seoul Incheon, South Korea
This airport wins points both for its terminal facilities and the flying experience for crew. Pilots appreciate that the runways are huge, there are rarely any delays (even in bad weather) and the controllers speak good English. For passengers, there’s great shopping, a good selection of local and international dining, an ice rink for the kids, spas and saunas, reasonably priced lounges, mini gardens and even a cultural museum. If you’ve got a longer layover you can take a free shuttle to the Incheon Golf Course to play a round or take a free tour of Seoul itself, visiting historic sites and shopping districts.
Detroit, USA
This one might be off the radar for Kiwi travellers, but pilots and flight attendants love it. The most popular feature is the restaurants serving nothing but gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwiches – an American dream. There’s an on-site Westin Hotel where guests can check in without going through the main terminal, as well as a good selection of shopping and dining inside. Overall, passengers rated Detroit highly for cleanliness, efficiency and friendly staff.
WORST
LAX
The main complaint levelled at LAX is that it seems to be constantly under construction. The plus side of that is that the airport will (hopefully) be better in the future, but it still makes for a pretty disappointing experience right now. Travellers ranked the airport in 91st place out of 100 around the world, citing the long lines, rude employees and general run down state of the facilities. It doesn’t make for a very fitting gateway to the glamorous world of Hollywood.
Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Philippines
For many years the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) was considered the worst airport in the world, though some minor improvements have managed to pull it up from last place. Despite this, travellers still find it overcrowded and dirty with limited dining options and few restrooms. Add to that long queues and unhelpful staff and you’ve got some very unhappy fliers. According to one pilot, the failings of Manila’s main airport are made even more obvious by the fact that all the other airports in Asia are palaces. Sadly, NAIA remains in a time warp.
Paris Charles de Gaulle, France
It seems everyone hates France’s main airport and has done for at least the past decade. Despite the fact that CDG is the second busiest airport in the Europe (after Heathrow), it’s renowned for being incredibly slow with many travellers complaining that they’ve missed flights despite being in the terminal. One pilot even said “don’t go in if you want to leave within a week”. The staff also seem to lose bags frequently, are very lax with security checks and sometimes forget essential steps like issuing boarding passes.
Do you agree with the list? Have you visited any of these airports? Let us know in the comments section below, we’d love to hear from you.
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