Viking Warrior Posted 21 May, 2014 Share Posted 21 May, 2014 I have been to some airports in my time . But Aberdeen is fast dropping to one of the worst They have been putting up a new front entrance for over six months now . They keep changing the dates when it is going to open . Latest date us in June . No chance . Meanwhile a new massive several story high building has gone up in less time . They need better facilities boarding side for us waiting passengers . Best airports for me are Singapore . Hong Kong and T5 What's your best and worse airports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 21 May, 2014 Share Posted 21 May, 2014 Sarajevo but only because I was marooned there because of fog. Absolutely nothing whatsoever to do there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 21 May, 2014 Share Posted 21 May, 2014 Chambery. Grenoble. Charles de Gaulle. Toulouse. Basically, the French ones. Although Nice was, erm, nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 21 May, 2014 Share Posted 21 May, 2014 (edited) Worst is Manchester when the obese northern unwashed are rammed in like sardines awaiting their cattle flights to Magaluf or some other god forsaken sh*thole. T5 is excellent as is HK. Edited 21 May, 2014 by View From The Top Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 21 May, 2014 Share Posted 21 May, 2014 Damascus was ****. Literally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Super Saint Posted 21 May, 2014 Share Posted 21 May, 2014 Isle of Man is pretty ropey. Krakow is basic to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 21 May, 2014 Share Posted 21 May, 2014 Isle of Man is pretty ropey. Krakow is basic to say the least. We spent our honeymoon there in 1970. We flew in on a Viscount and out on a BAC111. When we took off they backed up to the perimeter fence to get as long a takeoff run as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lighthouse Posted 21 May, 2014 Share Posted 21 May, 2014 Katowice has got to have one of the worst runways. Old Soviet concrete slabs which you can bounce along for take off and landing. Grenoble's terminal makes coming home from a ski trip thoroughly depressing. I much prefer the ski train to the Alps. Riga was pretty dull inside the terminal but is one of the easiest in the world to fly into. I've managed to bang one of our cabin crew against the roof on a particularly turbulent approach to Malaga once. French Airports. All of them. I had to abort a landing into Bezier once because someone was towing a banner selling time share around at the end of the runway. Strangely neither he nor the air traffic controller saw this as a problem and I had to tell him to get out of the way on the second approach. Marrakech. The ATC their is hopeless. Madrid and Rome FCO are probably the two biggest, most badly organised f**k ups in Europe. The scariest airports are widely acknowledged as being. - Lukla, Nepal. In the Himalayas, enough said - Gibraltar. Turbulence coming off the rock with a SW wind can be pretty hairy. - Toncontin, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Very tricky circling approach onto a short runway surrounded by hills. - Madeira. Wind shear and variable wind on approach. - Courcheval. A runway on the side of a ski slope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpine_saint Posted 21 May, 2014 Share Posted 21 May, 2014 Worst - Salt Lake City. Horrendous cross-winds. Best - I like Schipol for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Warrior Posted 21 May, 2014 Author Share Posted 21 May, 2014 Salt lake wasn't to bad when I landed there alps waiting for a connecting flight to Boise . But I could well imagine the horrendous cross winds there though . It's an occupational hazard living in Orkney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 21 May, 2014 Share Posted 21 May, 2014 LAX is pretty dreadful. American airports are typically OK, spread out and new, but LAX was just a compact sh*hole. Not a fan of JFK either. I do think we're spoilt with Bournemouth and Southampton airports on the doorstep, they're both excellent little hubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lighthouse Posted 21 May, 2014 Share Posted 21 May, 2014 SOU is badly limited by its runway, which is too short and narrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kraken Posted 21 May, 2014 Share Posted 21 May, 2014 SOU is badly limited by its runway, which is too short and narrow. True, but that's also what kind of makes it a great airport. The planes can't be too big so the queues are never massive, getting on and off the plane takes no time at all, you can get from touch down to the car within ten minutes. Try that at Gatwick, which is clearly a brilliant airport, but also a monumental pain in the arse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai_phil Posted 21 May, 2014 Share Posted 21 May, 2014 San'aa in Yemen will forever hold the title. Lahore. Damascus? Yeah have to agree with Whitey, UNLESS you could use some "wasta" or get into the "almost" an Exec lounge. It doesn't get the title of worst though as it was always one of the few airport Duty Frees that stocked Chateau Ksara Reserve and Chateau Musar Lebanese Red Wines.... Yum yum yum Jo'burg is grim if you are stupid enough to pack anything valued at more than US$10 in your suitcase But surely the worst in terms of how you are treated like cattle by the staff HAS to be JFK Closer to hone, agree with WSS Krakow WAS also grim - just too small, BUT they have embarked on a major expansion now and Ryanair are creating a hub there so it should improve before too long. Best airport by far was always Changi, Munich is also a bloody good airport, UNLESS you are travelling on a bloody A380 in which case the non-Lufthansa Terminal is like a Sardine can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Warrior Posted 21 May, 2014 Author Share Posted 21 May, 2014 Some of crab air are pretty bad . Akrotiri and lyneham Most exciting and most scary was Kai tek in Hong Kong with skyscrapers and washing lines above and to the side 0f you but once inside the terminal it was okay . The new HK airport is good though it cost millions Oh and the original Kirkwall terminal just a large shed Absolute chaos when 9/11 happened Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegrant Posted 21 May, 2014 Share Posted 21 May, 2014 I've managed to bang one of our cabin crew against the roof on a particularly turbulent approach to Malaga once. Shouldn't you have been concentrating on flying the plane rather than banging the cabin crew? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 21 May, 2014 Share Posted 21 May, 2014 LaGuardia is a s**thole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingsland Codger Posted 22 May, 2014 Share Posted 22 May, 2014 Most exciting and most scary was Kai tek in Hong Kong with skyscrapers and washing lines above and to the side 0f you but once inside the terminal it was okay . The new HK airport is good though it cost millions Kai Tak - what an exhilarating landing; turn-right-at-the-checkerboard, the mountains, the skyscrapers, the washing lines, the cross-winds and the laping waves. The youtube clip is worth a look - Kai Tak landing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctoroncall Posted 22 May, 2014 Share Posted 22 May, 2014 It's strange that many of the US terminals are not set up as commercial assets with little to do or comforts. It's been a while but JFK and LAX are very sparse for that. Same with Basel and the security can take an age. Dehli was a sh!t hole which wasn't help by some blokes have a dump in the open space next to the terminal when leaving for the hotel. Best are T5 - organised, lots to do but hassle to go to the satellite terminals , Singapore - great to wonder round and best wash rooms, City - it's quick to get through, SFO - you board directly from the lounge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dellboypete Posted 22 May, 2014 Share Posted 22 May, 2014 San'aa in Yemen will forever hold the title. ....... Talking of the Yemen (where I have spent may happy hours!!) - try Aden. The "terminal" building still has a hole in the roof from mortars from the last civil war and the "runway" still has a couple of bomb craters cunningly concealed along the margins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special K Posted 22 May, 2014 Share Posted 22 May, 2014 A good few years ago I was stranded at Izmir airport and had to take a dump. Aside from Fratton Park, it's the most horrific khasi i have ever been into and that was just the airport. I am led to believe it has been modernised since that time, but it left a mental scar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldbarbarian Posted 22 May, 2014 Share Posted 22 May, 2014 Leeds Bradford in the winter always cancellations due to the fog, it is a nightmare Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyo-Saint Posted 22 May, 2014 Share Posted 22 May, 2014 Bali - on the way in they insisted on a bribe and tried to chat up my GF at the time. On the way out, the scanner people were not watching the suitcases being scanned as there was a TV on the wall showing Indonesian soaps. It was like something from police squad. This was during the peak of the terror attacks as well. Never felt so unsafe getting on to a plane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KelvinsRightGlove Posted 22 May, 2014 Share Posted 22 May, 2014 Moscow. Boiling hot, rammed, and f all there. Computer systems crashed and everyone ran around without a clue what to do. Finally got us on a plane, they realised they could just print out a list of names and use a pencil (FFS). Once finally on the plane, held on the tarmac for 2 hours (with the doors open, in November sub-Zero temps) when they finally worked out they could just count us, between 3 of them it took about 20 attempts to count the passengers and come up with the same number. FFS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutch Posted 22 May, 2014 Share Posted 22 May, 2014 I've had loads of interesting experiences, but the only one I go out of my way to avoid, even if it means paying more, is Dubai. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Majestic Channon Posted 22 May, 2014 Share Posted 22 May, 2014 Kristianstad is great, it's so small i was sat in the car 10 minutes after landing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derry Posted 22 May, 2014 Share Posted 22 May, 2014 Lagos by a mile. BA had to take cash up to the tower before they would answer after giving initial clearance. Kota Bahru, before communists sorted we had to climb to 11000 over the sea to avoid being shot at. Easter Island no diversion so once aircraft inbound passed the point of no return the airport closed until that aircraft landed. Sumburgh over the head. Victoria Falls, had to reverse B757 with reverse thrust to park in cul de sac. Narsassuaq Greenland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorgiesaint Posted 22 May, 2014 Share Posted 22 May, 2014 Two that have yet to mentioned.... Lima - the first time I went there (flying Iberia which was bad enough), I was queueing to climb the steps onto the Airbus (no airbridges at the time) but got held as they were still re-fuelling, so the chap in front decides to light a cigarette. The ground staff were more concerned that I aws comlaining rather than matey-boy dabbing his cigarette butt out on the tarmac. Plus they then let a cat on the plane. Cuzco - Great landing on a runway in a valley. You can only fly in from one direction due to the depth of the valley, so if the winds in the wrong direction they have to turn a 737/Airbus through 180 degree's inside the valley. Very entertaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdearlove Posted 22 May, 2014 Share Posted 22 May, 2014 Any of the old Indian or Pakistani airports - in fact I am off to Islamabad next week - it is the pits! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swannymere Posted 22 May, 2014 Share Posted 22 May, 2014 Sao Paulo - Massive and all over the shop compared to Brasila and Brisbane which are organised, airy, straightforward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cat Posted 22 May, 2014 Share Posted 22 May, 2014 Bucharest was a bit tinpot when we went there in the UEFA Cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latter day saint Posted 22 May, 2014 Share Posted 22 May, 2014 Scatsa airport in the Shetland Isles was interesting. It had two runways but only 1 was operational as the other was used by the local farmer to dry his peat on. The main runway ran next to the main road which had to be shut but many locals seemed to ignore this, especially the sheep who wandered everywhere. It wasn't untill years later i learnt that my great uncle had flown from there during the war Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horley CTFC Saint Posted 22 May, 2014 Share Posted 22 May, 2014 Cracking piece of Calatrava architecture at Lyon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlakeySFC Posted 22 May, 2014 Share Posted 22 May, 2014 Anyone have any first hand experience with Abu Dhabi airport? May be there on business next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutch Posted 23 May, 2014 Share Posted 23 May, 2014 I go there about once a month. Nice, new and user friendly. No problem with free visa on arrival for brits. Can be a bit of a long walk if you're unlucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericofarabia Posted 23 May, 2014 Share Posted 23 May, 2014 Damascus was ****. Literally. Maybe you should have gone by Road? ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitenred Posted 23 May, 2014 Share Posted 23 May, 2014 Manila without a doubt, 4 terminals doted around a runway, crazy traffic around makes transfers a nightmare and as for the terminals, immigration and security sheer chaos with inadequate air con. At rush hour, it can take 2-3 hrs just to get through immigration on the way OUT of the country! The best, Changi is the benchmark, but KL, Incheon, Sydney ( the Qantas lounge is awesome) and in Europe Munich's pretty good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Bateman Posted 23 May, 2014 Share Posted 23 May, 2014 I always thought SeaTac airport was pretty mind-numbingly bad - it's typically American in that it is HUGE, but it takes ages to walk to anything and there isn't much to do, it's boring. However, I had the misfortune to be stuck in Doha airport for 7 hours a few months ago. Oh my god, now THAT is a boring, horrendous airport - the air con is ramped up so much that it is freezing, the toilets are filthy (and I mean REALLY filthy) and disgusting, the food is almost non-existent and poor and the only place to drink is a Costa that gives you the sh*ts. I absolutely hated it. The no alcohol thing just made a bad experience even more painful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 23 May, 2014 Share Posted 23 May, 2014 Maybe you should have gone by Road? ;-) No thanks, I read what happened to that other bloke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skintsaint Posted 23 May, 2014 Share Posted 23 May, 2014 However, I had the misfortune to be stuck in Doha airport for 7 hours a few months ago. Oh my god, now THAT is a boring, horrendous airport - the air con is ramped up so much that it is freezing, the toilets are filthy (and I mean REALLY filthy) and disgusting, the food is almost non-existent and poor and the only place to drink is a Costa that gives you the sh*ts. I absolutely hated it. The no alcohol thing just made a bad experience even more painful. Not too mention it feels like you have to catch a 20min bus to and from your plane lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buctootim Posted 23 May, 2014 Share Posted 23 May, 2014 (edited) I had the misfortune to be stuck in Doha airport for 7 hours a few months ago. Oh my god, now THAT is a boring, horrendous airport - the air con is ramped up so much that it is freezing, the toilets are filthy (and I mean REALLY filthy) and disgusting, the food is almost non-existent and poor and the only place to drink is a Costa that gives you the sh*ts. I absolutely hated it. The no alcohol thing just made a bad experience even more painful. Not too mention it feels like you have to catch a 20min bus to and from your plane lol They have a whole separate terminal for business and first class passengers, not just a separate lounge. Very comfortable, clean and good food, bars and duty free. Still not much to do though. http://www.qatarairways.com/global/en/premium-terminal.page Edited 23 May, 2014 by buctootim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swannymere Posted 23 May, 2014 Share Posted 23 May, 2014 Anyone have any first hand experience with Abu Dhabi airport? May be there on business next year. The main terminal is modern and air conditioned, the other terminal with the tiled ceiling is like being in a very busy sauna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutch Posted 23 May, 2014 Share Posted 23 May, 2014 (edited) They have a whole separate terminal for business and first class passengers, not just a separate lounge. Very comfortable, clean and good food, bars and duty free. Still not much to do though. http://www.qatarairways.com/global/en/premium-terminal.page The new terminal opened three weeks ago Edited 23 May, 2014 by hutch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buctootim Posted 23 May, 2014 Share Posted 23 May, 2014 (edited) The new terminal opened three weeks ago I was in the premium terminal three years ago. It opened in 2006. This is it. Free food and drinks, showers, spa, even a 24 hour medical centre http://www.luxuo.com/travel/best-premium-service-airports-2013.html No idea if they have opened other terminals since. Edited 23 May, 2014 by buctootim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwsaint Posted 23 May, 2014 Share Posted 23 May, 2014 Going to Entebbe, Uganda; Kigali, Rwanda and Istanbul, Turkey in July. Not hoping for the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbb saint Posted 24 May, 2014 Share Posted 24 May, 2014 Sumburgh over the head. Budgie? LAX gets my vote too, total chaos, especially if you have to transfer terminals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derry Posted 25 May, 2014 Share Posted 25 May, 2014 Herald Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Kucho Posted 25 May, 2014 Share Posted 25 May, 2014 Worst has to Katowice, like stepping 30 years back in time. The road from Katowice to Karkow wasnt great either. Copenhagen has a good airport, very well organised. Gatwick isnt to bad either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Saint Posted 25 May, 2014 Share Posted 25 May, 2014 Miami- quickest time to clear customs 1 hour, worst 3, Absolute ****e hole and the most miserable staff on the planet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KK the 2nd Posted 25 May, 2014 Share Posted 25 May, 2014 Always hated Madrid. Seemed to walk for ages to get through and to departure gates (ditto arriving). T5 is great, particularly in Bus or First, but still good without lounge access. HK great also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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