Airports

If you spend time any time traveling, developing
strong opinions about airports is inevitable.   Here
are some of the airports I like and dislike.

 

    1.  Convenience 
            Is airport 10 minutes or 2 hours from city. Is there a nice train to the airport. How many damn shuttle buses
    2.  Architecture & Atmosphere
            Inspiring architecture or dump.  Blaring televisions or peace and quiet.
    3.    Intangibles
            Are you welcomed by dancers or totem poles. Dinosaurs in the lobby. Wild dogs.
    4.   Views
            Mountain views can redeem any airport.

The Best

Either so convenient or beautifully located that they
are an attraction in and of themselves.

Hong Kong
     World's best airport.  Beautiful terminal and approach.  Free telephones in arrivals.  Train ride to city features Mr. Bean.  Only downside: landing isn't as dramatic as old airport.

Zurich & Geneva
    Swiss Alps on approach very moving.  Ten minute train ride to city center even more so. Quiet.  Orderly. 

Katmandu
    Himalayas while flying in (pictured above): occasional Everest sightings. Carved wood and cold drinks in "Very-VIP" waiting room.  Nepali staff mellow. 

Vancouver
    Mountains & ocean on approach.  Giant totem poles greet you in immigrations.  Canadians everywhere.

Washington National
    Best U.S. airport. Close to DC, beautiful design; metro and rentals easy walking distance; good shoe shines; views of Capitol over the Potomac.  Taxi drivers sometimes cheat you, but only mildly.

 

Favorable

These airports have only mild problems and are redeemed in some way.

Kansai & Narita Japan
   Quiet and great things to buy (especially gadgets).  Baggage staff wear purple suits.  However, way too far away--especially Narita.  Also, immigration officials too serious.

O'Hare, Chicago
   Well run airport.  $1.75 from city.  Dinosaur greets you.  Midwesterners pleasant. 

San Francisco
    Views of the Sierra Nevada and sometimes Mt. Shasta redeem bad airport.  Public transportation recently improved.

Singapore
    Attractive airport.  Many amenities.  Like small town.  Can buy durian.
 

Memorable

The line between memorable and horrible is fuzzy.  However these
airports balance hassle and disrepair with something extra.

Kingston, Jamaica
    Singers and dancers welcome you.   Atmosphere of wild abandon on minibuses out of airport.  However, aggressive ganga vendors wearying.

Freetown, Sierra Leone
    In disrepair. However, helicopter ride to city unbeatable. Populated by mercenaries.

Heathrow
    Run down yet wild airport. Free samples of booze, great English breakfast.  Families from every part of the world.  Can buy Harry Potter originals & Beano comics. However, crowded, dirty, walks to gates too long, and duty-free vendors get aggressive.

Calcutta, India
    Not a modern airport.  Beware wild dogs (see picture).  However, rare opportunity to ride in the Hindustan motors Ambassador automobile.

Beautiful Failures

Attractive airports with some fatal flaw -- usually, being too far away --
that makes them better avoided. The #1 flaw in airport design is usually distance from city.

Beijing Capital
    Attractive airport. However, Taxi drivers are thieves and immigrations officials have attitude.

Denver
    Attractive design, but 100 miles too far from city.  Getting to gate also takes forever.  Result: many missed flights.
 

Washington Dulles
    Hard to reach from Washington D.C. But beautiful design (see photo).

Charles-de-Gaulle
    Scary airport. Buses between terminals take forever.  Brutalist design intimidating.  Roof prone to collapse. Far from Paris. Avoid.

 

Unreachable

Ugly and hard to get to for one or more reasons.

Taiwan CKS
    Too far away and no train. However, Taiwanese people extremely nice, unless you overstay your visa.

LAX
    Traffic makes travel time to/from airport impossible to predict.  However, close to famous neighborhoods like Compton, Long Beach, Inglewood etc.

Mexico City
      Good views, but a scary airport. 

Bangkok
    Six different ways to get to city center.  With exception of Helicopter, all take forever (see photo).

Istanbul & Saigon
    Taxis often refuse to go to desired destination.
 

Horrors

Cause nightmares.  Only redeeming feature
is that these airports can be stressful instead of boring.

Moscow
    Bad attitude.  Unspeakable food.  Remote.  Intimidating. Don't get stuck here.

New York Kennedy
    Unreachable from New York city.  Run down.  Indifferent to plight of passengers.

Cancun, Mexico
    Full of amateur travelers--sweating, anxious & dragging too much luggage.  Lines.  Screaming children and families. 
    Con-men in arrivals area pose as airport employees.

New Delhi
    Taxi drivers are felons. Shouting and pushing may be required.  Hot.  Ugly. Most international flights arrive at 4am.
    However, good training for other airports.

Miami Airport.
    Ugly, loud, unfriendly.  Also, almost everyone who works here is incompetent.

Cairo Airport
    Airport is infested by insects. Taxi drivers are thieves.  Leave appropriate money and run away.
    Redeemed only by views of desert and pyramids on approach.

    Safe journey!