Best airports and worst airports

[lovefrom2800milesaway]

Vancouver International (YVR) was named North America's best airport this year, so I must say it's one of my favourites. Not that I live there and am bias or anything....
Haha I love going there just to walk around and also to study. There's this AWESOME spot at the domestic departures where it's like a small little food court and the seating area has all glass windows and you actually get to see all the planes come in and take off on the runway! I study there alll the time and it's super peaceful.

The worst airport I've been to is in the Dominican Republic. I don't even remember the name of it. There was NOOOO air con in there at all and you can imagine how hot it is there in July. There was only ONE waiting area for ALL the flights that come in and out of there. And there was also only one duty free shop there. You can imagine how much "fun" I had sitting there waiting for my flight home...

[Alle1770]

Most airports are the same to me, I can't really remember all of them either because it's all usually a blur when travelling xD

I do know that I liked Kuala Lumpur International Airport, lots of stores and stuff to spend your time in, nice restaurants, lots of seating places and an awesome indoor-type jungle-thing (wasn't big, but it was cool!)


Also really liked Madrid-Barajas Airport, even if it's enormous it's really easy to find your way. Though the prices were a bit over the top.
Amsterdam-Schiphol was really nice as well!

As for the worst ones... Hmmm. Not really sure to be honest! Munich Airport wasn't that much to brag about, or at least not the place I was in. Neither was Hamburg Airport, but maybe that's just because all my flights were delayed, cancelled and rescheduled when I flew from those xD

[kteire]

I absolutely despise Newark. But then again, I find flying through the US to be a pain, as I'm only ever there on short stopovers. I don't understand why I have to go through immigration when I'm only in the country for an hour!! Sigh. I'm not a big fan of Toronto Pearson (YYZ) since it's out in the middle of nowhere, and there are zero direct buses to my city from the airport - have to get a shuttle into downtown Toronto, and then a bus from there!

I love Cork Airport (ORK), it's so cute and little, and so easy to get through. I've never had to wait more than 5 minutes to go through security, and that includes when I've flown at Christmas! Edinburgh's similar, but it's a bit bigger and has nicer shops. The staff at both are incredibly friendly.

I also really like flying out of Trudeau in Montreal (YUL), because they have a St Hubert's restaurant, and are incredibly close to the train station.

[Ejoriah]

I love my local airport, Kansas City International (MCI) for how small it is - you don't have to walk and walk and walk and walk to get places. I do wish there was more choice of things to do after you've got through security, though.

[leonsfangirl]

I really like Calgary international.

They had volunteers who are super helpful and super cheery which was awesome when you've just got off an 8 hour flight and have no idea where youre going .

I hate Gatwick (London) Layout is terrible and the staff are about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

[squeeker]

Vancouver International (YVR) was named North America's best airport this year, so I must say it's one of my favourites. Not that I live there and am bias or anything....
Haha I love going there just to walk around and also to study. There's this AWESOME spot at the domestic departures where it's like a small little food court and the seating area has all glass windows and you actually get to see all the planes come in and take off on the runway! I study there alll the time and it's super peaceful.

The worst airport I've been to is in the Dominican Republic. I don't even remember the name of it. There was NOOOO air con in there at all and you can imagine how hot it is there in July. There was only ONE waiting area for ALL the flights that come in and out of there. And there was also only one duty free shop there. You can imagine how much "fun" I had sitting there waiting for my flight home...

Yay for Vancouver Airport!! I fly from and to there all the time because my local airport is smaller and doesn't do direct flights to the UK. I really like them and I always end up going to the same gate when I fly from there!! I'm pretty familiar with it now so it's nice.

I really like Calgary international.

They had volunteers who are super helpful and super cheery which was awesome when you've just got off an 8 hour flight and have no idea where youre going .

I hate Gatwick (London) Layout is terrible and the staff are about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

Ahh I don't like Gatwick airport either. I flew into and from there my first flight and it's not so great...feels like an older building too.. I remember where I was waiting for my luggage, it felt like a large old high school or church gymnasium! lol

Now I fly to and from Manchester (UK) airport all the time (though since direct flights from Vancouver - Manchester only happen May through October, my dates for travel are more limited). Plus it's closer to my guy. It's much newer and nicer.. though was big and a bit different the first time I flew to/from them.. but it's nicer than Gatwick..

[leonsfangirl]

My husband and I much prefer Manchester airport, we've both flown into and out from it without any hassle. The availabilty for flights for us is a nightmare now. We used to be able to fly direct from Gatwick to Edmonton from May to October but now its july to september and super expensive. So we fly end up going through Calgary and Manchester. Manchester is closer to me (90 minute drive instead of 3+ hours). I'll be glad when i dont have to do it anymore.

[Hollandia]

I can't stand Heathrow airport. I think the fact that you have to land outside of security for a layover is ridiculous. They schedule flights with 80 minutes in between layovers and then by the time you take the elevator to train to the big room of security and then back down the hall to other side of the airport you are running out of breath and almost miss your flight. I have also done the much longer layovers at Heathrow as well, I just don't find it to be laid out very well. Ironically I find the staff at British Airways to be the best, they are uber polite. Philadelphia is my local airport and I love to fly out of it myself but when he did I realized there is nowhere outside of security to hang out with your loved ones who are leaving. That sucked. Dublin made the Americans go through pre-customs and we did not get to say goodbye at all. The people were friendly but that sucked too.Rotterdam was tiny and border control was an issue but I was on my way to his house after border control in 5 min. My favorite lately is Amsterdam. I have had no major issues with delays or layout and there are several places outside of security to sit together while waiting for my flights.

Those were the ones from the LDR, I also have fond memories of Atlanta, although large very well ran. I think the cutest airport I ever landed in was Jackson Hole Wyoming. There was 3 "gates". They were all in the same room and when your plane lands, there is tape on the tarmac you walk along just as the other jets are landing a few hundred feet away from you. John Wayne (small)airport was easy to use but then again JFK (large)was too. The McCarran airport in Vegas cracked me up because there are slot machines all about it. I remember having to go through a separate customs pre check line from Hades in Mexico City Airport and almost missing the flight plus they pulled me aside for my puppet that I was not aware of the metal rod it had and the airport was quite large. Aruba and Jamaica airport were like party central the minute you get your luggage. I landed in Rome but for the life of me I can't remember what that was like, I do recall the train station in Venice was insanely busy and the water buses were like sardines of people and I thought the boats would sink.

Hmmmmmmmm..............this is a really great thread. It made me think back to all the places I used to travel to and feel both sad about not being able any more and grateful that I was able to do what I did.

[Rosalynn]

I love most of the airports I've been to.

Halifax International Airport is my home airport and I love it. Only good experiences there. Very well laid out and speedy.

I had to spend some time in Vancouver's International Airport and it was a pleasant experience. I'm not one to explore airports, I just find a spot to curl up and wait but it was quite comfy to curl up in.

I had my flight screwed over and had to spend the night in Montreal's airport once. Although it was French and I'm not, I found a nice place to curl up and sleep and it was easy to navigate.

I enjoyed my time in Calgary's airport. But I met some cool people there so I'm probably associating my good time with the people I met and not the airport itself. But I don't remember getting lost or having to ask for help like I usually do.

Sea-Tac International (Seattle) was an okay airport. It was kind of hard to navigate and the airline (not the airports fault) screwed me over. The staff put me on the wrong plane and almost sent me to Oregon instead of Montreal, but I can't blame that on the airport as a whole.

The only other airport I've been to is Jamaica's, and all I remember about that was it was hot and small.

[ch3cooh]

Likes:

Denver (DEN) I'll admit I'm biased because I grew up in Colorado, but DIA is a really good airport. The nice thing about DEN is that it is the size it was built to be. There aren't terminals shoehorned wherever they fit and the amount of moving sidewalks is great as is the train system. There are also tons of restaurants and bars.

Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) yes it's huge, yes it's usually superbusy, BUT there's plenty of places to sit and lots of bars to grab a beer.

Santa Barbara (SBA) I mean if you get to go to Santa Barbara how bad can it be?

Hates

O'Hare (ORD) No where to sit, no outlets to charge gadgets, crappy bars and restaurants, crappy weather leading to tons of delays. Just the definition of ugh.

Atlanta (ATL) Huge, busy, always have to walk a mile on connections, mediocre food.

[Safihre]

Dutchie being proud here and ofcourse I have to agree:
Amsterdam best airport of Europe/America https://www.worldairportawards.com/

Although I have to agree, Incheon in South-Korea was amazing. But so was Kuala Lumphur.. Those brand new Asian airports are made to impress!
So far I didn't like many of the American airports (Newark, JFK, Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, San Francisco, LAX), they are all getting old and are really in need of a makeover if they ever want to compete with the Asian airports.
Did like Chicago and Boston though!