Beautiful airports

[Groundbased]

Perusing the BBC website today I came across a debate about Britains worst eyesores. London Heathrow was described as:

"the gateway to our nation, is an ugly monument to mediocrity and small-mindedness"

Thinking about it objectively you would have to say that it ain't good looking. In fact I'm struggling to think of an airport I've been to that is; someone told me that Gardermoen in Oslo was very nice but I've never been there.

So is it possible to combine functionality with aesthetic beauty, where are these airports that manage to balance looks with function. I know it's in the eye of the beholder in most cases, but I am interested to hear people's views.

GB

[pulse1]

According to Stephen Fry on QI last night, Compton Abbas is the most beautiful airport.

The question was " What is the most beautiful airport in the world which Madonna is going to buy so that she can have it closed?"

[Hobo]

Agree; Compton Abbas is very pretty, Also Oslo Fornebu in the winter, Hamilton Island (WhitSundays), Cairns, Genoa, Dubrovnik,.......

[Tinstaafl]

Singapore's Changi. Clean, spacious, lots of plants/flowers/gardens etc. Nicest airport I've been to.

[Tubbs]

there's a little airstrip in Worcester just to the east of Cape Town. The surrounding scenery of lush mountains is stunning and there's a nice wee man who lives in the hangar who will give you a cup of tea and some fuel.

[Jerricho]

Agreed, Heathrow is a toilet. Infact, most of the "major" or principal airports I have flown into could never have been described as beautiful. If we could thread drift a little and have the "most beautiful" and "most ugly", I nominate Barbados as definately the most ugly I have been to.

[Navy_Adversary]

Apparantly, Koh Samui airport Thailand is really beautiful, I'll be checking it out in late January.:cool:

[Crepello]

Yeah, Heathrow resembles a dump and doesn't even work properly, as regular users of T3 will attest. I couldn't work out why it's corporate owner plastered their logo over so many buildings and jetways. Makes the place look even tattier, and knocks their corporate image into the bargain.

Nice airports? Hmm. Copenhagen's terminal is nice. Santa Barbara's picturesque. My favourite's Schiphol, though it's functional rather than beautiful.

[john du'pruyting]

Scrub Gardemoen, Beautiful it's not.

[warpdrive]

Bardufoss in the winter...surrounded by fjords, northern lights gently moving, fantastic!

[Capt H Peacock]

Paderborn/Lippestat. Next to the Warsteiner Brauerei:ooh:

[spork]

I wouldn't really expect any airport buildings to be that beautiful, but fly into Cork on a bright day and see what you think of the countryside.

[seacue]

I think that the main terminal at Washington Dulles IAD is good looking outside, and not too bad inside. OTOH, I don't think the place works well.

I think [Ronald Regan] Washington National Aiport DCA is quite good inside. Certainly nothing special outside because of the very limited space available. It also seems to work very well, has indoor access to the Metro and parking garages, etc. etc. Sit on the east side of the plane to get a good view of the city arriving from or leaving to the north.

Somehow IAD has trouble handling 30% more passengers than DCA, yet it has three long non-intersecting runways compared to DCA's three short intersecting runways. One answer is that DCA has a constant flow of an operation every 60 to 120 seconds all day long, while IAD's activity is peaky.

Jerricho thinks Barbados BGI is ugly. I recommend Grenada GND as worse, a huge tin building.

C. N. Parkinson rightly stated that dynamic places such as most airports are always in a state of flux and never "finished".

[rotornut]

May I please be permitted to include Sahar (Mumbai) as one of the more unattractive - at least the arrivals area. It resembles a big shed and the area ouside is always full of scammers waiting to rip you off. The departure area isn't too bad with comfortable chairs in the areas next to the departure lounges. Watch out for the washroom attendants, though. They have uniforms that say, in big letters, "No Tip". But what do they always ask for ... yes, a tip!:eek:

[DB6]

Oban, Plockton, Broadford etc.

[RUDAS]

ONE WORD: DUBAI

[colossus]

From a PAX point of view I’ve always loved Innsbruck.

Stunning location, actually close to the city it serves, you still have the pleasure of walking out to you’re a/c. (not sure if this is still the case)

You used to be have the ability to sit having a drink on the roof top bar terrace (preferably with the crisp air and Bright sunshine of a winters day ), wait to your aircraft is called for boarding, clear customs etc, and be sat down strapped in ready to go 5 mins later, hope it’s not changed to much. :cool:

[redsnail]

Coventry's app lights when they appeared out of the fog at the minima. That was absolutely beautiful to me. :D

[beads]

:cool:
Victoria harbour, Ganges harbour (British Columbia Canada) - or any float plane destination for that matter - but I suppose they're not Airports...........

[Spitoon]

If we'ew allowed terminals on their own - Hamburg (T3 I think it was - whatever, the newest one) was kinda nice when I went through not long ago. Jutst a shame about the BA groundstaff .....

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Santos Dumont, in Rio De Janerio.

[The mole]

There's a dirt strip next to a lake in texas. Had to do a low pass in my C150 to get the animals out of the way first. Then I took off and chased a speedboat along the lake at 20 feet. Allegedly.....

[p290951]

Port Elgin, Ontario. 3800X175 ft of pristine grass, but only in the summer and fall.

[flowman]

Punta Carna in the Dominican Republic has a beautiful looking terminal with a thatched roof of all things, but to answer the original question "can an airport be functional and look good?" It would seem not. Last time there we had to queue for an eternity both in and out to give some grumpy old duffer $10.
At least it looks better than Barbados which earlier posters have mentioned and where you will also queue for more than an hour for the pleasure of being welcomed to the island.:mad:

[Fokkerdriver]

Bilbao from the outside.

Love the modern structure....especially the tower. :ok:

[Jude]

In the uk Oban, further a field Kristiansand or Mollis

[dada]

blackpool - the big one, the tower, the beach.......

[Landing_24R]

I'm quite surprised no-one has mentioned Venice, the new terminal there is aesthetically pleasing and very functional, a vast improvement on the old 'shed'.

[dada]

24r - probably because beauty is in the eye of the beholder

[El Grifo]

Kho Samui in Thailand takes a bit of beating.

All tropical flowers and thatched buildings and smiling staff who welcome you with a garland or a cool drink.

[reynoldsno1]

Niuafo'ou (aka Tin Can Island) in the Tongan Group. Caution, rock outcrops on the south edge of the (grass)runway, but add to the overall landscaping effect. The ARP lat/long is about 2nm out (but last survey was about 1840, year, not time....). Side surfaces are infringed by palm trees...
Called Tin Can 'cos there's no landing for ships, and they used to deliver/pick up the mail by throwing it in the sea in tin cans...

[Burger Thing]

Singapore - by miles the best airport I have seen. Very cosy for the pax and as a crew I like the phrase at night: Taxi to gate xxx - follow the greens... No fiddling with the airport charts required... :} ;)

[Snowballs]

Inchon Seoul … maybe not the prettiest but certainly the best new airport in the world

[typhoonpilot]

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania KPIT has a very attractive and user friendly terminal.


Typhoonpilot

[Ace Rimmer]

Can't believe this thread is three pages with no mention of Orlando (MCO) Long Beach has a art deco charm too (as does good old EGKA!)

[BANANASBANANAS]

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Terminal is a dump but the taxy out to Rwy 02 and the sunset over the South China Sea almost makes the job seem worthwhile .... sometimes!

[Boss Raptor]

Berne, Switzerland, just nice 'chocolate box' airport
Koh Samui, Thailand, caution giant gold Buddha on approach
Siem Riep, Cambodia, very pretty terminal and grounds

[West Coast]

Kalispell Montana and Kona Hawaii

[PAXboy]

In South Africa, on the Indian Ocean coast, there is a small field outside the town of Plettenberg Bay (PBZ, I think). Just about the max a/c is the J41 (but don't quote me).

The strip is on the top of a headland with a tiny building and minimal facilities. The good part is that, if you mess up, you would find the land falling away rather than getting closer but the upward moving air, from the side of the headland are very strong.

As you taxi to the stand, the meeters and the new pax are looking at you from about 50' away, in the car park, over a mesh fence that is only normal height. Very relaxed.

The views on departure/arrival are brilliant. From the ocean, over the coastal region to the foothills of the Dragensberge. The literal translation is: Dragon Mountains as they look as spiky as a Dragon's spine would be!

The best view I had was inbound to the field, jump seating in a J41 with my nephew driving. Bliss.

[Taildragger]

Call me biased, but the new Athens International, Eleftherios Venizelos is great........and don't just take my word for it.
In the latest IATA survey of Passengers (Remember them.?? ---- SLF, aka the Punters who pay all our wages) voted Athens the best Airport Globally, yes globally, in the 10-15 Millionpax per annum bracket. Not bad when you think what the old Hellenikon toilet was like.
From the heaven of the Greek Islands, to the hell of the Greek Airports.!! All changed now.
Oh, by the way, it's staffed with some gorgeous black eyed beauties...... sigh.!

[broadreach]

The new departures terminal at Ezeiza's quite light on the eyes and well laid out. The queues are bureaucracy cubed.

Santos Dumont, yes, takes you right back to the fifties. Best seen on a Sunday morning when the throughput will also remind you of the fifties. Nightmare on a Monday morning or Friday evening.

It's been a few years since I was through Stanstead. Thought it was pretty well laid out then.

Oh yes, not very functional for more than two twotters but Sr. Barts is cool.

[Young Paul]

Bergen in Norway is attractive, and has a great location.

Florianopolis in Southern Brazil also had a lovely location (Santa Catarina island, with wooded hills and lagoons all around), and the terminal seemed quiet, tidy, efficient and well-proportioned.

[tailscrape]

Girona (Costa Brava),Spain has some beautiful countryside around it.

Lovely on a clear day. Treacherous when not so nice. The airfield itself is not great, but the views of Girona city and it's Gothic cathedral on approach to 20 are great.

But, the views down the coast are very appealing.

Other than that, for a great view, check out Rome Ciampino..........amazing.

[woodpecker]

Bermuda, especially joining for a visual left base at night!

Becomes more interesting with 40 kts. across!

[FOZ]

I'd suggest Riyadh - plenty of space, architecturally pleasing and short distance from car to plane. Oh, the biggest obelisk in the world from which to run it all and the alchohol free policy might be beneficial to ........??

[flyin' fuhh...]

CVG Delta concourse looks like a shopping mall.

[RRAAMJET]

No particular order:

Changi...beautifully kept grounds, good food at airline rate in the terminal
Long Beach...great art deco terminal, pax walk to aircraft across tarmac - rare these days
Eagle, Colorado...on a clear day (!!!)
Jakarta...believe it or not...pretty terminal
Bali

Most fun: Kai Tak

All-time most awe-inspiring view: Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
(Also a fun approach around the Moose-farm and the hillock...) :ok:

[warpdrive]

RRAMJET...go with Jakarta...and Simpang Tiga! All great in the Indo way. Overall tops have to be Changi, Bergen, Bardufoss(location) or Coltishall

[407 Driver]

Banff Alberta Canada,
3,000 ft of grass,
elev 4,600'
Caution, Elk on Runway !
5 NM OCC 11,000'

[Pope Mobile]

The view on a good day is breathtaking, at night, VMC of course, it is fantastic. The terminal is stunning, definitely gets my vote.
Plus watching F15s take off and land across the airport is cool.

[Diesel8]

But of course, the prettiest airport is none other than Copenhagen, EKCH.

Small, convenient, good shopping, friendly people.

[Meeb]

Barra beach airfield on a warm summers evening... the view over to Skye and the Uists is truly outstanding... :O

[yggorf]

From the outside: Washington Dulles. Beautiful architecture (and the most elegant control tower) even though it's about 40 years old.

[Jeffrey S]

montego bay is fab...

[tropical wave]

Piarco Trinidad at sunset facing north with the green lush hills ......

[Basil]

La Gomera - lovely new 'old Spanish' design terminal building.

Prob with Orlando MCO is hassle to get thro' vice SFB.

Wonder if the terminal at Port Ellen is still a little wooden hut tearoom? Fence just to keep sheep off the runway - even Darts can't handle sheep ingestion :D

No-one mentioned HKG Chek Lap Kok - modern, grand scale, works OK inside - mountain views to make app interesting with S wind :*

[Tralfamadore]

Cedar Key, Florida. Short runway, sea at both ends. Connected to hamlet on next island by road bridge. Airfield deserted, local taxi monitors the airband and arrives as you park up. Great fun.

[Rocket2]

Cedar Key - wonderful memories of the approach & a long line of the best sea food restaurants in the world (sampled many). However Maui's approach is superb running as it does between massive blocks of granite 4000ft (?) high. A wonderful spot to fly from at low level taking in the stunning scenery & looking at shipwrecks & turtle spotting (the airport is less stunning however):ok:

[seacue]

yggorf
----------
From the outside: Washington Dulles. Beautiful architecture (and the most elegant control tower) even though it's about 40 years old.
----------

The tower was nicer before they modified the top-knot some years ago.

That spherical radome on top was a nice touch.

SC

[Bright-Ling]

Surely Courchevel in France needs a mention.... with or without snow....!!

Airport Overview (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/328323/L/)

Airport without snow (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/415641/L/)

"Aaaghhhhhhhh"! (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/461067/L)

Where's the runway? (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/304671/L)

"Pull Up!" (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/143885/L)

Who needs brakes? (http://www.airliners.net/open.file/385057/L)

B-L

[Bubbette]

Leon, GTO, Mexico--light, airy, with beautiful views of the mountains within which it's nestled.

[FullWings]

Samaden (St. Moritz) in Switzerland

http://www.engadin-airport.ch/ (www.engadin-airport.ch/)

Beautiful all year round

[wandrinabout]

My vote says Milford Sound New Zealand on a clear crisp winters day - magic

[Stickies]

Two of my favourite airports ( not from a terminal building point of
view, more from a surrounding scenery aspect) are Cuzco in the Peruvian Andes and Kerry in SW Ireland.

[bateman]

just to throw in my 2 RM.

most beautiful
- dubai
- copenhagen
- brisbane

most functional
- KLIA
- schipol
- singapore
- osaka kix

biggest toilets
- heathrow
- gatwick
- abu dhabi
- bandar seri begawan

any comments?

[Flying Mechanic]

Murray Island , Torres Straits.
A truley beautiful sight.

[visibility3miles]

For the private pilots, Half Moon Bay Airport in California is great. You can sit on the dock and watch the pelicans after you land! :ok:

http://www.photovault.com/Link/Technology/Aviation_Airports/show.asp?tg=TAAVolume02/TAAV02P10_07

http://www.photovault.com/Link/Technology/Aviation_Airports/Airports/HalfMoonBayCalifornia.html

Plus, it can be a good place to practice crosswind landings...

[Mama Mangrove]

The most beautiful airport - Lagos - but only DEPARTING!
The most ugly airport - Lagos - on arrival
:E

[Bus429]

IMHO:

SIN, CPH, ARN, DXB, HEL are nice, clean airports.
AMS and BRU are quite good, too.
Always surprised that AUH is a bit of a dump.
Didn't think BSB too bad - just has rather limited facilities and staff with a poor customer service ethos.

Why is it most UK airports are pretty tatty?
The drop-off/pick-up points landside at MAN are littered and pocked with chewing gum.
The waiting area @ MAN T1 departure lounge is an absolute disgrace (despite the appointment of an oddly-titled "Terminal Appearance Officer").
Toilets in MAN & LHR would disgrace the Third World.
For God's sake, someone should get rid of the carpets in the terminals of some UK airports. They look awful.
As for LHR - a national disgrace.

CPH - coffee at Cafe Karen (Dixon?) is some of the best I've had anywhere.

[kala87]

How about St.Mary's, Isles of Scilly? On a good day the views on approach of the islands, beaches and crystal clear water make it look like the south Pacific.

Don't get too distracted though - runway lengths are 523 and 600 metres with interesting humps in the middle, and brake failure could have you in the drink!

Worst airport: Heathrow, considering its location in a "developed" country. T3 arrivals is a disgrace: Tatty, cramped, poor signeage, generally falling apart, and who selects those awful swirly-pattern carpets? How apart some signs in languages other than English?

[newswatcher]

Always thought pax parts of Sharjah (http://www.shj-airport.gov.ae/images/shjairport.jpg) were quite pleasing.

looking for a better photo

[PH-UKU]

Barra, Scotland - on a sunny day, land on the sand - wow !! - like a tropical paradise on a carpet of flowers.

Loch Lomond, Scotland - in a Supercub floatplane ... in fact most places in a floatplane !!!

Terminal Building at Shoreham - 1920s heaven.

View at Innsbruck, and a mean bowl of chilli !

Denver International - clean, spacious and incredibly well laid out (get a visit round the ATC tower - it's like looking down on a model airport)

Dumps ....
Heathrow, Mumbai, Aberdeen (no view of the planes) ... in fact that's most BAA airports (sorry - shopping centres) then.
Izmir, JFK (and bloody rattley nightmare along the freeway into town)

[seacue]

Biggest disapointment DEN.

Maybe airside is wonderful, but it lacks for pax.

They could have had a beautiful view of the mountains, but don't

If the rail connx to the second and third set of gates breaks - sorry, there is no footpath.

[Flame Out]

You've got to love the golf course between 21L and 21R at Don Muang, Bangkok International airport. :ok:

[RRAAMJET]

21R at BKK also was one of the smoothest surfaces I've landed on - that was some time ago, don't know what it's like now...
Terminal was a bit of a mess, though, and facing the traffic for the drive to the "pub' a bit daunting.

DIA? You have to be joking! Out in the middle of nowhere, wind-swept, taxiing takes forever, Ramp is unable to see northern gates, dependant on the train working....I think a far better job of a new terminal from scratch was done at Austin Bergstrom.

In the UK, I always liked Edinburgh...freindly staff, good viewing gallery, great view of the City as you turn left base for 25(?) on a clear day (ok,ok, so I'm biased...home town, and I worked with the 2 Ronnies in the Movement Safety Tower for industry experience way, way back).

JFK...yup, it's a mess. In fact, LGA, EWR and JFK all are outhouses...It's high time the NY area had an airport matching the fabulous city (once you get to know it - I just moved from there ) :ok: The lack of train service direct to JFK or LGA has been a disgrace (the Taxi-cab drivers lobby is strong) - now the new JFK link should improve things somewhat. But those freeways...aargh... the VanWyck suspension-tester :ooh: :{ :yuk: :eek:

[Basil]

<<Courchevel>>
Yes, and the guy I spoke to there said Megeve is worse! :ooh:
Still, I'd love to do the altiport course.