The Worlds Worst Airport

[nilcostoptionmyass]

Had the dis-pleasure to go through Manchester Airport, what a complete mess the place is.
No where to sit down, more and more shops taking up seating space,
(terminal 1 has just had half the seats taken out and replaced by a boots !)
nothing is switched on, travalators, escalators etc, and que's everywhere.

The road system is a shambles with people not being able to be dropped off without some jobsworth trying to give you a ticket, that's if you can actually find your way to the terminal via the 'new' road system.

Takes hours to get through passport control, and often longer to get your bags.

The place is a first class dump.



rant rant rant..........

can anywhere be as bad ????? I think not.

:sad:

[HZ123]

Cannot accept that LHR is the complete shambles. T5 when it gets sorted will be OK T 1 - 4 are dreadful and dirty, everywhere you look.

[jammydonut]

Try the Nissen hut arrivals at Bournmouth:*

[BlueTui]

Gatwick in summer is my idea of hell- I shall be avoiding it this year I can assure you! i'd rather a week in rainy bognor that deal with it!

[Gar]

My vote is for Bournemouth. Arrivals, as has been said, is a hut with a conveyor belt. Departures is like a rubbish leisure centre with a conservatory stuck on it (and some more huts). The standard of facilities is terrible

[Maude Charlee]

Had the misfortune of LHR T1, LGW and MAN all within a couple of days recently. LHR was actually not too bad (reading elsewhere, seems this is all as a result of BA moving out), LGW depressing as always, but MAN really does take the biscuit. As the original poster says, what a grade A sh*thole!

Clearly somebody of severe visual impairment was tasked with signposting the various terminals (just for giggles, try and find your way from T3 to T1 just by following the signs), and then a bunch of drunken baboons let loose with various power tools and hoardings to try and impede your progress.

For major airports in a supposedly major economy, British airports are a bloody disgrace! I pity any visitors to this country trying to find their way around, when even native, seasoned travellers have such extreme difficulty and such an unpleasant travelling experience.

:ugh:

[dubh12000]

Have to agree with what is being said about MAN. Someone there PLEASE do an audit of your signage! You can't find anything there, it's pathetic.


But as far as overall airports go.......JFK.

[Viewedfromabove]

My vote has to be for LHR T3, which has been a complete shambles for the past year. Catastophic landside, from being dropped by bus at arrivals for departures, flooded tunnel from central bus station, non-working travelators and escalators, security queues extended the entire upper departures landside, insanitary toilets, jam-packed departure lounges, insufficent seating, squalid food outlets, rip-off shops, slow baggage recovery, long queues for UK immigration and the mindless bureacracy that entails. BAA can't run the proverbial event in a brewery.

Luton by contrast is a sheer delight.

[Momentary Lapse]

Bournemouth is owned by MAPLC who own MAN. Its MD is also an ex-MAPLC engineer, of, it has to be said, reduced stature. He probably can't see out of his office window to see how bad it is.

[spanishflea]

Manchester is pretty dire at the moment with all the reconstruction work and temporary hoardings everywhere. It is certainly the least visually pleasing airport to pass through I can think of, although on a functional basis for regular travellers who know where they're going it still works better overall than LHR or LGW.

[Avman]

Strange how it goes. Dubh12000 votes for JFK. I, on the other hand, was pleasantly surprised when I went through JFK last year. Out of the terminal within 30 mins of blocking on. On the return, no significant problems with check-in and departure procedures (with the exception of the usual 75 minute taxy time of course). Guess I was just lucky.

[100above]

Manchester until recently was actually not too bad. T1 had that bright food court where you could sit with a coffee between flights and look out on the apron with easy access through to T3. T1 landside is now just a building site with no seats, virtually no food outlets and trying to get through it from T2 to T3 for anyone who doesnt know the airport must be a nightmare - hope the end result is worth it......

[pwalhx]

Have to agree that Manchester T1 in particular isnt at its best at the moment but they are doing a lot of work. But my offering of airports I have been to of late is Bucharest Baneasa, talk about not fit for purpose.

[luddite]

Leeds. And not from a passenger point of view. :ugh:

[LTNman]

Its got to be Bournemouth. Just love those ex-factory canteen chairs in the arrivals waiting area complete with filth from years of greasy overalls.

In second place Blackpool, the newish terminal has a bad case of rust while parts of the terminal are actually a tent no doubt loaned from the town’s circus that flaps in Blackpool’s year round winter micro climate.

[smith]

Prestwick is stuck in a 60's time warp. I don't think the windows in the railway station have been washed ....... EVER!!!! There is slime and I don't know what growing on the walls and all metal areas are completely rusty.

On the plus there is a smoking area air side but is an absolute dump with indoor chairs set out soaking wet and rusting in the rain.

I would go as far as to say it's a pig sty but that would be offensive ...... to Pigs!!!

[BOU_PAX]

As a Dorset local who uses Bournemouth a lot for business and family holidays, I have to agree with some of the comments on this thread.

However, Bournemouth is well aware of it's limitations and has started a £32m redevelopment program to effectivly rebuild the whole terminal, enlarge the car parks and improve the transport links.

First to go is the much loved arrivals hall (portacabin) which is currently in the early stages of work (all the ground clearance has been completed) and phase two will be a much larger departures hall etc.

http://www.bournemouthairport.com/bohweb.nsf/Content/Development

With FR being quoted in the local press this week that they are looking to base 5 planes down here and constant rumours of EasyJet about to base you would assume that there have been some cast iron guarentees made from MAPLC to the airlines about when this work will be completed espically after the holdups to the origional schedule from the nimbys in the New Forest.

BTW, the reason the chairs in arrivals are so manky is because at Bournemouth you are home 20 minutes after the plane lands, hence the chairs have never had need to be used.... :D

[rej]

Gatwick South - what a hell hole. :{

One of the best has to be Cincinatti; small, efficient and very clean. :ok:

[Golf Charlie Charlie]

Avman, re: JFK. I agree with you. JFK landside is much improved compared with, say, 5 or 10 years ago. Much of the recent construction has been finished, and the new roads and the new AirTrain system are most welcome. Terminals 7 and 8/9 have been cleaned up quite a bit as well, while wait-times for check-in or security have been curtailed sharply. The problem at JFK is more runway/taxiway congestion and waiting times for take-off.

[WATABENCH]

LGW on arrival is a complete bitch, arrived from AUA in Oct, took the best part of 3 hours from arriving on stand to getting on to motorway, completley shocking after a 9 hour over night trans-atlantic with a 3 hour drive ahead of me, wasn't impressed to have another 2hours lumped on, best for arrivals so far that i've been too I would say is EWR, 20 mins total time from stand to taxi cab...and that includes US immigration! Cant agree with the JFK theme though, that took 2 hours when I flew in, I've always found my local BRS pretty good going both OB & IB although it's following all the big boys with more and more shops being crammed in and less and less seats, bring on the terminal expansion I say!

[Golf Charlie Charlie]

Watabench, I think EWR is indeed another airport that has improved its act a fair amount in recent years, after having a bad press for so long. As for immigration, however, surely this is a lottery : much depends on how long the queue is and whether your arrival coincides with other international flights. Oddly, at JFK immigration can vary since they have immigration service distributed at 4 or more terminals, rather than concentrating it at two in EWR. If you're the only flight and you're near the front of the line, it can be pretty quick, but if the alternative faces you (eg. Terminal 8/9 and all those AA Caribbean/Latin American flights), you can wait half a day........

[IB4138]

Mrs IB transited Luton last weekend and that is where her vote goes.

Awful, bad design, total lack of seating at gates, snail paced security.


As with MAN, it depends which terminal you use. I find T3 is slow for baggage reclaim, but otherwise OK, whilst T1 is abysmal for many reasons, both arriving and departing.

As an experience though, LGW (N) is the pits.....and I've given up using Heathrow.

[FlyZB]

I agree that MAN T1 isn't ideal at the moment but there is the small matter of practically the whole terminal being redeveloped, so of course there's going to be hoardings and disruption. The new security area will open 3 weeks today so the majority of the landside works will disappear after that. Malaga airport is in a very similar situation with all the work going on there.

The worst airport I have flown through recently was Murcia. It is far too small for the amount of traffic it now handles. The queue for security was 25 minutes long despite there only being four departures, the terminal itself was cramped, there was virtually no airside seating available and only one (rather expensive) outlet to buy food and drink.

[IB4138]

Malaga airport is in a very similar situation with all the work going on there.

Sorry to disagree FlyZB, but it is not.

Malaga's new terminal is a total new construction. The security items and shops remain as they were. The only alteration to the existing terminal is on pier C, where the link to the new terminal is being constructed, necessitating the closure of gate 44 and new links to the existing main terminal, which are already in use.

[Nimrod6]

Personally I think it is a little unfair to start this argument now... maybe we should all wait until the summer season when a lot of terminal development is complete. Many airports have to complete capex projects out of season so as to reduce the disruption... the only way to avoid this is to build a completely new terminal while still operating existing facilities. Obviously there are some airports that can (kind of) manage this; as we have all seen with T5, but for a lot of airports the only way to carry out works is during a slightly quieter winter season.

Granted you can probably slag off the major hubs all you like - winter/summer... it makes no difference whatsoever. But having said that, I flew from MAN T2 and thought it was brilliant. As for T1 and T3, ok, works in progress and maybe some room for improvement on the wayfinding signage... but I'm sure some of the right people will probably be reading this?!

[flyjerry]

My vote goes to Exeter. Longest security wait I have experienced anywhere (about one hour). Standing room only in the Departure Lounge. No seats left in the Coffee Shop. Like travelling in a third world Country.

[CentreFix25]

Not the only people discussing the subject...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/fivelivebreakfast/2008/03/best_and_worst_airports.html#c7567349

[Hambleite]

The charter terminal (or whatever it is now called) in Geneva Airport. Awfully long wait for baggage - longer than the flight from Bristol and the inside resembles a third world refugee camp. Bodies everywhere, no seats etc etc

[RED WINGS]

As someone who passes through many airports worldwide including some that are tempory constructions the worlds worst by far is Gatwick South!

Absolutely Filthy! very poor facilities and I never did manage to find a member of staff who could help me, they tried bless them but non spoke English! What must visitors from abroad think? Its a discrace I would have jumped straight back on the flight back out if I thought I could cope with the nightmare of another departure from LGW!

Vast difference compared to say Frankfurt Main which is excellent! Maybe we should build a FRA style super airport in the midlands. Easily connected to the whole country and lets face it London talks the talk but always falls way short of the mark! I would much rather connect via AMS or FRA than do LHR LGW again.

[WATABENCH]

Flyjerry, ha ha yes EXT can be awful at times, having worked there on and off for the last 5 years it is an airport in desperate need of a new terminal, gawd bless them! and with the rate of expansion down there at the mo it can only get worse, flybe putting routes on like they're going out of fashion and the recent year round base for FCA, thats quite a lot for a little place like that! EXT Will always hold amusing memories for me though!
By the way, anybody ever flown in to Tripoli(Libya) now thats real fun and games!

[Daza]

Europe-Naples takes some beating for being very badly run any of the Moscow Airports and Bucharest,any of the very small Greek Island Airports such as JSI and JTR come to mind. Of course London Heathrow.
Africa-They dont get much worse than Mombasa the insect life carry your bags to check-in!!
Colombo-Sri Lanka dreadful, rude uninterested staff in an otherwise paradise of a place.

All great candidates for Worlds worst.
Daza

[WATABENCH]

Thought of another hole that takes some beating.....Skopje in Macedonia, yep definatly that has to be the worst airport i've visited worldwide, nothing in departure lounge, toilets never cleaned with excrement on the seats and floor, gone off food on sale, and I had the delight of being delayed over night with Swiss Air due to fog, they did get us off to a hotel in the end but approx 5 hours after STD, I managed 4 hours kip before getting woke up my the call to prayer from the mosque next to the hotel...oh joy of joys!

[fendant]

:{Terminal E at ZRH between 06:00 and 07:30 am. This joke of a terminal can hardly handle 3 widebodies per hour, nevertheless LX schedules about 9 long haul flights into E very morning. Chaos on the escalators as the funny train ( which takes longer to stop than to ruin, after 5 years tehy have not been able to fix this epitome of American technology) is not able to move the people to the main terminal. The floor is filling with people, trains come in, but people inbound to the terminal can not move out, as the crowds are blocking the exits. In between totally helpless "unique" staff, shouting / commanding in Swiss German.
The escalators continue to move people downward, first people are not able to leave the moving stairs and stumble until somebody pushes an emergency button making the downward escalators inop.
You are lucky if you win the fight and board No. 5 or No. 6 train leaving to arrive at an understaffed immigration desk with long waiting lines ( you stop laughing about Hellrow T2).
Then you get to the bag claim. Now this is a system which works the bags are already there. Unfortunately the bag storage area on the assigned belt is too small for a wide body. Maybe the designers thought that people would constantly remove their bags form the belt. The result is that bags arrive on 2 belts not necessarily adjacent to each other. A nice play of hide and seek.

Frank

[jaycee46]

There can't be many snowsports enthusiasts on this thread, because, as far as I can see, there has been no mention of Lyons LYS, or Chambery CMF.

LYS has got to be the most inefficient airport on the planet, especially in the tent, where they used to send the UK charter passengers. If cattle were treated like the pax in the tent, Greenpeace would be blockading it! - and we pay money for the 'priviledge' of using it. The current wheeze is that they are building a hotel etc in the old bus park, so you now have to wait for an hour and more for your baggage, then hoof it half a mile upstairs, then downstairs, to outside the railway station, and just to make the experience more memorable, especially with ski gear ( case, boot bag, and a 6' long bag with skis), there are no trollies, but even if there were any, it's hard to get trollies up and down escalators! My only slight pleasure was to see a flight from LHR arriving, an thanking my lucky stars that I had avoided that additional agony.

CMF is just too small for the number of flights, and any delays really screw them up badly. We had the pleasure of arriving three hours late, this winter, at the same time as about three other flights. When we got inside, ONE baggage belt of the two was working, and the crowd round it were behaving like they were handing out free beer.
Check in areas too small for the number of flights, and the departure 'lounge?' reminded me of a hospital waiting room, but less hygenic! Used to be really nice, but too many Russians are using it now.

[dh dragon]

Worst I ever experienced was Freetown.Sierra Leone.Tripoli only during RAF service when it was still labeled Castel Benito !
Went out of T2 MAN on QR a couple of weeks ago and back in on the 11th no problems with that terminal at all but of the walkways between the station and the terminal only 2 were working !

[VAFFPAX]

I might get shot down for this, but ATL is horrible. The timings into Terminal E are unfortunately such that several international flights come in at around the same time so you end up with massive queues at immigration and customs, with the requirement that you have to recheck your baggage after customs (rude, surly - what Southern hospitality?) has been through it.

Most pleasant, even though there is not much land-side or air-side - ORD pre-9/11. Post-9/11 LAX Terminal 2 even if the check-in area land-side is crowded, security etc are actually not too bad. I guess if you only have VS, NW and AC with a couple of small airlines sharing a terminal, there's less of a crush. JNB is actually not bad either.

Domestically, STN gets my vote for crapness, regardless of its 'revolutionary' design. It is a nightmare for me. I've only ever flown out of LGW-N, so once I go through LGW-S I'll see if my vote changes (based on previous experiences). The air bridge from LGW-N to the BA terminal is a novelty but the terminal is airy and pleasant.

S.

[uklad007]

For me it has to be Milan Linate, its a very busy airport for its size but there are not many shops, very little to no choice in terms of food and if you happen to be flying to London once your at the gate your stuck due to the passport control/security specifically set up which prevents you from going back to the main area of departures - not that there is a great deal to do there. All that is in the area your segregated into is a set of toilets and a drinks machine - so if you ever have the misfortune of being delayed you have had it. Ive flown a few times on a Friday night when the BA and Alitalia flights to LHR plus the Easy to LGW are all departing within a short while of each other and there are never enough seats!

The best i think ive been to is Madrid Barajas - bit of a trek to and from your gate if your flying BA and luggage can take at least 90 minutes to turn up once you arrive but the design and surroundings are perfect!

[bplgaz]

Ho Chi Minh City?
Arrived last year on SQ at same time as CX and one other flight.
Two hour immigration, bags left piled...then the scrum outside the airport as local people offer "taxi" services.
Fun Fun Fun!

[Wangja]

Baku.

Thread closed.

[VAFFPAX]

uklad, Linate sounds like Verona... same deal there really. :rolleyes:

S.

[TheDesertFerret]

Not the worst airport on earth but Geneva is a shocker for skiers / snowboarders on arrival.

Skis / boards are routed separately to ordinary baggage and it takes aeons - way longer than the baggage on the carousels. I've waited sixty minutes though the norm appears to be around 30 minutes.

Why?

It goes without saying there are no staff on hand who can help.

[danielson81]

It has to be Bucharest Baneasa (BBU)!

Nothing more than a glorified bus shelter! To its credit the air side logistics seemed OK, i.e. buses to plane, steps, luggage etc.

Some people quote it as "Europe's Worst Airport".

Cluj Napoca (CLJ) isn't much better either, my boarding pass was a old one with the old flight details crossed out and written over!

However Bucharest Otopeni (OTP) whilst not perfect was acceptable, very quick on arrival. 15 minutes from plane to exit, and on departure security was very easy. The taxi touts have seem to of almost disappeared also. However it is extremely expensive, ie £2.50 for a tiny coffee! Especially when your used to paying around 60p in Bucharest! :)

[EI-AAA]

Try Dublin,
fits your description to a tee, with a few more of its own

[riptack]

My vote goes to DUBLIN which displays a total lack of any foresight or planning and absolute chaos in the baggage collection hall. I read recently that there are knocking down the nicest part of the terminal to build T2.

[angels]

Wondered when Ho Chi Minh would crop up!

Awful place. I saw a woman seriously injured after she fell on an escalator. She was trapped at the bottom but the thing just kept dumping other passengers on top of her -- there were no emergency switches.

In the end there was a whole heaving mass of humanity at the bottom of it and several others, mainly elderly, were hurt as well. I managed to escape the melee by vaulting over the side and descending the last eight or nine feet down a bit more quickly than usual.

Oh, and immigration are corrupt as well. Make sure you take a load of passport size photos with you, even though you don't officially need them. :rolleyes:

[wannaBAgrad]

My vote has to go to Paris Beauvais (BVA). A few weeks ago I arrived at 7.30am for a 9.30am flight. By the time I had checked in, queued to get past the single passport control window in operation and then waited another while to get through security, I walked straight onto the plane from security. This airport was designed for a few flights a week, not the several dozen it now caters for every day.

[dbertman]

I would vote for Tampere, anyone who has been through the 'Ryanair' terminal on a busy night will know what I mean, it is little more than a warehouse in a field. With about as many facilities to match.

[Cheers Buddy]

To All those that are berating MAN - T1 will be sorted eventually - you can not improve airports without making a mess through building work. I agree that travellling through T1 isnt a great experience at the moment but that'll change when the work has finished and MAN will once again be a top airport.

Talking about worst airports, LPL isnt far from that tag-Portakabins for departure lounges, having to pay £2 if you want to avoid the disgraceful security queues that always exist early in the morning and the unorganised chaos at boarding gates. I have always supported LPL throughout its fast development over the last 7years, but it is not a nice experience as a passenger.

The worst airport I've flown from personally is brussels (or not Brussels) Charleroi - a total dump.

Buddy.

[Just a spotter]

... so says Don Langford, head of customer services Europe for American.

http://www.rte.ie/business/2008/0429/heathrow.html

But I'd have to agree with EI-AAA's nomination for Dublin, it is by far the worst shopping centre around the city. If it weren't for the coincidential air links I'd never go near the place. (What do you mean the air links are the whole purpose ... has anyone told that to the DAA?!)

JAS

[True Blue]

I find the comments from AA a bit hard to stomach. They who have just transferred more services from Lgw, a half-decent airport to Lhr. If Lhr is so bad, why did they do that? Or is it just the same for AA as Baa, profit is king and forget about the poor pax?

True Blue

[PPRuNe Pop]

CEEFAX has a piece by that Don Langford of American Airlines that LHR is worst of all European airports. "A mess" - "long delays" - "baggage is terrible" and it goes on. Who can argue?

[frostbite]

At least he didn't say worst in the world!

[Railgun]

Worst airport in the world has got to be Washington, those pathetic people mover things must do wonders for the airports carbon footprint.

Second has got to be Manchester airport, total dump, leaking roofs, broken walkways, filthy terminals and power outages!

[NickBarnes]

Coming into Tampere when i flew in with Ryanair, the terminal ryanair use is awfull:\, it's a small shed and a tip, and as i came in the summer, late in the evening it was so hot in there and you had to wait to get your baggage for about 50 mins:eek:.

and you could see the brand new Terminal Finnair use at Tampere which made it even worse:*

[iflycwl]

LHR T3 arrivals / HM Immigration is a bit of a dump, rips in carpets taped over with celotape, not what you expect from the UK's premier airport

[oneworld1]

Dub (since the C gates all all but closed.) Lhr (no explanation required!) and Cwl are the worst for me. CWL security are the snottiest I've come across....worse even than those in LAX, which takes some doing.:= Their route development is appalling also. Sitting waiting for the 'late departure' to DUB is depressing...nothing is open. Reminds me of DUB in the 80's!!

[Cheers Buddy]

If you think the security staff in CWL are bad, you obviously havent flown out of LPL - the vast majority of security staff are so rude and bad tempered-they're always effing and blinding in front of pax and moaning about pay and conditions. Its a complete embarrasment to the airport. The last thing pax want when they've had to pay the disgusting £2 charge to go through security is to be spoken too in a rude manner by staff.

[Shyted]

Railgun,

I read your post with glee and wonder if your only form of transport is british rail.
I have been to 63 countries on my travels (including Nigeria,Ivoiry Coast,Ghana,India,Kenya)and believe me Washinton and Manchester comes out pretty well. You have obviously not flown through LHR recently. I fly through MAN quite frequently and must admit its not the best airport in the world but at least i find my baggage on carolsel nbr 5 10 minutes after ive got to baggage reclaim and not 3 days or weeks after unlike LHR. I can put up with leaking roofs and inoperative escalators but get really pissed off with the lack of luggage at the end of my journey which is normally the case at LHR.

Where does LHR come into your worst airports in the world table.

[jaypla]

Bucarest-Baneasa, incredibly small and overcrowded, no shops.

[Ernest Lanc's]

LTNman.

Ok you can call Blackpool Airports limited facilities all you want, but try and be a little more accurate:suspect:.

Be that as it may, while you walk miles in the large airports like Manchester, and the London airports.

I will park my car, and walk a few yards to the terminal, check in then walk a few yards to security and departures. So easy.
And on returning - won't be a long walk to the carousel, and it works.
Anyway you are entitled to your opinion.

My vote goes to Palma, we spent ages waiting for our luggage while it was on another carousel, while the Leeds luggage was on ours.

Getting though security is a nightmare, even with a fast on line check in - give me Blackpool anytime over monstrosities like Palma.

[Jess1968]

Hmm have to disagree that Cardiff is the WORLD's worst airport!! It is handy for locals...flies to the most popular leisure destinations (as after all it is a majority leisure airport!)the security are better than many airports I have travelled through (have you ever transitted to the US through AMS...enough said!) but they are after all security and therefore not there to pass the time of day.

The departure lounge, although not packed with entertainment, is spacious, clean and practical, and (sorry to disagree) the retail opens for all departures until the flight is called, with minor exceptions!

Would fly from there everytime...if only the flights were cheaper :)

[Pontious]

T's 1,2&3 Heathrow (Death-row) is filthy, squalid & more like pre-modernised Mumbai with every visit, or a supersized Ahmedabad.

Manchester is just... crap. Poorly laid out, poorly signed & shambolic.

ANY UK 'International' airport is straight out of The Third World.

Sorry if it hurts or offends anybody but it's the views & opinion of 20 year veteran.
:ok:

[Skipness One Echo]

Newquay. A tin shed that cost millions on a closing RAF base where you have to telephone for a taxi in an arrivals shed. Then on departure you have to slip them a fiver before they'll let you use their "facilities".

To top it off they stopped scanning people through security at 2010 when I was supposed to be at the "gate" for the Stansted Ryanair at 2020 at the latest. It wasn't even scheduled to land until 2030. "You're a bit late sir" sayeth the Chief Security Officer. I decided not to argue for there would be little point as they were all knocking off early. Then a woman lost her £5 ticket that you have to surrender on leaving the gate, she was almost in tears of frustration. What a God awful amateurish place.

[wingeel]

Maybe Manchester's not the best place, what with all the work going on, but I had no problems transiting T2 on a recent visit to the States. Security was thorough but courteous and polite and I was impressed with the speed in which my baggage was handled given that my flight ( US Air from Philly, which was pretty well fully loaded) arrived shortly after the DL 767 from Atlanta and a Virgin 744.

As efficient as the airports I used in the States - Philly, Charlotte, Memphis and DFW.

[G-ARZG]

Now I know the Italian word for s---hole = Ciampino.

A terminal that was probably overcrowded with a couple
of DC6's on the ramp in 1964 is now swamped by squadrons
of lowcosts.

Last time there, the line for departing passport control (one
kiosk open) was huge, 25-30 minutes easily....

The place needs levelling !

[Muizenberg]

For all those who are critical of LHR...the airports in India are VILE. No investment in infrastructure from a country who is suppose to be the next economic powerhouse. Security screening which is questionable (Xray machines have only just been replaced at DEL with modern ones). 1950's proceedures for crew clearance of customs/immigration on arrival/departure.

Sydney is overcrowded for the 5-8 a.m. arrivals with horrendous lines to leave customs. Hindered by some stupid reality TV show being filmed during the CHAOS the occurs every morning at Kingsford Smith every morning.

Any US airport full of people trying to get far too much carry on baggage on to aircraft. Servere lack of eating/shopping facilities, esp. during irregular operations---airports don't seem to stipulate eating facilities stay open til last departure so passengers can use refrement vouchers when airlines finally give them...Need better SLA's.

Madrid...another Sir RR classic-need I say more?

Best airports:

Johannesburg-vast improvement with renovations esp. International terminal, very few off pier departures/arrivals now.

Hong Kong-modern, effcient good shops/restaurants/fantastic link to city.

Harare-fantastic modern terminal...shame the country has gone to pot.

[luganao]

What a tip in what is the revenue generating region of this desolate country

[BHDflyer]

Apart from bad signage, no seats, and filthy tables in restaurants,
Manchester airport security are racist toward Irish people. In terminal 1, they're so ignorant and dont even know that Northern Ireland is in the UK! They tell you to join the queue for ROI flights, only to end up in exactly the same place where the end of the UK queue is at the conveyor belts.

Fat, useless english police then walk past and make comments such as, "Oh not more paddy b*st*rds", which I have heard along with many others. ABSOLUTE CIRCUS, COULDN'T MANAGE A P*SS UP IN A BREWERY!:ugh:

[MidnightMoonlight]

alls people do on here is f***** slag Manchester off n im sick of it! Manchester Int Airport is currently undergoing major work,its going to not be complenty easy, i passed through MAN last week and it was great.its allways been great and no one i know moans about it!its all you lot who are soo picky,for PAX going on a holiday its fine! i was out of MAN on the way home in 30 mins other day since touchdown on the runway,everything was easy!stop bloody moaning.

[wingeel]

Have you made a complaint against these police officers who you say made these racist comments ?

[sacktheboard]

BHDFlyer

If you actually look up at the signs above the security desk for the ROI channel you will notice that there is a sign for the Channel Islands and
Northern Ireland, this is because Special Branch have a desk and cctv and like to know who are on these flights. It's easier for them to put those pax through that channel.

Also you posted the above post last year or the year before!! True??

[I. M. Esperto]

i was born in the Idlewilde section of Queens, NYC, 1931. (160th St and Conduit Ave.).

There was a dirt strip with bi-planes coming and going. I could pedal there in half an hour. My Uncle Tom and Aunt Virginia lived right next to the strip. I could always expect a nice snack there, while I watched the airplanes.

They owned the property back then. Bad depression days, I never even knew it as a kid.