Worlds Worst Airports - LHR slumps to 6th

[Heathrow Harry]

10 Worst Airports in the World (http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/10-worst-airports-in-the-world.html/?a=viewall&ref=GR)

10 Worst Airports in the World

Kirsten Klahn (http://wallstcheatsheet.com/author/kirsten-klahn/) | More Articles (http://wallstcheatsheet.com/category/economy/) January 09, 2014


Airports are not often associated with having fun — they’re simply a place for you to wait in order to make a flight. But some airports have separated themselves from the pack, and not in a good way. The worst airports in the world are known for their smelly bathrooms, long lines, and rude staff.
Take a look at the 10 worst airports in the world, and if possible, try to avoid them.


1. Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International

This airport (http://www.aeroportoguarulhos.net/en/) is known for its long immigration lines, unannounced gate changes, and expensive food and drinks, according to CNN Travel (http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/life/10-most-hated-airports-324645). That’s all made worse by the fact that this outdated facility is understaffed, and only 59 percent of the Brazilian airport’s flights arrive on schedule, Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/2008/01/14/airports-brazil-delays-biz-logistics-cx_bw_0114airports.html) reports.

Source: Dmitry Avdeev / Wikimedia Commons

2. Chicago Midway International

Chicago’s Midway International Airport (http://www.flychicago.com/midway/en/home/pages/default.aspx) is ranked as the nation’s worst for on-time departures. “It isn’t a bad place to hang out, with a new food court and a frequent subway connection to downtown Chicago, but any airport is the worst airport if you’re stuck there and you aren’t getting on a plane,” Frommer’s (http://www.frommers.com/slideshows/825013-the-10-worst-airport-terminals) writes.

Source: Chmpgnrose / Wikimedia Commons

3. John F. Kennedy International

New York City’s airport (http://www.panynj.gov/airports/jfk.html) has made Travel + Leisure’s (http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-ugliest-airports/2) list of ugliest airports. “Today JFK is resolutely hellish; arriving passengers are often greeted with endless blank corridors and stairways,” Travel + Leisure says. What to look for at this airport? Keep an eye out for the newer JetBlue terminal, as well as Terminal 1, which may be old but isn’t as bad as some of the others.

Source: NRG07 / Flickr

4. N’Djamena International

Users of this airport (http://www.ourairports.com/airports/fttj/flights.html) in the tiny Republic of Chad in Africa have said that there are multiple bugs all over, according to USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2013/07/24/worlds-worst-airports-dumps-disgraces-and-big-bugs/2581015/). Travelers have also complained about the airport’s open-bag security check held outside, which only helps to draw in more bugs around the infested airport. If you can’t avoid it, bring bug spray.

Source: Rastrojo / Wikimedia Commons

5. Paris Beauvais Tille

The French airport (http://www.aeroportbeauvais.com/?lang=eng) opts for the basics and very little else. “It’s rated as one of the world’s worst airports by SleepingInAirports.net because of its lack of seating and services, and general half-tent, half-warehouse atmosphere,” according to Frommer’s (http://www.frommers.com/slideshows/825013-the-10-worst-airport-terminals). “It lacks a rail link to Paris and closes overnight, so hope that your flight doesn’t get too delayed, or you may be camping out on the lawn.”

Source: Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz / Wikimedia Commons

6. London Heathrow

Sadly, this London airport (http://www.heathrowairport.com/) has also made Travel + Leisure’s (http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-ugliest-airports/5) ugliest airports list. In fact, the airport is described as “four shopping malls that have been smashed together.” Terminal 3 is the worst, distinguished by a system in which passengers are corralled into a central seating area and not permitted to pass through security to their gates until departure time.

Source: Billy Hathorn / Wikimedia Commons

7. LaGuardia

Those hoping for easy transportation should look elsewhere. According to a USA Today (http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2013/07/24/worlds-worst-airports-dumps-disgraces-and-big-bugs/2581015/) article, the airport (http://www.panynj.gov/airports/laguardia.html) isn’t connected to any meaningful transportation, only a slow bus. Check-in areas are small, security lines are overflowing, Wi-Fi isn’t free, and it’s hard to get cellphone reception. If that’s not enough to sway you, it’s also dirty and crowded.

Source: Carabaopower / Wikimedia Commons

8. Ninoy Aquino International

“Beleaguered by ground crew strikes, unkempt conditions, soup kitchen-style lines that feed into more lines and an overall sense of futility, NAIA brings the term ‘Stuck in the 1970s’ to a new level,” CNN Travel (http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/life/10-most-hated-airports-324645) says. Despite overcapacity issues, Terminal 1 seems particularly crammed, and Terminal 3, which is new, is only occupied by minor carriers at the Manila-based airport (http://www.manila-airport.net/).

Source: Mkimemia / Wikimedia Commons

9. Jomo Kenyatta International

Nairobi’s airport (https://www.kaa.go.ke/airports/nairobi-jomo-kenyatta-intl-airport) was built to support about 2.5 million passengers but now averages about double that, according to Frommer’s (http://www.frommers.com/slideshows/825013-the-10-worst-airport-terminals). In 2005, the Kenyan government announced plans to expand the airport but hasn’t accomplished that goal yet. Travelers describe this airport as hot, ugly, dirty, and confusing, as well as filled with scam artists.

Source: Tevaprapas Makklay / Wikimedia Commons

10. Tribhuvan International

“For a small airport in a pretty country, Tribhuvan (http://www.tiairport.com.np/) has it all: the interminable weather delays of Boston Logan, the shoddy restroom maintenance of a Glasgow sports bar, the departure board sparsity of McMurdo Airfield and the chronic chaos of a kids’ soccer match,” according to CNN Travel (http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/life/10-most-hated-airports-324645). Also, print out your ticket. CNN Travel reports that those who didn’t have a printed version had to argue their way in to catch a flight at the Kathmandu, N

[adfly]

That seems a little unfair on LHR, ranked worse than LGA despite having T5 and soon a brand new T2.

[hammerb32]

I think t5 is an exceptional experience, without a doubt would make any top 10 list for positive reasons.

[Metro man]

Where is Los Angeles LAX ? Surely it must be in the top 5.

[vctenderness]

LAX, MIA, ATL not in the top ten!

Most US airports would be in top 100 just on the basis of staff attitude let alone facilities.

[taffyhammer]

LAX should defo be in the top 5 of worst airport; my worst ever experience in an international airport.

[Aksai Oiler]

Certainly missing CDG, it's a bloody awful hole :mad:

Whilst T3 is not ideal, I seem to remember you have to pass through security before you get to the central seating area - so what this BS?

[All names taken]

A bit unfair on Heathrow tbf.
The experience has improved consistently over the last 5 years.

But where the hell is Paris CDG on that list? Possibly the worst transfer experience on the planet.
Or maybe there is a separate 'Worst designed airport in the World' list which it would of course come No1

[wallp]

Very unfair on Heathrow. The passenger experience does differ from terminal to terminal but to single it out for perceived issues within T3 is very harsh. T5 is a joy to travel through but there's no mention of that

[davidjohnson6]

This is not journalism - it's simply fluff by someone who is too lazy to do any proper work but has a deadline for 500 words. I very much doubt the author has visited more than 2 of the airports with the rest based on what a Google search of 'worst airports' threw up with a bit of dramatisation in the choice of words.

[Una Due Tfc]

I think it's fair. Always a miserable experience if entering from outside the EU, or transferring. Immigration queues enormous, transitting between terminals on par with CDG (Awful). Terminal 5 is lovely and BA are superb, but they can't paper over the real elephant in the room, delays caused by 2 runways at 98% capacity. Don't think JFK deserves to be there, but I only use the Jetblue terminal when there, which is quite new.

[Capetonian]

I suppose it depends on the criteria but in my view none of the 7 on this list (I have not had the pleasure of N'djamena, Beauvais, or Tribhuvan) that I've visited come close to qualifying as world's worst, although Guaralhos is an experience I don't wish to repeat.

For a country that calls itself civilised, CDG has to be the worst experience, dirty, smelly, inadequate facilities, inefficient and diabolically rude staff. Madrid Barajas comes close in terms of the staff and facilities. Berlin Schoenefeld must be an embarrassment to Germany.

MIA is awful, disjointed and over capacity, but I think the worst I've ever been to is Murtala Mohamed in Lagos, however it reflects the city it serves!

[Una Due Tfc]

I have had the "pleasure" of Beauvais, basically a barn with some garden chairs in the middle of nowhere. I suspect a lot of the negaitive reviews were influenced by the airline those surveyed were flying with, Europe's favourite indeed.....

[NJJ99]

I'm not even sure Judith Charmers or Michael Palin are qualified enough to quote the top 10 worst airports in the world? I've found some airports to be totally different for when arriving as a destination or transit pax. Whenever I've flown into NY as a fd pax, no problem - but, when I've flown in as a transit pax, completely different story, hideous experience at both JFK and EWK.

There's no way on gods earth that, ANY, British airport is within the top 10 worst in the world.

[Fairdealfrank]

There's no way on gods earth that, ANY, British airport is within the top 10 worst in the world.


Exactly, as any well-travelled person will tell you.

Load of subjective rubbish!

[LN-KGL]

There are some very strong candidates among the 46 UK airports I've flown to/from, but sadly I haven't covered the rest of the world to the same degree and therefore can't give you the correct ranking. This ranking can of course be coloured of a situation you have experienced. Leeds-Bradford got such a negative vibe for me. My first flight to LBA was in the evening of 9 August 2006. I stayed the night over at the nearby Travelodge. The next day I had a short full breaky at the airport, but the main purpose was to get the key to the rental car I ordered. No smiles at all that day, only nervousness, but considering this was 10 August 2006, day zero for the transparent 1 litre plastic bag for liquids, my bad feeling about the airport was only natural. LBA lost this bad airport rating on my next visit, but that is a different story.

[davidjohnson6]

The only UK airport I'd put on the really lousy list is Durham Tees Valley. Staff are pretty friendly but the ever pervading sense of impending closure and overall hopelessness gets to you - bit like Dementors if you've read a Harry Potter book.

At some point, if the capital expenditure on an airport is low enough per passenger or the building is sufficiently ancient, decayed, chaotic and over stretched, then any airport in the world can give the sense of a horrible experience.

[Hotel Tango]

It's all subjective indeed. I think that people's experiences are relative to the day and the time of day they travel - and terminal used. This can make a significant difference to one's perception of an airport. As a frequent passenger not flying on business I often fly at off peak times of the day (and the week). Consequently my experiences tend to be pretty smooth at those times, including some of the airports mentioned above. I certainly have had no issues with JFK and LGA, and those mentioned by other posters such as CDG, LAX and ATL. I can't judge LHR as I personally gave up using it many years ago. The real test of an airport is departing early morning or late afternoon, especially on a Monday (morning) and Friday (late afternoon). That's when you can judge the efficiency of an airport a little more accurately.

[Heathrow Harry]

LHR has a couple of decent bits - T4 is passable and T5 is the standard reached by Changi 25 years ago - but T1 & T3 are abominable and the whole experience of terminals scattered at random across the landscape and that idiot tunnel is enough to put it on the list IMHO

LAX is dreadfull and we thought Denpasar was pretty grim last year (allowing for the fact that its under reconstruction)

[All names taken]

Really Heathrow Harry if you think LHR is bad, you need to get out and do a bit more flying.
Admittedly LHR was a poor poor place not all that many years ago but it has consistently improved recently. The new T2 will continue that trend.

Not saying that it's great but there are much much worse places in Europe never mind the world.
It's just fashionable to knock it amongst the middle class chattering dinner party types. But boring really.

[MKY661]

I flew from Terminal 8 at JFK not long ago and it was fine :) Don't know why they are saying that's not a good Terminal :)

[Hotel Tango]

Heathrow Harry says: LAX is dreadfull.

This is a generalisation, which proves my point about individual perceptions depending on terminals used. I have flown in and out of LAX quite a number of times in the past 3 years, both domestic and international. All my experiences were positive! However, the airline I use on internationals doesn`t use the same terminal as BA or VS for instance. There could lie the difference.

[T250]

Admittedly LHR was a poor poor place not all that many years ago but it has consistently improved recently. The new T2 will continue that trend.

Only so much you can 'improve' cr@p, end of the day it is still cr@p! :rolleyes:

As for what has been 'consistently improved' what are we talking? The very bad and in-polite security staff, still. The appalling terminal layouts, still. The poor signage, still. Overly extensive and intimidating shopping mall terminals, still. The highest airport terminal car park charges in the world, still. :\

[Capetonian]

As a frequent global traveller, I find Heathrow far better than many major international airports, certainly T5, and I am no fan of BA, is a pleasure.

Last time we flew through T3 on VS it was a good experience too. I also did and airside transfer from T5 to T3 and itwas smooth and comfortable, but a bit circuitous. Those who rubbish LHR should try CDG, MAD, LIS, SVO, VKO, FRA, BRU .... and many others. In fact, the only European major hubs better than LHR are ZRH and AMS.

[vctenderness]

Have passed through Heathrow T5 as a passenger today. Must say very pleasant experience all said and done.

Only down side was WH Smiths which was hopeless long que disinterested staff some people in front of me just gave up and threw their books down and left.

[bannercounty]

The UK staffing, attitude and mentality at security needs a lot to be desired. They just do not know when or how to engage their brains. They seem to base their methodology the same way as the French do with the McDonalds, Subway franchises etc i.e. no one gets served until the last order is complete. Their attitude is always abysmal and people complain about the TSA in the USA?! At least you move in the USA. Transited through LHR unexpectedly with the family last November and between landing in T5 to arriving at the gate in T1 it took 121 minutes. In saying that I checked in on my mobile and was from drop off outside T1 and at my gate in in less than 35 minutes on several occasions in the past few months.

My recommendation:
Do not transit through LHR.
Staff find it even difficult to communicate in the language native to country of employment hence travel via AMS/ FRA or even CDG where after time you will find the short cuts.
Food is absolutely disgusting no matter where you go (apart from lounges which thankfully is never of UK fluff and duff) and LHR deserves to be in the top 10 of the worst airports as a result pack a snack before you go.

[Heathrow Harry]

Well All names taken I've been to some seriously remote places around the globe just in the last year and I still reckon LHR is a top ten bad airports

When I go to somewhere remote in a third world country I don't expect a great deal - when I go to the main airport in the capital of a G8 country I expect a lot more

LHR has been an embarrassment since around 1975 - lack of foresight, lack of investment, lack of interest

[crewmeal]

This topic is definitely subjective. You can be waiting 1 hour in T3 immigration at LHR on a hot Friday afternoon and vow never to fly there again. You can be at the back of an immigration queue in Sanford when 3 charter flights have just touched down and think never again, or even have a confrontation at check in because you believe your hand luggage conforms with the low cost carrier's rules and vow never to fly with them again. Or worst you can be locked out of a terminal and stranded for hours on a jet in the middle of the night. Even being herded like cattle into pens with no facilities waiting for a low cost flight back to the UK can be deemed as a bad experience.

At best you could be greeted with a suck of a pineapple cocktail and paper raffia bikini clad girls wiggling their bits on the tarmac at Papeete on arrival and think this is the best airport in the world.

It all depends how you find an airport on the day :ok:

[Bengt]

If someone puts Beauvais Tille among the 10 worst airports of the world 2014 the same person should have visited it 10 years ago.
Now it has check in desks and more than one toilet as well as a real terminal building and not only a large tent.
Still it has been just fine the last times I have been there....

[NJJ99]

@crewmeal

Absolutely spot on. :D

[Aksai Oiler]

Heathrow Harry, you are not the only one who travels to the back of beyond, I'm sat in T5 right now heading to Almaty, with flights to Astana, Uralsk, Aktau, Madrid and Jerez this week alone. I remember the dead rat in the toilet at Uralsk Airport, the stench, and the bumpy runway.

I don't know what your beef about Heathrow is but maybe you should rename yourself Lydd Harry? It took me 5 minutes to pass security today, yes LHR can be bad, but certainly no worse than some other G8 countries, and certainly does not deserve to be in the top ten worst airports. :=

[Mike Tee]

Surprised that Leeds Bradford didn't make the list. Terrible layout, claustrophobic, loud horrible music, not enough seats, long walk along a decrepit cold and draughty covered walkway as Ryanair always seem to park farthest away from the terminal.

[Skipness One Echo]

LHR has been an embarrassment since around 1975 - lack of foresight, lack of investment, lack of interest
All of these points have clearly and obviously been addressed in the period since 2008, it's a nonsense to suggest that Heathrow is one of the ten top worst airports on Earth. One does not have to look that far to find many worse. Some perspective please!

[T250]

T1 & T3 still look like utterly condemned terminals in their exterior and interiors, poor signage and staff and nothing at all ever appears to be done about the appalling security staff at both of these terminals and probably across the whole of LHR itself (although I couldn't possibly speculate that far). :ugh:

Chronic lack of anything to substantially improve the average Joe pax's journey if it involves removal or reduction of retail areas or any sort of expenditure on anything whatsoever if it offers no return immediately (such as retail) :\

[All names taken]

T250

'Appalling security staff' huh? Just listen to yourself.
What about appalling passengers?

I wonder how you would act if you were paid a disgracefully low wage for such responsible work, had to work long hours with unsociable shifts and had snorting snobs like you looking down on them every day.
You get what you pay for.
This is by no means a LHR only phenomena.

I find it weird that so many people expect some kind of utopian personal service with no queues and a totally stress free experience in one of the busiest airports in the world, operating at full tilt.

[Andy_S]

At other airports LGW, STN, MAN staff are markedly different, they have customer service skills. :)

It must have been a different MAN I went to in that case. Most unpleasant security experience ever.......

[Skipness One Echo]

It must have been a different MAN I went to in that case. Most unpleasant security experience ever.......
It's the MAN process at T3 that's a joke. Everything grinds to a halt while once a year grandad has to empty everything into a tray and have a nice wee chat with security. Gatwick and Heathrow have enough space to dump everything in the tray whilst you queue meaning frequent fliers don't grind to a halt as often as they do at MAN T3 (and BHX). It's possible to be all set to go through the arch when you get to the guy who has to ask "Laptop?"

[panda-k-bear]

To me, CDG is the absolute pits. It's awful to transit through; staff fit the stereotype Parisian attitude to a tee. Their rudeness knows no bounds; queues first thing in a morning are awful. I still can't figure out which terminals have an airside bus link and which don't - it just seems to be random. And connecting from an AF French domestic flight (2F) to CX (satellite of 2A) seems more like I'm walking half way to Hong Kong.

"Those who rubbish LHR should try CDG, MAD, LIS, SVO, VKO, FRA, BRU .... and many others. In fact, the only European major hubs better than LHR are ZRH and AMS. "

Don't forget MUC - that place is a pleasure to transit through. And if your connection starts to get tight, it's door to door service. Magnificent!



"T250

'Appalling security staff' huh? Just listen to yourself.
What about appalling passengers?

I wonder how you would act if you were paid a disgracefully low wage for such responsible work, had to work long hours with unsociable shifts and had snorting snobs like you looking down on them every day.
You get what you pay for.
This is by no means a LHR only phenomena.

I find it weird that so many people expect some kind of utopian personal service with no queues and a totally stress free experience in one of the busiest airports in the world, operating at full tilt."

Being told by a knuckle-dragger that I need to 'learn to effing well speak English' at LHR T5 security when I misunderstood his impolite instruction really set the tone for me.

[Heathrow Harry]

When the LHR boosters on here respond the always mention T5 and soon to be reopened T2

No one ever seems to use T1, T3 or T4 (which isn't great but not a WWA) if you read these posts

[Skipness One Echo]

No one ever seems to use T1, T3 or T4 (which isn't great but not a WWA) if you read these posts
Heathrow Harry is offline Report Post Reply
I use T1, it's pretty old but nowehere near as busy as it once was. It's going to be demolished very soon so there's little point on banging on about how terrible it all is. It's time expired, as is T3. Once we know the medium term situation around runway capacity, then the re-development of T3 can move forward. T4 is fine in my view if you can avoid the crazy hours of the late night exodus.

It's like the Tube Harry, if you don't invest properly on an ongoing basis, and in the 1980s investment was starved from both, it is much more painful and takes decades to fix that neglect. It's worth remembering LHR was neglected while BAA emabrked on the shiny and palatial third airport for London at Stansted in Essex. That worked out well then, seeing as how the airlines who paid for Ryanair to use STN for gratis are often still stuck in T3 at LHR some quarter of a century later.

[Aksai Oiler]

I'm with Skippy. In the last 6 months I have transitted through T3 and T1 frequently, neither are any worse than CDG or even MAD which is an airport I have a particular pet peeve for :yuk:

[Heathrow Harry]

MAD wouldn't be too bad if it was half the size and you didn't have to cross over to/from T4 & T4S

The staff are digital - either truly awful or very very helpful

last had a security issue with some carry-on - I'm sure at LHR or in teh USA I'd have been had serious problems but the staff spent a lot of time sorting out exactly what was causing a major alarm in my kit

On the other hand could I find someone to answer a simple question about onward flights........................

[Fairdealfrank]

I'm with Skippy. In the last 6 months I have transitted through T3 and T1 frequently, neither are any worse than CDG or even MAD which is an airport I have a particular pet peeve for


Me too on this one. LHR-1 and LHR-3 are a million times better than any of CDG's terminals and certainly better than the mess that is MAD-1/2/3.


Travel the world if you want to see some really rough, grotty airports!

[NJJ99]

I love the fact that LHR has 'slumped' to 6th - from where??... 1st? That's an improvement then surely? What a complete load of subjective, opinionated tosh.

[Hussar 54]

All this trashing of CDG....If you're connecting Air France, then Terminal E << >> F is a breeze these days with the new 'glass bridge' in Terminal F....And if you're not connecting SkyTeam, then why ever use CDG for connections ?? In my own humble opinion, connections at CDG are not as awkward / difficult as LHR T5 to the other LHR Terminals....

As for LHR, arrived from Warsaw a few weeks ago at 21.45 at T1 Gate 49....Finally picked up my bag at almost 22.55...Way too long....

But which got me thinking....Is there anywhere - in the world, even - that requires the same distance on foot that is needed from Gate 49 to kerbside T1 ??

I can't think of any....And is why I would always have T1 and T3 on any list of the worst airports in the Northern hemisphere....

[Skipness One Echo]

But which got me thinking....Is there anywhere - in the world, even - that requires the same distance on foot that is needed from Gate 49 to kerbside T1 ??
It's not that far!
NATS | AIS - Home (http://www.nats-uk.ead-it.com/public/index.php%3Foption=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=94&Itemid=143.html)
In the UK, Gatwick over the bridge is just as far I think. Getting back from Terminal 2F in CDG was a trek even with the train, it's always a pain arriving late at night and just wanting to go home. The current trek from gate 49 at the end of T2B is about to have travellators installed via the tunnel and exiting via T2 soon though I think? The Europier is being demolished alongwith T1.

[Heathrow Harry]

"I love the fact that LHR has 'slumped' to 6th"

I'm doing a Journo course.... everything has to be described as PANIC, FEAR, SLUMP, DISASTER, etc etc :cool::cool:

[NJJ99]

Some of the stuff posted in this thread, like a hell of a lot of journo stuff written, is a load of :mad:

I wish you all the best with your course, HH.

[Heathrow Harry]

irony dear boy, irony.......

I would never qualify for a journo course as I try and tell the truth......

Just amazed that posting an article from the papers brings on such a defensive reaction by the LHR Fan club tho'................... :ouch::ouch:

[Skipness One Echo]

Heathrow Harry, just curious, you worked for them at some point? I am guessing it did not end well?

[Fairdealfrank]

"I love the fact that LHR has 'slumped' to 6th"

I'm doing a Journo course.... everything has to be described as PANIC, FEAR, SLUMP, DISASTER, etc etc


.......and don't forget "crashed out" for losing in sport, e.g. "Henman has crashed out of Wimbledon".

It's a strange language, journalese.

[ezyBoh]

Terminal 4 in my opinion is the best. Arrived 1 hour early from EWR last Weds, putting the staff allocation to flights out of sync l expect with other early arrivals, got from stepping off the aircraft to boarding the car park minibus in 30 mins, including waiting for baggage, immigration and duty free shop stop. We'll done all at T4!!!!