The Worst "International" Airport?

[The Sleeping Pax]

Surely it must be my recent experiences over the last month at ASB (Ashabat)Turkmenistan. No luggage trolleys. Corrupt, no blatently corrupt officials from the visa desk through immigration, to customs. Want a drink when leaving? Well that will cost you $5 for a coke. Check in? Well yes you can after you have bribed the customs guy, the baggage guy, the X-ray/security guy, and paid well over the odds for your excess bagage, only to discover that the flight you are on is practically empty and I bet the airline doesn't get the money either. Need an aslie seat/window seat? Forget it. But you can if you pay at the check in. Delayed flight? Need details? Forget it. Announcements cannot be made, the info screens don't work. Need a sauna? No problem. It's 50C and the airconditioning doesn't work. A ride to the aircraft, 500 meters from the terminal building? Forget it. Walk. If anyone knows of a worse "International" airport than ASB then I'd love to be able to avoid it. Thanks.

[Knowledge]

I would certainly add Beijing to the list. Many of the same problems you encountered plus it seemed that each of the 40,000 or so people in the terminal (designed to hold about 40 people) were trying to check their furniture as baggage. It was like being in Chinese Ikea. 20 kilos??????

[millhampost]

Knowledge:
Don't know when you went to Beijing but it is nothing like the ASB "experience" quoted by The Sleeping Pax. I went in and out of Beijing last week on internal China flights and for the list of topics covered by The Sleeping Pax -
Lots of trolleys. Free.
NO corruption.
Drink - US75 cents for a coke or a bottle of Qing Dao (Tsing Tao).
No bribe to anybody at any time for anything.
Window seat on request.
All screens working in Chinese and in English.
No delays.
Usual bus ride to and from aeroplane, maybe 1000 metres from terminal.
No grumbles whatsoever.
And if you want to find huge cabin baggage - try LHR T3.
EM

[Eboy]

Haven't been to Beijing, but Shanghai was fine in 1997 -- there's a new airport there now, I think. I've been curious at the sign from the FAA I see at U.S. airports warning against travel to Nigeria -- Lagos in particular, I believe. I don't remember the name in the airport. It seems I've been seeing the same warning for 10 years or so. I sense this is no simple ICAO Cat 1 or Cat 2 matter. Sounds like order-of-magnitude worse.

[DX Wombat]

I knew I had seen this thread somewhere. I was re-routed home at the weekend via Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris and all I can say about this hole is "What a filthy, tatty, unfriendly dump" and that is being very, very polite. Sticky floors in the toilets, uneven, broken floor covering and as for the seats in the waiting area - words fail me. Apart from the fact that they were uncomfortable and a fascinating shade of revolting orange, the fabric on many was ripped and all were stained to a greater or lesser degree rounded off with a liberal scattering of chunks of old, used chewing gum. Bienvenue a la belle France indeed! What an appalling welcome for anyone visiting Paris. I will NEVER willingly travel through there again. By the way, this is in no way a complaint about the fact that I was re-routed, I was, in fact, very grateful for it, just very dismayed by what I found.

[GwynM]

Novosibersk

a refuelling stop from Moscow to Ulan Bator

Ok for a 1 hour leg stretch, but when a technical problem meant we had to have another plane sent from Moscow (told that after 8 hours in a small transit lounge), tempers started to get just a little frayed.

[gofer]

CDG

You must have been in Terminal 1 (the round one) - Terminals 2A to 2F are OK when compared to any 2nd or 3rd world dumps.

PEK

Was absolutly fine a few weeks ago. Closing the airport for 2 hours didn't help as there were then 40 Million people waiting, but it all still worked fine in a typical Chinese kind of way - but food appeared for all - Now that would never happen in LHR/LGW would it.

Thinking back those Russian locations probably win hands down - even GOA wasn't that bad - though the loo's were nothing to even mention let alone write home about - but that is probably par for the sub-continent.

[cargosales]

Miami. Or any airport which does not have a smoking area after the security check. Go out of my way to avoid them.

Thank goodness VS fly to Orlando as well as Miami

CS

[DX Wombat]

I was in an area of CDG which rejoiced in the name of "Satellite 5". It is obviously a reject from a distant planet and needs to be returned there as soon as possible.

[Crepello]

Today’s pet hate: Airports without smoking areas.

My least favourite 'field' is Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt, which is similar to ASB but admittedly less corrupt. If there were a separate category for worst intl in the US, I’d nominate:
- MSY New Orleans (hopeless terminal facilities, couldn’t get a drink before takeoff)
- OAKland (had to pay for a trolley, great difficulty finding the bus to the Muni station, station itself was a hotbed of tramps & beggars)

On a more positive note, LAX gets a gold star for a certain sausage outlet at T6. Wonder if they'd courier me a hotdog...

[5711N0205W]

Pointe Noire - Congo

Has been my worst experience so far;

After avoiding the medical staff in very dirty white coats on the way in who will innoculate you against Yellow Fever if you are not up to date!!

Staying at a good hotel (you know it was good it had it's own Prostitutes in the Bar).

The transfer driver on the way to the airport was well pi**ed, then eventually making it past the Police departure tax collection point (US Dollars only) to find our flight was delayed by several hours so we were locked in the departure gate (no facilities) behind iron barred gates!!

I'm not going back there.

[Rwy in Sight]

The New Athens International Airport

The staff is trained to be politely rude, have the tolerance of an ice cube in the desert, the security checks take ages, trolleys are chargable only in Euros and airport taxes are skyhigh.

Furthermore no place to catch a look on the planes.

Avoid it if you can.


Rwy in Sight.

[Elvis21]

Ever tried finding a seat at Zurich, impossible

[Flip Flop Flyer]

RIS,

Isn't the world a strange place. I've been thrugh the new ATH airport 3 times last week and found the staff to be as polite as anywhere else, security as should be expected and staffed by rather friendly people, I've certainly met worse. If you'd cared to look for the signs, there is one in the departure hall saying something like "viewing terrace". It's up near the Burger King outlet. Very popular with the local anoraks I've heard. As for trolleys only payable in Euro's, well what the hell did you expect? US Dollars, Gold, Pounds Sterling, VISA? They have joined the Euro you see, it would be blooody stupid of them to retail in any other currency, wouldn't it?

Worst airports? LHR and FRA obviously.

[Rwy in Sight]

FFF

I had been to LGAV twice in the last week and I am still looking for the sign of "viewign terrace". I have visited the McDonalds where there is indeed a small area behind glass that offer a limited view in the apron. The glass turns to a mirror at night I have witness it. I feel it is very limited.

Regarding the Euros I know I used them everyday. But the point is what happend when an American or Australlian arrives at the small hours of the morning and has no euro coins on his pocket. What happens then?

Anyway I feel it is expensive to use and my experience so far has not been good but there are some bright points. And unfortunately I have to use it if I want to fly commercially.


Nevertheless FFF I am glad you had a better experience that I did.

Runway in Sight

[Flip Flop Flyer]

RIS,

Must admit I never went to the viewing terrace myself, the sign is in the departures hall opposite Olympic check-in.

For the trollies, I expect the same would happen to a European landing in OZ or US; change to local currency.

PS
Was it a McDonalds? Could very well be, I never eat at either McD or BK.