Beautiful airports
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Beautiful airports
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
"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
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?"
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?"
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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.
Ohcirrej
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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.
Shining Example, apparently...
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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.
Nice airports? Hmm. Copenhagen's terminal is nice. Santa Barbara's picturesque. My favourite's Schiphol, though it's functional rather than beautiful.
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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".
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".
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Mumbai (Bombay)
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!
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Innsbruck
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.
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.
PPRuNe Handmaiden
Coventry's app lights when they appeared out of the fog at the minima. That was absolutely beautiful to me. 
