Los Angeles, USA. The seventh busiest passenger airport in the world, though we have to admire the face the modern world can handle all that traffic. Apparently there is always construction work underway, and taxiing of planes is bothersome. Still, it has a few good restaurants, and is well known for plane spotters.
Kathmandu, Nepal – Apparently just running over capacity, with poor facilities. Individuals report how hard it is to find their way around with such poor signs.
Paris Charles de Gaulle, France – the second busiest airport in the world, and apparently the administration cannot handle the traffic. But the place is busy because so many people really want to see France.
Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Philippines – Many Asian airports are highly regarded, so this one looks all the worse. Apparently it is old fashioned, hard for passengers to navigate, and highly overpriced. It has suffered a few fires over its lifetime.
Chicago, USA – What could have been a fine facility is unfortunately compromised by weather conditions. Probably nobody’s fault, really.
Heathrow, UK – The busiest airport in the world; imagine how much worse it would be without a second airport in the same city. Large populations and countless travellers will do this to a place. Solutions are not easy to find.
Pyongyang Sunan International Airport (FNJ), North Korea – A small facility that is hindered by the totalitarian views of the government. Personal photos and music being inspected on arrival and departure is just one of the many inconveniences of this intuition.
Madrid-Bajaras (MAD), Spain – Apparently passengers and staff have to travel for miles to get to arrival and departure point; transfers entail an unprecedented amount of walking. Combined with chaotic signage this makes for a difficult holiday experience.
Of course there is always a little room for subjectivity. Any airport that has a lounge will seem a lot better if you have access to that lounge. And any airport that is only a transfer point will hardly stick in your memory, good or bad; whereas the best place waiting room in the world seem dull after an 18 hour stopover.
In the end we don’t tour the world to see the airports. Appreciate the fact we can fly and see the world, and remember that airports are less of an inconvenience that traffic jams, booking mistakes or most problems we encounter in life.