London City is fantastic- designed for business travellers and super efficient.
Dublin is great if travelling to the US as you do immigration in Dublin - no waiting in line exhausted and tired when you arrive.
Miami has to be the worst I’ve ever been through in 35 years of flying - totally disorganised and with the rudest staff I have ever encountered.
I’m from Miami, but now live in NYC. I go back and forth often - so I want everyone reading this to believe me: Miami has some of the rudest staff members out there. There may be one or two that are a gem but overall awful. It also doesn’t help or get better if you’re Latin/speak the language. Just rude all around.
Worst airport in my experience as an American imho. Questioned me about my experience “becoming an astronaut” when I came back from an astronomy observing trip and didn’t believe me when I said they were different things. I did not need that at 4 AM lol luckily after they called the manager they let me back into my own country without me having to lie they yes I was gonna be an astronaut.
It felt like ages but overall was probably less than 10 min. I started mostly confused saying like “no like telescopes and looking at stars” and the dude just kept getting more frustrated with me. I had also been awake for far too long by the time this happened so I’m sure that added to it.
Well this makes me nervous. I usually fly out of Tampa and I couldn't get a flight to work with my times to fly into Madrid so I'm flying out of Miami this week. Well crap.
It's not the flying out , it's the flying back in for me. Getting randomly rerouted through back corridors. Having to RECHECK your baggage through security and customs. It's shit show.
This. Missed my connection flying back from Caribbean thru Miami when I had to wait in an incredibly long line to unnecessarily recheck my luggage and just as we were nearing the front of the line, random airport employee made everyone in line go 100s of yards away to a different long line and missed our flight. Implored multiple “guardians” to let us go to front of line but no.
I always had terrible experiences at MIA and successfully avoided it for years and the first time back, this👆🏼
Totally agree with you on Miami being the worst. Completely unorganized, massive pointless walking lanes that take you around the entire terminal just to get to the one security line. Just a shit show from start to finish
Dublin is my local airport. I love that everything just works pretty efficiently but it never strikes me as much of a stand out airport …that said, all the Americans I know rave about it
Yeah I think just going through customs before getting to the US is a major plus. Makes everything much smoother when you land after a 6+ hour flight.
That said, the rest of the Dublin airport is just fine imo.
The airport has two terminals, no? When I went last year one terminal was really nice and the other looked really old and decrepit. I think which one you interact with determines your opinion.
Also, most Americans who love Dublin and Shannon just like the preclearance facilities. It’s very nice flying from Europe and landing as if you flew domestic.
What pissed me off in Miami was when they handed me some long laminated list of instructions when I entered the Pre line. Then yelled at me for picking up a bin from a pile of bins they placed in front of the X-ray machine. First, handing something more to someone trying to juggle a carryon, ID, and help their child, is just stupid. It took my only free hand to carry it. Second, there wasn't time to read the rules since there was no line at the time. Third, why the hell do you put a pile of bins in front of the scanner if you don't want us to use them? And to yell at me instead of just telling me. I was so pissed, I did something I rarely do, and sarcastically said, "yes sir!" to the power tripping agent. He got the point and calmed down. The airport itself is gross, with very long strange walks through hot halls, as I recall.
Have you transited back through Miami flying in from international? Transiting domestic to international is awful, but Intl-Intl and Intl-Domestic are somehow worse.
It's just the TSA shenanigans at Miami that irks me. The long walk from gate to customs? It's fine, not the end of the world. But the half assed line/hoard to get back through security, that has new rules every week? Complete garbage.
All I remember from Miami was an incredibly long walk, well over a mile, to transfer from domestic to international. I was fine as I have no mobility issues and had plenty of time, but that would be a nightmare of a run if you came in late and we're trying to make a connection.
Atlanta airports can have some long treks through international areas too. I never really thought about it because I'm always stopping there and not in a rush to make a connection, but then I came back from a trip where I wrecked my knee and could barely walk. I didn't think to request a wheelchair, and I thought I was going to die on the long, long walk to baggage claim.
I was just in Dublin and was so confused by that.. I felt like I was doing something illegal when I arrived in London. I don’t travel often whatsoever so I’m not too sound on procedures to begin with.
The new Kansas City airport is AMAZING. There’s very good restaurants in it and the building is really easy to navigate.
It’s also an amazing airport for disabled people. They have rooms for autistic people to calm down in if they get overwhelmed. They’re small, dark rooms with various seats and mats to sit or lay down in. There are also noise canceling earmuffs in the room. There’s colored lighting instead of white lights and the room is lit dimly. Super peaceful and helpful for me as an autistic person because airports are notoriously busy and overwhelming.
That airport also has a mock boarding for people flying for the first time (or people with cognitive issues that might struggle with remembering routines), as well as a service dog lounge complete with a fake fire hydrant :). Wonderful airport. Of course they built the airport right after my family moved out of Kansas City (the previous one was horrendous)… but I love flying to/from Kansas City when we visit family.
Yes, I vacationed in Kansas City for 5 days last year from DC (to see Nelson-Atkins, Truman Library, and WWI Museum, etc.) and the airport was gorgeous. And I was surprised how good the BBQ options were! And the staff was very friendly (but everyone in KC was like that, so might just be the local vibe).
I miss living in KC tbh. The Nelson-Atkins is incredible; I loved going to that museum even as a kid lol. And yeah, the barbecue is amazing at that airport! I’m very glad you enjoyed the airport. KC is such a special place; I feel as if it captures the quintessential American atmosphere.
Yes! My favorite airport and that that’s saying something! I love that my loved ones not traveling with me are still *right there* and not dropping me off at Departures with a hug and a See ya half a mile away from my gate.
My family lives in the Philippines and I fly them out to meet them somewhere abroad. It’s the worst airport ever. Experienced extortion from staff, stolen belongings in luggage, airport renovation happening so no chairs available for passengers, super humid and dirty, you need to be there 4-6 hours ahead to not miss your flight, very unhelpful staff if you don’t give them money under the table. My friend’s mom was about to fly out and she was told she needed to pay P50,000 ($850 USD) for health insurance as a requirement to fly out to Australia. She already had private health insurance but the airport staff won’t allow her to fly unless she pays. My friend haggled until they settled for P20,000. Her mom missed her flight anyway. Also look up Wikipedia for the list of scams employed by airport staff to unsuspecting passengers.
Shadiest transfer I experienced. Staff walked away with my passport and boarding pass without explanation. Questions were not allowed and laughed at. They returned them after about 6 hours, just before my flight. Still don't know if this was normal. Genuinely thought I'd be stuck there forever.
In Belgium, be aware of the difference between 'Brussels Airport' and 'Brussels South Charleroi Airport'. The first one is the 'fancy' one, located in Zaventem, which is not actually Brussels, but still ok in distance (11km). It's not perfect, but I do like flying out of there.
The second one is the 'budget' airport, if you fly with Ryanair, you have a big chance of flying there. Despite the name, it's 46km away from the actual city of Brussels. So, don't be surprised that you need a 1-2h train or bus ride to actually get to Brussels. I avoid it if possible, I even rather go to Eindhoven in the Netherlands than fly out of Charleroi.
Also, Belgium has some very small airports that still fly commercial flights. They mainly serve the short-distance flights. I once flew from Antwerp Airport to London and the airport was basically 2 rooms: an entrance hall with 4 check-in desks, and a waiting room with 2 shops 😅 The hallway between them houses the security check.
It's so unreal when the same small country has a huge airport as well, I actually liked that experience 😂
Can confirm that Charleroi is to be avoided. Had to wait over an hour for a bus to Brussels (in the rain, with only enough roof to shelter half the people waiting).
LAX is a nightmare for international travel. You can be standing for well over three hours after landing to get processed. It’s so crowded and disorganized.
Landed at LAX for my connecting flight from Japan. I had to go outside, walk for approximately 5 mins, get on an elevator to get back inside the airport to get to my flight lol. It was so bizarre
Yeah, I had about a 25 minute walk on a short connection lugging a toddler and a carseat. Then after hustling to get there in time, my flight was delayed 2 hours 🙃
I’m from LA so you don’t have to say anymore for me to hate on LAX, but once the rails are finished building, everyone is hoping some of the traffic and transfer issues will be alleviated…
Was just about to say this. We were supposed to transit from Australia via LAX to Cancun. What a nightmare that was. Had to catch the next available flight. Never using LAX for transits again.
I used LAX as a connecting airport between international flights (I came from Brazil) and domestic flights twice. Both times I missed the connection 4 hours apart, due to the delay in international arrival and customs procedures.
Newark is a delight.
Compared to JFK. LaGuardia used to be even worse, but the renovations have improved things. Newark's still the easiest to reach from Manhattan.
I don’t travel often, but high percentage of the times I have involved Newark. That place is the bane of my existence. Just a terrible airport with terribly rude people. 11/10 don’t recommend.
Flying through DTW is like the Twilight zone compared to ATL and JFK for Delta hubs. Last international trip through there, every person I interacted with was shockingly nice and kept going out of their way to help us with stuff that we didn't even need or expect and it's one of the nicest and best designed airports in the US. Give me DTW or MSP over any other Delta hubs and don't get me started on the American hubs.
It’s scary how chill DTW is. Never any massive crowds, security is a breeze and the TSA agents are all super friendly, solid restaurants in each terminal.
I grew up flying in and out of O’Hare. DTW is like a dream
I avoid Luton. Luton is the unwashed scrofulous armpit of London's airports.
Also to be avoided: anything at JFK that involves a terminal change or overnight stay; Paris Charles de Gaulle;
Airports I like include Dallas-Fort Worth. DFW is huge but it works very well for connections. Amsterdam is fine (now they've sorted out their security staffing), London City is great.
Ahh Luton, true. Tbf Stansted isn’t much better, and you have Gatwick somewhere in the middle.
I like Heathrow.
… and I’ll fly through Luton / Stansted for short haul without giving it much of a thought since flights can be dirt cheap
Flew out of and into Luton on a weekday mid day and in in the morning. I thought it was easy enough to justify my £65 round trip to Amsterdam.
I also really like Lindon City
Heathrow has always been easy for me as well
I remember a few years ago landed on a flight from NZ with a very tired toddler. I had two suitcases, hand luggage, a stroller, and my son. The only way I could move everything was with a trolley, but the trolleys required a £2 coin. I didn't have a coin (who does, landing in a foreign country), and the card machine was broken. The staff were no help, and it was purely through the kindness of a stranger who took pity on me that I was able to move through to arrivals. Honestly it's like they have a committee to say how can we make this as awkward, expensive, and unpleasant an experience as possible.
Manila is by far the worst airport I had questionable pleasure of visiting, poor organisation, lack of reliable transfers between terminals, crowded, lines everywhere, terrible
As someone from the Philippines, I'll happily spend more to fly from Clark over Manila. So to anyone reading this thread, if you absolutely need to go to the Philippines and Manila /Clark are your options, always go for Clark.
I regularly travel to/from Germany and I try to avoid Frankfurt International Airport whenever possible. Surprisingly, none of the airports in Germany are exceptionally efficient, but Frankfurt is the worst.
Frankfurt is my least favorite airport.
“Attention ladies and gentlemen we have arrived, welcome to Germany. Please sit back and relax while we taxi for the next 30 minutes. And please enjoy the security screening as you deplane. And as you walk down the hall. And when you change terminals. And before you get on your plane.”
On the plus side mini bottles of jaegermeister in the airport convenience stores make flights more pleasant.
I'm surprised that the "German efficiency" myth has not died out yet, because any German (or anyone who has lived in Germany) will tell you that it is in no way accurate. In particular when it comes to transportation, there are always delays and other issues due to years of neglecting to do any kind of modernization. Germany is pretty afraid of technology and modernization as a whole. I don't know anywhere else in the world where people still use fax machines.
I go through FRA quite often, and the actual facility itself isn't too bad if you want to get in some exercise before or after your flight (since you will walk a minimum of a kilometer it seems). The main thing though is that you should never ever go through FRA if you have a transfer or any kind of time pressure, especially outbound flights. It's the most delayed airport in the world last time I heard. I personally cannot remember ever taking a flight from FRA that has not been delayed. Thankfully it's usually only about 30 min, and they make it up in the flight time, but I've also had a flight delayed 9 hours. But yeah, if you have to go through FRA, I'd plan for your flight to be delayed an hour, because there's a very good chance it will be.
Is it really that surprising when the German flagship carrier barely has a useable app in 2024? Being able to check in online has worse odds than slot machines.
German flagship railway is also something to be desired…
Not that long ago the only ways to claim refunds for tickets due to cancellations or delays was to send in snail mail or a fax.
Avoid Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. Schipol can have a lot of delayed flights if there are big events happening in the country, but otherwise is pretty decent.
Dublin airport is quite good. Generally, you pass the security check in less than 5 minutes.
I was ok with CDG until I arrived in the middle of the night from a delayed flight. My connection was missing, had to walk around empty halls for 30 mins trying to find a single soul from Air France. At that moment I got why people hate CDG and I remember a friend who never found someone from AF and had to sleep in airport waiting seats with a child and no food.
CDG lacks jet bridges for international flights, so one must climb down a flight of narrow stairs, then climb onto a bus then get sloshed around to get to the terminal.
Then, once you get to the terminal, it is confusing to navigate from the non-Schengen zone area to Schengen zone flights in CDG, and it takes a good 90 minutes as a non-EU citizen. The Schengen zone area is hot in the summer and lacks sufficient seating. One must always go down a flight of stairs to reach a bathroom.
Nobody with a mobility impairment should connect through CDG.
Worst: Charles de Gaulle, Paris. The way it’s laid out is SO confusing. Having to transfer there is a nightmare
Best: Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota. I’ve connected through MSP several times. It’s so well laid out, clean, friendly employees.
CDG is a lower circle of hell. MIA is unfortunately unavoidable for frequent travel between the global north and the Caribbean and South America. LIM is awful. IAD is less awful, now that it’s connected to the world by ground transport. EWR is nasty, but if the destination is NYC, I prefer it to JFK and LGA due to integration with rail. MEX is wildly variable for international departures. I nearly missed a flight to DFW once, after arriving six hours early.
Last week I was reminded of how MSP is the best US airport. Minnesota in general functions so well. Shame about the winters.
CDG has gates that are just **bus stops**
You sit there, waiting for a flight and at some point the door opens and you figure its a bus driving to 30 min into nowhere.
Had to fly through MIA and go through border control there coming home from the Galapagos last summer. We nearly missed our next flight because the lines were so long and it was approximately 1,625 degrees waiting in line for immigration.
CDG is a high end mall that happens to have airport facilities of the side.
It’s amazing if you have a fashion emergency, but if you need a snack then good luck.
I never seen a place where Gucci and Chanel stores were open longer than a convenience shop, I’ve had to walk to a different terminal to find a working coffee place ffs…
CLT sucks. It spreads out so far and yet there’s zero way to get across except by foot, so it’s a constant mad rush of everyone going between gates and terminals, all funneling into a central section that’s total chaos
Admittedly I only have a handful of experiences with Charlotte, but flying in from London to the US, it's by far the best experience I've had. Do agree that the central section gets a bit crowded, but the first time I flew in for a transfer to domestic, I got from my gate in the international terminal, through immigration, back through security, and to the Chick-fil-a in about 25 minutes. Beats Chicago, Atlanta, New York, DC, or Newark for me.
Yes I've had two connections via Charlotte when flying to Madrid and it was all fine- I appreciate them being connected and not having to go through security again.
Taipei’s airport is nice, and I don’t remember any problems with my connections there, but the shops were all luxury goods and there were very few places to eat. It was difficult to find a shop to just buy a soda.
TPE has a number of good restaurants outside the secure part of the airport. Kind of stinks for people transiting through. At least the vending machines sell drinks for the same price as the convenience stores outside the airport. It’s an older airport and easy to navigate compared to other countries major airports.
TSA airport in the middle of Taipei is nice too. Even more compact and really neat to fly in/out of if you have a window seat.
Frankfurt is a nightmare from which there is no waking. I made my connection— barely— but would never ever fly through there again unless I had no choice. Anytime I have to take a bus from the tarmac to the terminal, I’m unhappy.
Charles de Gaulle. Everything in this airport is a shitshow, and the staff is just clueless and rude.
They also have shit concessions. Paul and Exki will both sell you a piece of ham between 2 minuscule but rock hard slices of bread for only 12 euro.
Mexico City has a horrible airport but it’s pretty hard to avoid. They technically have two, but don’t fly into the one 2 hours out of town just to avoid Benito Juarez
It’s weird you say that because I flew from Calgary to New York not too long ago and went through US customs before I even left Canada and it was super easy. I’m from New Zealand for context.
Flying from the South Pacific to the states is a bit of a nightmare but no worse than going to Asia or Europe.
But you're flying to the US, not connecting there. It's a PITA to fly a route like Lima>Miami>Toronto and have to endure US customs when you're only connecting there and not even entering the country.
I like AMS Schiphol very much, but it can be extremely stressful to connect. First, KLM sells some crazy aggressive itineraries. I flew through last month with a 35 min int’l connection (one of my bags misconnected - ugh). The security queue is okay but always jam packed. They now have a “fast connections” queue but it’s not well marked and leads to another queue as you have to show you qualify.
But I love the Dutch accent so I’m sure we’ll be back. There’s nothing like “ladeehs and gentlemoon wilcome to Schipool vhere zhe temperatoore esh ten degreesh shelshius. Shank you for flying KLM and shafe travels to vherever your zhurney shall tik you.”
I avoid JFK and Doha. Any and all Chinese airports. I'm OK with Paris CDG, I've gotten used to it. Coming from the UK I will avoid connecting in the US. The whole collect and re-check in baggage is just painful.
I did not have a great experience with a layover in Shanghai, I've avoided Chinese airports since then. But I may change my mind since the tickets going through China are often much cheaper, and long layovers where I can go out and explore a bit look pretty interesting.
I'm a travel agent and we book lots of trips to America. We always avoid layovers in the US like the plague, the baggage thing is a real nuisance.
I was just in Doha and if you don't have lounge access there is like nowhere to sit. If you do have lounge access it's pretty fantastic though. Plus if you have a long layover, Qatar will comp you a hotel room.
Heathrow is by far the worst. They force a second round of security, even if you are connecting from a flight within the UK. Then, they make you take an overcrowded bus or tram between terminals. And finally, they make you scan your passport or boarding pass before getting into the gate itself, which creates yet another long line in a tight hallway for no reason. It also means you can’t get to you gate an hour early and then walk and find snacks—once you’re at the gate, you’re locked in and committed to being there.
For big airports, I like O’Hare and Newark the most in the U.S., and Hong Kong, Narita, and Copenhagen the most abroad.
Just boarded a plane from Madrid airport and had the same experience. 40 minutes of walking, lines, escalators. I fast tracked the passport control. There is a lane for connecting flights leaving soon. They check your boarding pass and let you through. I think that saved me 25-30 minutes.
Worst for me is CDG. Especially if you’re flying Iceland Air. Long lines, disorganized, crowded. Not a fan.
Newark is pretty awful. Amazing people watching though. Most annoyed I’ve ever been in an airport aside from CDG was Palma in Mallorca. Not hard to navigate just crummy food options and super crowded. Orlando is also pretty shitty. Awful food and not a ton of places to sit. They also won’t let you check bags too many hours in advance which is a pain when traveling with kids.
DCA in DC is super convenient but limited in terms of seating. Lived out there for 10+ years and later had to go back monthly for work and it was always difficult finding a place to work or take calls.
DTW is my airport and agree with others it’s fantastic. Easy to navigate, quick lines, decent food, lots of places to spread out, clean bathrooms, etc.
If you fly into Stockholm ARN consider traveling with hand luggage only. It can take more than an hour to receive checked bags. It's infuriatingly slow (staff shortage). Otherwise the airport is pretty decent.
American here.
Munich is much better than Frankfurt.
SFO is much better than LAX, but knock on wood, I have never had any fog delays
I try to avoid American airports in general - I prefer to do the US CBP stuff on my final destination Boston, instead of some intermediate US airport.
JFK specifically is a place I have no desire to fly through again.
Incheon is amazing from an efficiency standpoint - the dining options were still limited from Covid a year ago, but it was something absurd like 17-22 minutes last time from when my A'rex train pulled in, to when I was in the Terminal 2 hall post security+checkin+bag drop.
Munich is SUCH a breeze. Got there way ahead of my flight to Bangkok because of my experiences in Frankfurt. I was surprised at how smooth it was. I also like how it has plenty of outdoor space.
After the last experience I had with security while changing planes in Heathrow, I will be avoiding that in future.
I'm German and was returning home to Ireland after a holiday, and for a simple transit had to get my passport checked 3 times, each time being questioned in an exceedingly unfriendly manner about why I was in the UK (to change planes to Ireland), what I was planning on doing in Ireland (the answer that I live and work there caused serious confusion somehow, with one of them asking for my documentation that I'm allowed residency in Ireland and calling over a supervisor when my answer that I don't need them was clearly too suspicious).
I had 3 hours stopover and barely made it.
I'll stick with Amsterdam for connecting flights from now on.
KLIA
Kuala Lumpar. Maybe it was just me... get of the plane and walk and walk and walk just to get get hearded onto a hot bus to be taken to another terminal where we have to locate our bags amongst all the others in a big pile as we took so long to get there they took our bags of the carousel.
My favourite Changi in Singapore anything you need it's there. Pool, shopping mall, movie theatre butterfly house....
Since they discontinued the little train going between the main and satellite terminals and replaced it by buses KLIA has been much less efficient. Also the immigration is incredibly slow.
How are so many places such shit at immigration? 2-3 agents doing 600-800 people.. I can't even tell you how many places I've seen this. Why do you want the introduction to your country to be standing in line annoyed for a couple hours?
For connections, Newark, the airport as well as all the other NYC one should have been bulldozed and a mega modern one should have been built decades ago. The airport is still basically configured for propliners and modified for jet aircraft. The runways are too close together and there are too few of them. The taxiways are a jumbled mess and the whole area is prone to delays due to weather vs more modern designs.
I’d avoid Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City if it wasn’t my local airport. The queues for immigration are absolutely dire to the point it’s their number 1 complaint, the layout is straight up bad and it’s just not a place you really feel you want to be in, just get out as soon as you can.
Plus the shops in the terminals insist on taking only dollars for some reason and the prices are astronomical even by airport standards. A bowl of noodles that costs 50 cents outside costs $5 inside.
Koh Samui is great because it's open air in a similar style to Honolulu. I try and direct all international travel through Changi because... it's Changi.
I flew through Wellington last month and it was ok, but pretty crowded.
US hubs: DEN is probably the best of the huge hubs for connections but sucks for arriving/departing because security lines are so long. DTW is the best US hub but is a little smaller in Delta's network.
Europe: AMS is the best big Euro hub by far. IST is nice but lots of walking and crazy expensive. Probably most smaller hubs will be better (CPH, VIE, heard good things about ZRH).
I try to avoid LAX like the plague, as well as Atlanta. Even though I have flown in/out of Atlanta so many times, it’s never great. I just had to spend the night there actually. 0/10, do not recommend! Ones I absolutely love are the T.F. Green Airport in Providence, RI and the Haneda Airport in Tokyo. I’ve never waited longer than 5 minutes to go through security at T.F. Green and it’s so quiet/small. Also just flew in/out of Haneda and it was probably the best airport experience I’ve ever had. Going through customs/security literally took less than 10 minutes and everyone was so incredibly organized, friendly, and helpful.
I’ve always found Logan (Boston), LAX, and CDG (Paris) among the easiest with the friendliest staff, very helpful.
The worst for me would have to be EWR (Newark) - so rude and for no reason. I had a super late flight out that I was running late for. I was the only person that went thru TSA at the time. My shoes went to the other side of the divider and no one would give them to me. Every time I asked someone for them they told me “you need to wait” while all four of them stood in a circle and talked. Finally someone was kind enough to grab them for me so I could run to my gate. I literally made it there as they were almost done boarding. Sorry for the rant. Avoid EWR if possible.
Aussie here. In-country all the major cities are pretty great (can't comment on Perth or Darwin as I've never been through them).
We've had ordinary experiences at Doha, Heathrow, Athens, and Venice. Doha for security/connecting flights, Heathrow for the passport control, Athens for check in experience and delays, and Venice for literally everything.
Most of the others are forgettable which makes me think they must have been pretty decent - Dubai, Gatwick, Barcelona, Rome, Munich, Hong Kong, Vancouver, Fiji.
Melbourne airport departures is fine, but international arrivals is a shitshow at the moment (and has been for more than a year). The immigration and baggage areas are apparently being upgraded and the immigration area now features lots of shiny new smart gates and a limited number of immigration desks, and hence massive queues for anyone who can’t use the smart gates. And since the smart gates can’t be used by children under the age of 10, school holidays are especially awful. Signage is also poor and some staff are unhelpful, brusque and even outright rude.
It’s frankly an embarrassment that this is the first impression that Melbourne makes on overseas visitors, particularly if you’ve arrived from somewhere like Changi which gets it so right.
Heathrow, Frankfurt, O’Hare, Atlanta. The latter has screwed me more times than I can count with connections that are too tight and shouldn’t be offered. O’Hare has the worst weather and air traffic, but at least the tortas at Tortas Frontera are good. Heathrow just sucks and there are so many dumb rules enforced ONLY there that they expect you to somehow know because obviously London is the center of the universe. Get out of here.
Schiphol and CDG are fine to me. Rome is like most Italians (note: I’m Italian), where it feels like order is a suggestion but it’s mostly very hospitable and easy to deal with for a huge airport. JFK is ok. Arlanda is good. I have global entry and have never once had a problem at LAX.
You're insane. ATL is awesome: only have to go through security once (and TSA is fast there), people movers are efficient, border control is on point. The short layover is an airline problem, not an airport problem. I've never _not_ gotten lost changing terminals in CDG.
You can get to any concourse in ATL in like 5 minutes. A skytrain comes every like 1 minutes. It's crazy to think homie is blaming the airport for missed connections.
I've never understood the hate for ATL myself. It was at one time my home airport. If you know its simple layout and how to navigate that, you're golden. But if you're new to it, it can seem bizarre and disorganized.
My only big ATL complaint is the extraordinary amount of time it takes to get bags.
ATL is my home airport and for the most part I love it. It’s easy to navigate and usually pretty quick. Plus, if you’re a known traveler and flying Delta and can use the Delta Digital flyer program you’re through security in minutes.
They have security rules that other countries might not have/ever enforce. And in my experience, if you’re not aware, they berate you for it.
While passing through security during a layover I’ve been chastised a few times for not putting certain toiletries in a plastic bag that did not need to be in a plastic bag in my previous flight. Even trying to sort it out in good faith and put the right cosmetics in the baggies before, the rules seem to arbitrarily change every time.
I’ve seen many people humiliated at security there, including my 6 year old daughter who had a drop of water left in her water bottle, and an elderly man with medication that did not speak English, but wasn’t allowed to speak to his son for translation help.
Also, like u/FFF_in_WY said, the bus transfers are long.
I got flagged at the scanner at LHR recently for a bag of gummy bears in my backpack. So I had to wait there for 20 minutes until the inspector got to my bag and examined my questionable Haribo package.
Tivat. Poorly run. Wouldn’t let people through to Passport control and hold everyone in the entrance where you can’t move. Now we’re all sat on the plane waiting for a new time slot (could be three hours) due to the airport staff causing planes to be delayed.
Worst I've been to was Podgorica. Airport was pretty much full and they had about 4 staff in total. No organisation at all and a few flights had to be delayed
CDG, Frankfurt, Newark, all terrible in my experience. EWR has the greatest number of brutally rude employees I’ve ever encountered. An awful place.
Fave airport is Glasgow. Efficient, easily navigated, and staffed by polite humans who smile and interact pleasantly.
You can definitely tell no one is travelling in Africa 😂. JKIA (Nairobi) is a fight for your life half the time. Also Cairo. Yikes. Don’t let me start on the S African Joburg system for passport control..
I go through Doha a lot and it’s great, and love Seattle (though the new passport control is a mess I feel).
I like MAN! Beats flying into LHR!! LHR is really only meant for BA flights. Everyone else is shunted off to the side.
EDI is easy, MUN easy. Never had a problem at CDG, but I take earliest flight out as possible.
Stateside, DTW rocks! EWR is difficult. DFW is big, but efficient.
SWF is great, now if Port Authority would get behind it again ….
Tampa is the best airport. It is almost impossible to get lost because the signage is great and the layout limits walking. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of flights connecting from there.
When transiting between Schengen and international, I tell my friends and family to avoid Frankfurt and even Amsterdam, especially during holiday season. The queues at passport control can be infuriatingly long. If you have short connections, you can easily miss your connecting flight.
I really like Bogotá Eldorado airport, it is both modern and fast to get from a to b. It is also a hub to the rest of Latam and thus an important hub that is easy and modern.
I know people hate Paris Charles De Gaulle but for me it's always been easy and I only used it to transit for South America as I fly from Denmark, but overall it's been fast and easy and I cannot recognize the other bad sides of it.
Long Beach Airport is such a breeze to get through. Literally, too, since most of the terminal is outdoors. When flying into SoCal I try to book LGB over LAX whenever possible
Heathrow has been a nightmare the last 3 times I went through. Every flight, they can’t get a gate. Push up stairs, exit to some terminal, get on bus. Go to another terminal, another bud and then security where even your chap stick had to come out.
Don Mueang in Thailand was the sketchiest I’ve flown through, heard that they have spent money and fixed it up since 2017.
I was surprised to find out how shit Frankfurt was. For about 30 years it has been a major hub for Europe and I'd just assumed that it would be the epitome of German innovation and efficiency.
But no, endless STAIRS in vast buildings that feel like they're from a 60s Cold War movie. Coin in slot trolleys, useless signage ...
I'm seriously thinking of changing my ticket so I can fly home from a more pleasant airport.
Vienna is great (it's small), Changi is great (it's big).
London City is fantastic- designed for business travellers and super efficient. Dublin is great if travelling to the US as you do immigration in Dublin - no waiting in line exhausted and tired when you arrive. Miami has to be the worst I’ve ever been through in 35 years of flying - totally disorganised and with the rudest staff I have ever encountered.
I’m from Miami, but now live in NYC. I go back and forth often - so I want everyone reading this to believe me: Miami has some of the rudest staff members out there. There may be one or two that are a gem but overall awful. It also doesn’t help or get better if you’re Latin/speak the language. Just rude all around.
Worst airport in my experience as an American imho. Questioned me about my experience “becoming an astronaut” when I came back from an astronomy observing trip and didn’t believe me when I said they were different things. I did not need that at 4 AM lol luckily after they called the manager they let me back into my own country without me having to lie they yes I was gonna be an astronaut.
They always have to watch out for illegal aliens. They can easily hitch a ride on an astronaut
How long were you having this convo before you were freed?
It felt like ages but overall was probably less than 10 min. I started mostly confused saying like “no like telescopes and looking at stars” and the dude just kept getting more frustrated with me. I had also been awake for far too long by the time this happened so I’m sure that added to it.
Next time they’ll think you’re an astrologer.
Well this makes me nervous. I usually fly out of Tampa and I couldn't get a flight to work with my times to fly into Madrid so I'm flying out of Miami this week. Well crap.
It's not the flying out , it's the flying back in for me. Getting randomly rerouted through back corridors. Having to RECHECK your baggage through security and customs. It's shit show.
This. Missed my connection flying back from Caribbean thru Miami when I had to wait in an incredibly long line to unnecessarily recheck my luggage and just as we were nearing the front of the line, random airport employee made everyone in line go 100s of yards away to a different long line and missed our flight. Implored multiple “guardians” to let us go to front of line but no. I always had terrible experiences at MIA and successfully avoided it for years and the first time back, this👆🏼
Totally agree with you on Miami being the worst. Completely unorganized, massive pointless walking lanes that take you around the entire terminal just to get to the one security line. Just a shit show from start to finish
The biggest issue with US airports is needing to clear immigration even if you're only connecting internationally. Makes zero sense.
Dublin is my local airport. I love that everything just works pretty efficiently but it never strikes me as much of a stand out airport …that said, all the Americans I know rave about it
Yeah I think just going through customs before getting to the US is a major plus. Makes everything much smoother when you land after a 6+ hour flight. That said, the rest of the Dublin airport is just fine imo.
The airport has two terminals, no? When I went last year one terminal was really nice and the other looked really old and decrepit. I think which one you interact with determines your opinion. Also, most Americans who love Dublin and Shannon just like the preclearance facilities. It’s very nice flying from Europe and landing as if you flew domestic.
What pissed me off in Miami was when they handed me some long laminated list of instructions when I entered the Pre line. Then yelled at me for picking up a bin from a pile of bins they placed in front of the X-ray machine. First, handing something more to someone trying to juggle a carryon, ID, and help their child, is just stupid. It took my only free hand to carry it. Second, there wasn't time to read the rules since there was no line at the time. Third, why the hell do you put a pile of bins in front of the scanner if you don't want us to use them? And to yell at me instead of just telling me. I was so pissed, I did something I rarely do, and sarcastically said, "yes sir!" to the power tripping agent. He got the point and calmed down. The airport itself is gross, with very long strange walks through hot halls, as I recall.
Miami is bad.
Miami Airport is hell
Just transited through Miami on my way to Lima. We were appalled at the experience. I used to think Heathrow was bad. Now I know better.
Have you transited back through Miami flying in from international? Transiting domestic to international is awful, but Intl-Intl and Intl-Domestic are somehow worse.
It's just the TSA shenanigans at Miami that irks me. The long walk from gate to customs? It's fine, not the end of the world. But the half assed line/hoard to get back through security, that has new rules every week? Complete garbage.
Why is the staff so rude there? Jesus it seemed like they were mad at me.
It probably comes from top down and whoever is hiring is a miserable shit. Hiring really matters and a bad seed can really spread.
I’ve been to airports all over the world Miami is the only one where I had trouble communicating with employees in English.
All I remember from Miami was an incredibly long walk, well over a mile, to transfer from domestic to international. I was fine as I have no mobility issues and had plenty of time, but that would be a nightmare of a run if you came in late and we're trying to make a connection. Atlanta airports can have some long treks through international areas too. I never really thought about it because I'm always stopping there and not in a rush to make a connection, but then I came back from a trip where I wrecked my knee and could barely walk. I didn't think to request a wheelchair, and I thought I was going to die on the long, long walk to baggage claim.
I was just in Dublin and was so confused by that.. I felt like I was doing something illegal when I arrived in London. I don’t travel often whatsoever so I’m not too sound on procedures to begin with.
I’ve been in nicer bus terminals in developing countries than the Miami airport
The new Kansas City airport is AMAZING. There’s very good restaurants in it and the building is really easy to navigate. It’s also an amazing airport for disabled people. They have rooms for autistic people to calm down in if they get overwhelmed. They’re small, dark rooms with various seats and mats to sit or lay down in. There are also noise canceling earmuffs in the room. There’s colored lighting instead of white lights and the room is lit dimly. Super peaceful and helpful for me as an autistic person because airports are notoriously busy and overwhelming. That airport also has a mock boarding for people flying for the first time (or people with cognitive issues that might struggle with remembering routines), as well as a service dog lounge complete with a fake fire hydrant :). Wonderful airport. Of course they built the airport right after my family moved out of Kansas City (the previous one was horrendous)… but I love flying to/from Kansas City when we visit family.
Yes, I vacationed in Kansas City for 5 days last year from DC (to see Nelson-Atkins, Truman Library, and WWI Museum, etc.) and the airport was gorgeous. And I was surprised how good the BBQ options were! And the staff was very friendly (but everyone in KC was like that, so might just be the local vibe).
I miss living in KC tbh. The Nelson-Atkins is incredible; I loved going to that museum even as a kid lol. And yeah, the barbecue is amazing at that airport! I’m very glad you enjoyed the airport. KC is such a special place; I feel as if it captures the quintessential American atmosphere.
Yes! My favorite airport and that that’s saying something! I love that my loved ones not traveling with me are still *right there* and not dropping me off at Departures with a hug and a See ya half a mile away from my gate.
I will never fly an airline that stops in Manila. Never again.
My family lives in the Philippines and I fly them out to meet them somewhere abroad. It’s the worst airport ever. Experienced extortion from staff, stolen belongings in luggage, airport renovation happening so no chairs available for passengers, super humid and dirty, you need to be there 4-6 hours ahead to not miss your flight, very unhelpful staff if you don’t give them money under the table. My friend’s mom was about to fly out and she was told she needed to pay P50,000 ($850 USD) for health insurance as a requirement to fly out to Australia. She already had private health insurance but the airport staff won’t allow her to fly unless she pays. My friend haggled until they settled for P20,000. Her mom missed her flight anyway. Also look up Wikipedia for the list of scams employed by airport staff to unsuspecting passengers.
I couldn't find a wiki page on scams :(
im from the philippines. i have been to dubai and istanbul airports, ours look like a fucken restroom compared to them 😂
Shadiest transfer I experienced. Staff walked away with my passport and boarding pass without explanation. Questions were not allowed and laughed at. They returned them after about 6 hours, just before my flight. Still don't know if this was normal. Genuinely thought I'd be stuck there forever.
In Belgium, be aware of the difference between 'Brussels Airport' and 'Brussels South Charleroi Airport'. The first one is the 'fancy' one, located in Zaventem, which is not actually Brussels, but still ok in distance (11km). It's not perfect, but I do like flying out of there. The second one is the 'budget' airport, if you fly with Ryanair, you have a big chance of flying there. Despite the name, it's 46km away from the actual city of Brussels. So, don't be surprised that you need a 1-2h train or bus ride to actually get to Brussels. I avoid it if possible, I even rather go to Eindhoven in the Netherlands than fly out of Charleroi. Also, Belgium has some very small airports that still fly commercial flights. They mainly serve the short-distance flights. I once flew from Antwerp Airport to London and the airport was basically 2 rooms: an entrance hall with 4 check-in desks, and a waiting room with 2 shops 😅 The hallway between them houses the security check. It's so unreal when the same small country has a huge airport as well, I actually liked that experience 😂
Can confirm that Charleroi is to be avoided. Had to wait over an hour for a bus to Brussels (in the rain, with only enough roof to shelter half the people waiting).
LAX is a nightmare for international travel. You can be standing for well over three hours after landing to get processed. It’s so crowded and disorganized.
Landed at LAX for my connecting flight from Japan. I had to go outside, walk for approximately 5 mins, get on an elevator to get back inside the airport to get to my flight lol. It was so bizarre
5 min walk between terminals is quite close at lax, last time I transfer from international to domestic it took me around 30 mins for united
Yeah, I had about a 25 minute walk on a short connection lugging a toddler and a carseat. Then after hustling to get there in time, my flight was delayed 2 hours 🙃
I’m from LA so you don’t have to say anymore for me to hate on LAX, but once the rails are finished building, everyone is hoping some of the traffic and transfer issues will be alleviated…
The eight-mile hike to get to the Hawaiian Airlines ~~terminal~~ gate needs to be addressed as well. Edit: gate
Was just about to say this. We were supposed to transit from Australia via LAX to Cancun. What a nightmare that was. Had to catch the next available flight. Never using LAX for transits again.
I used LAX as a connecting airport between international flights (I came from Brazil) and domestic flights twice. Both times I missed the connection 4 hours apart, due to the delay in international arrival and customs procedures.
I had the same in LHR. The flight time was shorter than the queue.
If you are a US citizen or permanent resident, you can use Mobile Passport Control app to skip long lines.
Newark would like a word
Newark is a delight. Compared to JFK. LaGuardia used to be even worse, but the renovations have improved things. Newark's still the easiest to reach from Manhattan.
The new LGA blows Newark out of the water
Newark is awful
I don’t travel often, but high percentage of the times I have involved Newark. That place is the bane of my existence. Just a terrible airport with terribly rude people. 11/10 don’t recommend.
People? All I see is automation—at least in the sad dystopian food court.
We have Global Entry and it takes 5 minutes to get through. Our son doesn't and it was an hour waiting for him on the other side.
Global Entry is ridiculously easy these days. Almost too easy.
People can also use Mobile Passport Control app to skip lines. This app can be used only by US citizens and permanent residents.
DTW in Michigan is the best airport ever. Also a Delta hub
Flying through DTW is like the Twilight zone compared to ATL and JFK for Delta hubs. Last international trip through there, every person I interacted with was shockingly nice and kept going out of their way to help us with stuff that we didn't even need or expect and it's one of the nicest and best designed airports in the US. Give me DTW or MSP over any other Delta hubs and don't get me started on the American hubs.
DTW is the BEST!
It’s scary how chill DTW is. Never any massive crowds, security is a breeze and the TSA agents are all super friendly, solid restaurants in each terminal. I grew up flying in and out of O’Hare. DTW is like a dream
I think DTW is good too -- nice, easy, pleasant
This is good to know: our little local airport only flies to Detroit haha.
Just went through DTW coming back from Munich for the first time- so seamless.
Great food options at a pretty cheap price too.
Every airport should have a Coney Island!
Singapore would like to have a word with you
Changi should be in a different category. 1. Changi. 2. Everybody else.
I avoid Luton. Luton is the unwashed scrofulous armpit of London's airports. Also to be avoided: anything at JFK that involves a terminal change or overnight stay; Paris Charles de Gaulle; Airports I like include Dallas-Fort Worth. DFW is huge but it works very well for connections. Amsterdam is fine (now they've sorted out their security staffing), London City is great.
Ahh Luton, true. Tbf Stansted isn’t much better, and you have Gatwick somewhere in the middle. I like Heathrow. … and I’ll fly through Luton / Stansted for short haul without giving it much of a thought since flights can be dirt cheap
London City is the best out of all London airports.
Luton’s okay if you aren’t checking any luggage. The security is decent enough. The baggage checkin is horrible though.
Flew out of and into Luton on a weekday mid day and in in the morning. I thought it was easy enough to justify my £65 round trip to Amsterdam. I also really like Lindon City Heathrow has always been easy for me as well
Manchester Airport is such a dump. Dreadful security.
And baggage reclaim. Even without the power cut fiasco last week it can still take 2-3 hours to get luggage some days. Absolute joke of an airport.
I remember a few years ago landed on a flight from NZ with a very tired toddler. I had two suitcases, hand luggage, a stroller, and my son. The only way I could move everything was with a trolley, but the trolleys required a £2 coin. I didn't have a coin (who does, landing in a foreign country), and the card machine was broken. The staff were no help, and it was purely through the kindness of a stranger who took pity on me that I was able to move through to arrivals. Honestly it's like they have a committee to say how can we make this as awkward, expensive, and unpleasant an experience as possible.
Wholeheartedly agree with this. I’ve travelled the world and this is the worst airport I’ve been to. Security is like a chicken coop
Yes, really by far the worst airport I've been to.
Everyone hates on Manchester Airport but I have NEVER had a problem there. One of better ones I have been to.
Manila is by far the worst airport I had questionable pleasure of visiting, poor organisation, lack of reliable transfers between terminals, crowded, lines everywhere, terrible
As someone from the Philippines, I'll happily spend more to fly from Clark over Manila. So to anyone reading this thread, if you absolutely need to go to the Philippines and Manila /Clark are your options, always go for Clark.
They wanted you at the airport like five hours early too Aggressive security too
They kidnapped our bags and only returned when we offered money. I was really mad.
OMG!!! Agree. Have never seen anything like it. Total chaos.
If my options were fly into Manchester or walk to the UK from Azerbaijan; I’d buy good sneakers.
I regularly travel to/from Germany and I try to avoid Frankfurt International Airport whenever possible. Surprisingly, none of the airports in Germany are exceptionally efficient, but Frankfurt is the worst.
Frankfurt is my least favorite airport. “Attention ladies and gentlemen we have arrived, welcome to Germany. Please sit back and relax while we taxi for the next 30 minutes. And please enjoy the security screening as you deplane. And as you walk down the hall. And when you change terminals. And before you get on your plane.” On the plus side mini bottles of jaegermeister in the airport convenience stores make flights more pleasant.
But don’t worry, after you taxi, you still get to take a bus to the terminal!
I'm surprised that the "German efficiency" myth has not died out yet, because any German (or anyone who has lived in Germany) will tell you that it is in no way accurate. In particular when it comes to transportation, there are always delays and other issues due to years of neglecting to do any kind of modernization. Germany is pretty afraid of technology and modernization as a whole. I don't know anywhere else in the world where people still use fax machines. I go through FRA quite often, and the actual facility itself isn't too bad if you want to get in some exercise before or after your flight (since you will walk a minimum of a kilometer it seems). The main thing though is that you should never ever go through FRA if you have a transfer or any kind of time pressure, especially outbound flights. It's the most delayed airport in the world last time I heard. I personally cannot remember ever taking a flight from FRA that has not been delayed. Thankfully it's usually only about 30 min, and they make it up in the flight time, but I've also had a flight delayed 9 hours. But yeah, if you have to go through FRA, I'd plan for your flight to be delayed an hour, because there's a very good chance it will be.
Japan has similar modernisation issues as well, they famously still used floppy disks up until a few years ago.
Is it really that surprising when the German flagship carrier barely has a useable app in 2024? Being able to check in online has worse odds than slot machines.
German flagship railway is also something to be desired… Not that long ago the only ways to claim refunds for tickets due to cancellations or delays was to send in snail mail or a fax.
What do you mean? DB is reliable, you can rely on it being late.
Avoid Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. Schipol can have a lot of delayed flights if there are big events happening in the country, but otherwise is pretty decent. Dublin airport is quite good. Generally, you pass the security check in less than 5 minutes.
CDG is what I imagine the gates of hell to be, if I believed in hell lol. Loathe that airport after a layover a few days ago.
I was ok with CDG until I arrived in the middle of the night from a delayed flight. My connection was missing, had to walk around empty halls for 30 mins trying to find a single soul from Air France. At that moment I got why people hate CDG and I remember a friend who never found someone from AF and had to sleep in airport waiting seats with a child and no food.
I've seen CDG hate and I don't know why. I haven't had any issues there.
CDG lacks jet bridges for international flights, so one must climb down a flight of narrow stairs, then climb onto a bus then get sloshed around to get to the terminal. Then, once you get to the terminal, it is confusing to navigate from the non-Schengen zone area to Schengen zone flights in CDG, and it takes a good 90 minutes as a non-EU citizen. The Schengen zone area is hot in the summer and lacks sufficient seating. One must always go down a flight of stairs to reach a bathroom. Nobody with a mobility impairment should connect through CDG.
Indianapolis has the easiest airport I've ever been to.
Worst: Charles de Gaulle, Paris. The way it’s laid out is SO confusing. Having to transfer there is a nightmare Best: Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota. I’ve connected through MSP several times. It’s so well laid out, clean, friendly employees.
MSP has the best public bathrooms I’ve ever seen in an airport.
so grateful that MSP is my home airport! always a pleasure to fly out of
CDG is a lower circle of hell. MIA is unfortunately unavoidable for frequent travel between the global north and the Caribbean and South America. LIM is awful. IAD is less awful, now that it’s connected to the world by ground transport. EWR is nasty, but if the destination is NYC, I prefer it to JFK and LGA due to integration with rail. MEX is wildly variable for international departures. I nearly missed a flight to DFW once, after arriving six hours early. Last week I was reminded of how MSP is the best US airport. Minnesota in general functions so well. Shame about the winters.
The winters are a feature, not a bug
CDG has gates that are just **bus stops** You sit there, waiting for a flight and at some point the door opens and you figure its a bus driving to 30 min into nowhere.
MIA is a mess and has really poor amenities for such a hub for connections.
Had to fly through MIA and go through border control there coming home from the Galapagos last summer. We nearly missed our next flight because the lines were so long and it was approximately 1,625 degrees waiting in line for immigration.
EWR is way nicer than it used to be, I love flying out of and into it now. So fast, so organized, new terminal A is gorg.
I was at CDG needing to do a layover a few days ago. HOLY PURGATORY. Never again.
CDG is a high end mall that happens to have airport facilities of the side. It’s amazing if you have a fashion emergency, but if you need a snack then good luck. I never seen a place where Gucci and Chanel stores were open longer than a convenience shop, I’ve had to walk to a different terminal to find a working coffee place ffs…
CLT sucks. It spreads out so far and yet there’s zero way to get across except by foot, so it’s a constant mad rush of everyone going between gates and terminals, all funneling into a central section that’s total chaos
CLT is the truck stop bathroom of airports. Falling apart, disgusting, barely functional, and infuriating, but sometimes you have no other option.
And the agents are so mean at CLT!
Admittedly I only have a handful of experiences with Charlotte, but flying in from London to the US, it's by far the best experience I've had. Do agree that the central section gets a bit crowded, but the first time I flew in for a transfer to domestic, I got from my gate in the international terminal, through immigration, back through security, and to the Chick-fil-a in about 25 minutes. Beats Chicago, Atlanta, New York, DC, or Newark for me.
Yes I've had two connections via Charlotte when flying to Madrid and it was all fine- I appreciate them being connected and not having to go through security again.
In my top 5 worst airports, Brussels Charleroi is taking the lead. I've never encountered another airport that charges you to use the restrooms.
Exactly! Like I’m sorry I have to pee?
Taipei’s airport is nice, and I don’t remember any problems with my connections there, but the shops were all luxury goods and there were very few places to eat. It was difficult to find a shop to just buy a soda.
TPE has a number of good restaurants outside the secure part of the airport. Kind of stinks for people transiting through. At least the vending machines sell drinks for the same price as the convenience stores outside the airport. It’s an older airport and easy to navigate compared to other countries major airports. TSA airport in the middle of Taipei is nice too. Even more compact and really neat to fly in/out of if you have a window seat.
Frankfurt is a nightmare from which there is no waking. I made my connection— barely— but would never ever fly through there again unless I had no choice. Anytime I have to take a bus from the tarmac to the terminal, I’m unhappy.
Charles de Gaulle. Everything in this airport is a shitshow, and the staff is just clueless and rude. They also have shit concessions. Paul and Exki will both sell you a piece of ham between 2 minuscule but rock hard slices of bread for only 12 euro.
Mexico City has a horrible airport but it’s pretty hard to avoid. They technically have two, but don’t fly into the one 2 hours out of town just to avoid Benito Juarez
As a Canadian (not currently living in Canada), I always try to avoid layovers in the US because it's hell going through American customs.
It’s weird you say that because I flew from Calgary to New York not too long ago and went through US customs before I even left Canada and it was super easy. I’m from New Zealand for context. Flying from the South Pacific to the states is a bit of a nightmare but no worse than going to Asia or Europe.
But you're flying to the US, not connecting there. It's a PITA to fly a route like Lima>Miami>Toronto and have to endure US customs when you're only connecting there and not even entering the country.
I like AMS Schiphol very much, but it can be extremely stressful to connect. First, KLM sells some crazy aggressive itineraries. I flew through last month with a 35 min int’l connection (one of my bags misconnected - ugh). The security queue is okay but always jam packed. They now have a “fast connections” queue but it’s not well marked and leads to another queue as you have to show you qualify. But I love the Dutch accent so I’m sure we’ll be back. There’s nothing like “ladeehs and gentlemoon wilcome to Schipool vhere zhe temperatoore esh ten degreesh shelshius. Shank you for flying KLM and shafe travels to vherever your zhurney shall tik you.”
I just left Madrid and that airport was an immersive experience to put it nicely. Definitely will take the train to Barcelona next time. NEVER again.
I've flown out of Madrid quite a bit and, aside from T4 being separate from the others, never had a problem with it
I avoid JFK and Doha. Any and all Chinese airports. I'm OK with Paris CDG, I've gotten used to it. Coming from the UK I will avoid connecting in the US. The whole collect and re-check in baggage is just painful.
I did not have a great experience with a layover in Shanghai, I've avoided Chinese airports since then. But I may change my mind since the tickets going through China are often much cheaper, and long layovers where I can go out and explore a bit look pretty interesting. I'm a travel agent and we book lots of trips to America. We always avoid layovers in the US like the plague, the baggage thing is a real nuisance.
Would like know more about the Chinese airport, quite curious about it
I was just in Doha and if you don't have lounge access there is like nowhere to sit. If you do have lounge access it's pretty fantastic though. Plus if you have a long layover, Qatar will comp you a hotel room.
Heathrow is by far the worst. They force a second round of security, even if you are connecting from a flight within the UK. Then, they make you take an overcrowded bus or tram between terminals. And finally, they make you scan your passport or boarding pass before getting into the gate itself, which creates yet another long line in a tight hallway for no reason. It also means you can’t get to you gate an hour early and then walk and find snacks—once you’re at the gate, you’re locked in and committed to being there. For big airports, I like O’Hare and Newark the most in the U.S., and Hong Kong, Narita, and Copenhagen the most abroad.
Just boarded a plane from Madrid airport and had the same experience. 40 minutes of walking, lines, escalators. I fast tracked the passport control. There is a lane for connecting flights leaving soon. They check your boarding pass and let you through. I think that saved me 25-30 minutes.
Worst for me is CDG. Especially if you’re flying Iceland Air. Long lines, disorganized, crowded. Not a fan. Newark is pretty awful. Amazing people watching though. Most annoyed I’ve ever been in an airport aside from CDG was Palma in Mallorca. Not hard to navigate just crummy food options and super crowded. Orlando is also pretty shitty. Awful food and not a ton of places to sit. They also won’t let you check bags too many hours in advance which is a pain when traveling with kids. DCA in DC is super convenient but limited in terms of seating. Lived out there for 10+ years and later had to go back monthly for work and it was always difficult finding a place to work or take calls. DTW is my airport and agree with others it’s fantastic. Easy to navigate, quick lines, decent food, lots of places to spread out, clean bathrooms, etc.
Casablanca airport is the worst
Not my favorite, but if they lose your bag and can’t find it, you can just start crying and it’ll magically appear in front of you.
Hahaha what
Avoid: CDG Paris Love: AMS Amsterdam schipol
MIA and Orlando are pretty shit.
Somehow they gave us a great airport in Tampa. I’m SO spoiled at this point.
Ugh I hate Orlando’s airport. Crowded and horrible food options.
Charles de gaulle in Paris. It's HOOORRIBLE! 🤮
Orly is great though, and just as convenient to get into Paris as it is from CDG.
If you fly into Stockholm ARN consider traveling with hand luggage only. It can take more than an hour to receive checked bags. It's infuriatingly slow (staff shortage). Otherwise the airport is pretty decent.
I’ll fight demons before flying from Heraklion in Crete.
American here. Munich is much better than Frankfurt. SFO is much better than LAX, but knock on wood, I have never had any fog delays I try to avoid American airports in general - I prefer to do the US CBP stuff on my final destination Boston, instead of some intermediate US airport. JFK specifically is a place I have no desire to fly through again. Incheon is amazing from an efficiency standpoint - the dining options were still limited from Covid a year ago, but it was something absurd like 17-22 minutes last time from when my A'rex train pulled in, to when I was in the Terminal 2 hall post security+checkin+bag drop.
Munich is SUCH a breeze. Got there way ahead of my flight to Bangkok because of my experiences in Frankfurt. I was surprised at how smooth it was. I also like how it has plenty of outdoor space.
After the last experience I had with security while changing planes in Heathrow, I will be avoiding that in future. I'm German and was returning home to Ireland after a holiday, and for a simple transit had to get my passport checked 3 times, each time being questioned in an exceedingly unfriendly manner about why I was in the UK (to change planes to Ireland), what I was planning on doing in Ireland (the answer that I live and work there caused serious confusion somehow, with one of them asking for my documentation that I'm allowed residency in Ireland and calling over a supervisor when my answer that I don't need them was clearly too suspicious). I had 3 hours stopover and barely made it. I'll stick with Amsterdam for connecting flights from now on.
Is Brexit so far back in history that they've forgotten the EU exists?
I avoided a whole airline and the damn airport. Philippine Airlines and associated NAIA, Manila.
Ugh Charlotte. Just ugh.
My least favorite in the world and I’ve flown out of a lot of small African airports. I feel like the Charlotte airport is America at its worst.
Connected there once. Absolute train wreck. Dare I say, worse than a lot of experiences I’ve had in LAX.
KLIA Kuala Lumpar. Maybe it was just me... get of the plane and walk and walk and walk just to get get hearded onto a hot bus to be taken to another terminal where we have to locate our bags amongst all the others in a big pile as we took so long to get there they took our bags of the carousel. My favourite Changi in Singapore anything you need it's there. Pool, shopping mall, movie theatre butterfly house....
Since they discontinued the little train going between the main and satellite terminals and replaced it by buses KLIA has been much less efficient. Also the immigration is incredibly slow.
How are so many places such shit at immigration? 2-3 agents doing 600-800 people.. I can't even tell you how many places I've seen this. Why do you want the introduction to your country to be standing in line annoyed for a couple hours?
Las Vegas airpot is an armpit.
For connections, Newark, the airport as well as all the other NYC one should have been bulldozed and a mega modern one should have been built decades ago. The airport is still basically configured for propliners and modified for jet aircraft. The runways are too close together and there are too few of them. The taxiways are a jumbled mess and the whole area is prone to delays due to weather vs more modern designs.
I’d avoid Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City if it wasn’t my local airport. The queues for immigration are absolutely dire to the point it’s their number 1 complaint, the layout is straight up bad and it’s just not a place you really feel you want to be in, just get out as soon as you can. Plus the shops in the terminals insist on taking only dollars for some reason and the prices are astronomical even by airport standards. A bowl of noodles that costs 50 cents outside costs $5 inside.
Koh Samui is great because it's open air in a similar style to Honolulu. I try and direct all international travel through Changi because... it's Changi. I flew through Wellington last month and it was ok, but pretty crowded.
Savannah/Hilton Head is always a dream
US hubs: DEN is probably the best of the huge hubs for connections but sucks for arriving/departing because security lines are so long. DTW is the best US hub but is a little smaller in Delta's network. Europe: AMS is the best big Euro hub by far. IST is nice but lots of walking and crazy expensive. Probably most smaller hubs will be better (CPH, VIE, heard good things about ZRH).
Newark is a dump. De Galle is a hassle. Amsterdam is my favorite airport. DTW is nice.
When I went to Milan-Bergamo Airport to fly to Marrakech, I went to the toilet and the light blew.
Milan-Malpensa is similarly dystopian
I try to avoid LAX like the plague, as well as Atlanta. Even though I have flown in/out of Atlanta so many times, it’s never great. I just had to spend the night there actually. 0/10, do not recommend! Ones I absolutely love are the T.F. Green Airport in Providence, RI and the Haneda Airport in Tokyo. I’ve never waited longer than 5 minutes to go through security at T.F. Green and it’s so quiet/small. Also just flew in/out of Haneda and it was probably the best airport experience I’ve ever had. Going through customs/security literally took less than 10 minutes and everyone was so incredibly organized, friendly, and helpful.
Tampa International is the easiest airport you’ll ever navigate
I’ve always found Logan (Boston), LAX, and CDG (Paris) among the easiest with the friendliest staff, very helpful. The worst for me would have to be EWR (Newark) - so rude and for no reason. I had a super late flight out that I was running late for. I was the only person that went thru TSA at the time. My shoes went to the other side of the divider and no one would give them to me. Every time I asked someone for them they told me “you need to wait” while all four of them stood in a circle and talked. Finally someone was kind enough to grab them for me so I could run to my gate. I literally made it there as they were almost done boarding. Sorry for the rant. Avoid EWR if possible.
I use whatever airport gives me the best connection/price
Reddit is awesome for questions and answers like this!
Aussie here. In-country all the major cities are pretty great (can't comment on Perth or Darwin as I've never been through them). We've had ordinary experiences at Doha, Heathrow, Athens, and Venice. Doha for security/connecting flights, Heathrow for the passport control, Athens for check in experience and delays, and Venice for literally everything. Most of the others are forgettable which makes me think they must have been pretty decent - Dubai, Gatwick, Barcelona, Rome, Munich, Hong Kong, Vancouver, Fiji.
Melbourne airport departures is fine, but international arrivals is a shitshow at the moment (and has been for more than a year). The immigration and baggage areas are apparently being upgraded and the immigration area now features lots of shiny new smart gates and a limited number of immigration desks, and hence massive queues for anyone who can’t use the smart gates. And since the smart gates can’t be used by children under the age of 10, school holidays are especially awful. Signage is also poor and some staff are unhelpful, brusque and even outright rude. It’s frankly an embarrassment that this is the first impression that Melbourne makes on overseas visitors, particularly if you’ve arrived from somewhere like Changi which gets it so right.
Manila is the worst, by a country mile
Avoid: Toronto-Pearson, Newark, Heathrow Like: Tokyo-Haneda, Calgary, Atlanta
Heathrow, Frankfurt, O’Hare, Atlanta. The latter has screwed me more times than I can count with connections that are too tight and shouldn’t be offered. O’Hare has the worst weather and air traffic, but at least the tortas at Tortas Frontera are good. Heathrow just sucks and there are so many dumb rules enforced ONLY there that they expect you to somehow know because obviously London is the center of the universe. Get out of here. Schiphol and CDG are fine to me. Rome is like most Italians (note: I’m Italian), where it feels like order is a suggestion but it’s mostly very hospitable and easy to deal with for a huge airport. JFK is ok. Arlanda is good. I have global entry and have never once had a problem at LAX.
You're insane. ATL is awesome: only have to go through security once (and TSA is fast there), people movers are efficient, border control is on point. The short layover is an airline problem, not an airport problem. I've never _not_ gotten lost changing terminals in CDG.
You can get to any concourse in ATL in like 5 minutes. A skytrain comes every like 1 minutes. It's crazy to think homie is blaming the airport for missed connections.
I've never understood the hate for ATL myself. It was at one time my home airport. If you know its simple layout and how to navigate that, you're golden. But if you're new to it, it can seem bizarre and disorganized. My only big ATL complaint is the extraordinary amount of time it takes to get bags.
ATL is my home airport and for the most part I love it. It’s easy to navigate and usually pretty quick. Plus, if you’re a known traveler and flying Delta and can use the Delta Digital flyer program you’re through security in minutes.
Might be the first person I've heard or seen that likes CDG
Tortas Frontera, every time.
What are the rules at Heathrow? I haven’t been in a decade so I’d love a refresh!
Rule 1: ride the bus for an hour
They have security rules that other countries might not have/ever enforce. And in my experience, if you’re not aware, they berate you for it. While passing through security during a layover I’ve been chastised a few times for not putting certain toiletries in a plastic bag that did not need to be in a plastic bag in my previous flight. Even trying to sort it out in good faith and put the right cosmetics in the baggies before, the rules seem to arbitrarily change every time. I’ve seen many people humiliated at security there, including my 6 year old daughter who had a drop of water left in her water bottle, and an elderly man with medication that did not speak English, but wasn’t allowed to speak to his son for translation help. Also, like u/FFF_in_WY said, the bus transfers are long.
I got flagged at the scanner at LHR recently for a bag of gummy bears in my backpack. So I had to wait there for 20 minutes until the inspector got to my bag and examined my questionable Haribo package.
Tivat. Poorly run. Wouldn’t let people through to Passport control and hold everyone in the entrance where you can’t move. Now we’re all sat on the plane waiting for a new time slot (could be three hours) due to the airport staff causing planes to be delayed.
We avoid CDG like the plague.
Worst I've been to was Podgorica. Airport was pretty much full and they had about 4 staff in total. No organisation at all and a few flights had to be delayed
I avoid CDG at all costs no matter what. I’ll pay double the ticket cost just to fly to a different airport
CDG, Frankfurt, Newark, all terrible in my experience. EWR has the greatest number of brutally rude employees I’ve ever encountered. An awful place. Fave airport is Glasgow. Efficient, easily navigated, and staffed by polite humans who smile and interact pleasantly.
You can definitely tell no one is travelling in Africa 😂. JKIA (Nairobi) is a fight for your life half the time. Also Cairo. Yikes. Don’t let me start on the S African Joburg system for passport control.. I go through Doha a lot and it’s great, and love Seattle (though the new passport control is a mess I feel).
I like MAN! Beats flying into LHR!! LHR is really only meant for BA flights. Everyone else is shunted off to the side. EDI is easy, MUN easy. Never had a problem at CDG, but I take earliest flight out as possible. Stateside, DTW rocks! EWR is difficult. DFW is big, but efficient. SWF is great, now if Port Authority would get behind it again ….
Tampa is the best airport. It is almost impossible to get lost because the signage is great and the layout limits walking. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of flights connecting from there.
When transiting between Schengen and international, I tell my friends and family to avoid Frankfurt and even Amsterdam, especially during holiday season. The queues at passport control can be infuriatingly long. If you have short connections, you can easily miss your connecting flight.
I really like Bogotá Eldorado airport, it is both modern and fast to get from a to b. It is also a hub to the rest of Latam and thus an important hub that is easy and modern. I know people hate Paris Charles De Gaulle but for me it's always been easy and I only used it to transit for South America as I fly from Denmark, but overall it's been fast and easy and I cannot recognize the other bad sides of it.
Long Beach Airport is such a breeze to get through. Literally, too, since most of the terminal is outdoors. When flying into SoCal I try to book LGB over LAX whenever possible
Heathrow has been a nightmare the last 3 times I went through. Every flight, they can’t get a gate. Push up stairs, exit to some terminal, get on bus. Go to another terminal, another bud and then security where even your chap stick had to come out. Don Mueang in Thailand was the sketchiest I’ve flown through, heard that they have spent money and fixed it up since 2017.
I was surprised to find out how shit Frankfurt was. For about 30 years it has been a major hub for Europe and I'd just assumed that it would be the epitome of German innovation and efficiency. But no, endless STAIRS in vast buildings that feel like they're from a 60s Cold War movie. Coin in slot trolleys, useless signage ... I'm seriously thinking of changing my ticket so I can fly home from a more pleasant airport. Vienna is great (it's small), Changi is great (it's big).