I’m curious if any other frequent travelers take note of these things as much as I do…
Continue reading: Iconic Airport Chimes & Sounds: My Favorites
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
SNCF or TrenItalia have my favourite jingles. While not airports, I immediately associate them with vacation-mode
LHR one is also used in TLV.
CDG is a cut above the rest for sure, it’s the FamilyMart of airports.
My favorite chimes have to be either SVO or VVO. Probably because they're my most frequented airports. And i really like the Russian accent when they are making announcements in English.
Completely agree on CDG. It's almost used TOO much though 🙂 Maybe that's why it's impressioned in our minds
favorite ever was Iris who was on the announcements at Rio de Janeiro Galeao Airport. She was famous and had a seductive / sexy voice.
I love the automated voice on the moving walkways at BKK: ระวัง/谢谢看远/End of the walkway - Chime/Chime.
Always gives me an incredibly sense of arrival/nostalgia
I love airport and railway chimes. As you've noted, CDG is at the top of the pack (the current one, and the former "Indicatif Roissy" that was in use from 1974-2005 - both are iconic.) Some other favorites:
- Cologne/Bonn: snappy and fun! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Nh6uQvB99w
- Amsterdam Schiphol, usually because it was followed by a no-nonsense automated Dutch accent advising someone that YOU ARE DELAYING THE FLIGHT. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpFWvZCnE3M
- Kuala Lumpur: a little more elegant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISW1js0-CpM
- the absolutely genius Swiss Federal Railways (SBB-CFF-FSS) chime, which is divided into three parts for the German, French, and Italian portions of the system, and which contains the musical notes Es-B-B, C-F-F, F-F-Es. Perfectly Swiss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0eol2T6ino
- the Montreal Metro: relatively new, but nothing says "I'm in Montreal" more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqjujiiDTDk
The Frankfurt S-Bahn had a pre-announcement chime back in the 2000s that I absolutely LOVED and have never been able to find online. I took a video (with an early-model digital camera) that captured it, but it was so quintessentially German, and I've never been able to find it.
OMG THE AIRPORT RECORDED VOICE LADY!!!!!!
I was just transported to Dulles and National airports while sitting here in Bangkok.
Thank you for this, Ben!
Not a chime, but the PenFed commercial song in the IAD tunnel to the C gates is probably iconic. Iconic in how annoying and insufferable it is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfrhjxkiVTY&ab_channel=PenFedCreditUnion
Yeah, the Paris airports have great chimes. The problem is, it cannot make up for the agony of the airport, its employees and their lack of compassion. Too many stories of American Airlines-like behavior.
After a whirlwind two week, ten flight trip on China Eastern, their boarding/deboarding music is burned into my memory!
Kars 4 Kids.
Not sure why CIA hasn't weaponized it yet. Deadlier than those Russian sonic weapons.
One of the most unique to me is the weird piano/banjo/guitar riffs that play with the “door closing” or “hold on” announcements on the DEN train. They’re so random but unmistakably DEN. Lowkey associate them with stress considering how packed those trains are where it’s sometimes impossible to hold on!
ATL:
"Please stand to the right, to allow others to pass."
The last word is key, said in a distinctly southern drawl.
SNCF is definitely the most unique.
https://youtu.be/ES1DOqr0pQc?si=4HXPZHtjQnP-fnas
Ugggggggh. I hate that tune with a passion. I now put in headphones and blast music when traveling though that corridor so that I don’t spend my flight with that ditty as an earworm.
I usually just take the shuttle to the D gates and walk to C if I need to. It's more fun to look out at the planes anyways.
Spanish airports have an iconic tone, then the announcement in Spanish followed by the same posh English bloke every time.
I love the OLD chime from CDG, so iconic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA14TbBO-Mo
The old ADP one in Paris airports one was iconic: https://youtu.be/BvRzGH1gmw0?si=PtyuKK4yfK6RV8m_
Not chimes but the seductive voice of Iris Lettieri making announcements at Brazilian airports.
Love it. Imagine her with a glass of brandy and cigarette. Gooool voooo uuum doooois paaaaara manaaaaaaaus
In Japan they have jingles at metro stations which I love. It’s like being in a cartoon
The Heathrow one is also at Schiphol with the same automated “ Dutch sounding” voice. They use the same voice in many European airports
I certainly heard plenty of the RATP "chime" this past week in Paris - not to bad as those things go...
Stand clear of the closing doors please. On the nyc subway. Was a video done about the guy that did that one.
IAD came to mind for me right away too, but not for that GOD AWFUL PenFed jingle that is playing these days, but the “back in the day” 5 tone sound that would play before every announcement a gate agent would make in the boarding area or terminal…I so miss it in the “temporary terminal” that will probably outlast me, lol…
A little off subject, but I love the sound of the overhead compartments clicking shut.
Thank you @ Ben. A truly charming and quirky post that reflects you. It’s one of the things I’m here for.
One of my favorites, it's SNCF train station pre-announcement Chimes, I am sure you will recall it if you ever took a train in France:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH5mfQ3x4I8
Cheers !
The red zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the white zone.
The golf cart transport things at MIA made a chime tone when the driver honked at you. That is the first thing I remember when I hear "airport tone". However, I haven't heard them make that noise for the past few years.
No, there is no stopping in the red zone. The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers!
Me too! Thank you for making feel better as I realise I’m not the only one !☝️
GVA used to play the first five notes of “How much is that doggy in the window” until about 10 years ago.
Couldn’t find it on YouTube, sadly.
I love the Air France chime! It’s been my text alert tone for 5 years and hearing it makes me happy and transports me to my many wonderful European adventures flying Air France.
Amsterdam Schiphol: "Mind your step"
I also like the Kuala Lumpur International Airport jingle
Some non-aviation favourites:
Jakarta MRT stations used to play the theme from "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
Indonesian rail stations play the Westminster Chimes on a 10-15 minute loop for every train arrival and departure
Seoul metro plays a cute fanfare for every approaching train
Along the same line, I like the sound of the aircraft door closing and locking.
I love them too! And there's a fella who has composed most of the jingles; sew -
One of the most distinctive things for me is the quirky piano/banjo/guitar riffs that accompany the “door closing” or “hold on” announcements on the DEN train. They’re so random yet unmistakably DEN. I can’t help but associate them with stress, given how crowded those trains can be, making it difficult to hold on sometimes!
ZRH has a fun one in between to E gates how the have the screens & a promo for the Swiss alps as you go on the train
On a related note, as a flight attendant traveling through Philadelphia in the late 70's, the woman making announcements had the thickest Philly accent you could hope to hear!! I wish there was a recording somewhere of her voice.
ATL Airport tram: "The doors are about to close!" Followed by an annoying, synthetic sound!!!
The LHR lady is a system that's shared across many airports, I've heard her at MAN and ZRH too (although ZRH has a bespoke chime). It's an odd female voice that sounds like the actor is English, but there's a strange tint of hard-to-pin down European accent in there. I think I saw a FT thread a while ago that tracked down the company that makes the system and they're Dutch...
Apologies for the double post - I found her. She's called AviaVox and is in airports around the globe. And is totally synthetic.
Great article! The second chime sent me immediately to Heathrow T5; it's amazing how much we associate sounds with the experiences we've had have.
As someone who spends a lot of time in ATL airport, I'd add the "plane train chime" to this list:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9Td5wyg6PE
I’ve been connecting through ATL quire a bit the past few years. I had to do a a little research. https://youtu.be/VQNkxljIrdY
Sorry if this is a repost, the website is running a little screwy.
Yeah that was memorable on a recent vacation to DEN...as was the terrible logistics. Coming from the world's busiest airport, which sure can take hits for being bland and boring, at least ATL and its Plane Train nails its fundamental purpose of moving people around expeditiously. DEN is a disaster especially for a new airport with so much land. Any improvements planned for the awful overcrowded, inefficient, and painfully slow internal ground transit?
Very honored that you chose my work with Sixieme Son for Paris Airport. I invite you to discover the brand new jingle of Nice Cote-d'Azur airport. I hope you'll love it.
Michael Boumendil
Sixieme Son
Another catchy one is the Munich Airport announcement chime:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FUFDIYIPko
Also In: Hong Kong Airport, I Heard Chimes Like The: Sydney Trains Station Chimes!