Airports have changed a lot over the years, both for better and worse. On the one hand, they have some unbelievable amenities that would have been unimaginable decades ago. On the other hand, many airports just haven’t grown efficiently, and don’t seem to consider the passenger experience.
Continue reading: What Are The Best Airports In The World? Here Are My Picks…
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Gawd, I don't get Doha at all. The lounges are over-the-top, but seriously, gate security and buses to the planes? Outside of luxury shopping, what else is in the terminal? Bathrooms are crowded and filthy, it's one giant ad (like most airports) - to me it's just ... bling.
I like YVR (Vancouver) in Canada. Direct skytrain connection to downtown. Impressive regional art and design including a stream, large aquarium, water fall. It has one of the most impressive international arrivals hall with the waterfall and coastal indigenous art.
I used to like HND T3 (Intl) when it first opened and it is incredibly convenient for access to central Tokyo, but its operating way overcapacity with lines and crowds everywhere now.
Domestically large airports SFO Terminal one, DFW Terminal D, BOS.
Worst large airports SAN (not sure about the new terminal), PHX, CLT (sans Concourse A), MIA, ATL, PHL, MCO
SIN the couple times I was there very nice. Also remember SYD both Domestic and International terminal being nice.
I personally love Narita and Nagoya-Chubu. While minimalist, it's still modern and for avgeeks, it has an aviation-themed shop as well as an observation deck which I always enjoy visiting.
Another mention would be Honolulu for their open-air walkways and concourses.
I’m biased but from Detroit and love it to this day, even though I don’t live there anymore. It’s sleek, easy and almost always efficient.
YVR is by far the best in North America. Tokyo Haneda and Singapore are amazing as well. Really like AMS too.
The best airport in the world is the one I can get to as late as possible before my flight boards and get out of it as soon as possible after my flight lands.
1. My home airport DCA. I get there 10-15 mins before boarding. And out of there within 10-15 mins of flight landing.
I don't get that bear thingy either, from the front, it looks like he's about to get the electric chair.
frankly, impossible to take such a list seriously when Radom airport is not on it.
Count me in on NGO...best airport in Japan, IMO. Not much post-security, but the pre-security shopping/dining/observation deck make up for it immensely.
"Lounges are over the Top"? sticking to AA lounges at DFW,etc! Great selection for Breakfast at AA Lounges. yeah, That Top Sirloin Steak, Indian Biryani, asstd Organic yogurts, Fresh Fruits from around the world are Over the Top. sticking with 'pre Fabricated" scrambled eggs, Day old Boiled eggs and Frozen Fruits are the thing because Doha Business Class has way too much choices.(sarcasm)
HKG does have a train ( automated people mover ) albeit below ground. which connects the east and west halls of terminal 1 and the midfield concourse. A new APM will connect terminal 2 with the satellite currently being built.
There are different needs so different favorites.
Colorado Springs is a smaller airport but still has some mainline flights. It's easy to park.
Paine Field is kind of cute but it doesn't have too many flights.
San Francisco International is big and nice. It has many flights.
Changi Airport in Singapore is many people's favorite and for good reason.
Taouyuan Airport in Taiwan is almost as good as Changi. Songshan Airport in Taipei is even closer to Taipei but not very fancy.
Jersey Airport (JER) is similar to COS.
DOH is just too dark. Like a Las Vegas casino, you’ll never know what time of day it is.
I've been to over 50 airports in the US, my favorites are the Harvey Milk terminal at SFO, PDX, SLC, and LGA probably in that order. I heard the Detroit Delta terminal is really nice but we flew United on our trip out of that airport and there was nothing special about that terminal.
As far as regional US airports go it's hard to top Jackson Hole but Burlington Vermont has a nice regional airport so does Portland Maine. I also like Eagle at Vail too.
Agree on YVR; spectacular views and art.
MSP: of course it's completely dominated by Delta, the airport has very good quality amenities, shops and restaurants. They get so many little details such as hooks and shelves in the restrooms and tons of water bottle refill stations + piano players most of the day.
Waiting for that day Lucky will update this article before he reposts so it doesn’t say Changi terminal 2 is outdated, when it’s literally the most recent terminal that has been updated
Also I think signage leaves a lot to be desired. Impossible to find lounges unless you know where you’re looking.
I think CLT is among the best airports. The airport, in collaboration with American Airlines, gives you free 25 minutes of cardio session every time you connect.
If you say there's no train in HKG then the last time you could've been there were in the days of Kai Tak.
What up. Good times.
I miss walking into the concourse to the 747 towering over the classic DTW fountain.
That said, step into one of the Sky Clubs and you'll take a trip right down Northwest memory lane...lol.
I finally agree with the writer on something re Changi, terrificairport except for the carpet and security at individual gates. I find Doha poorly signposted for lounges. Dislike Dubai, EK lounges are sterile, fire a cannon and not hit anyone and the worst shower rooms and awful for terminal transfers.
Was about to question your inclusion of SAN as a large airport as in my mind San Diego is still a (fantastic) small to mid size city, but I did some research and SAN is considered a large airport by the FAA. Curious what's bad about the new terminal?
My own experience flying United from MUC to SFO last year was like day vs. nights based on the terminal public restrooms alone. Munich was clean and modern, San Francisco was nasty.
Uh Ben.... you forgot your hometown (and mine) airport Tampa International which for years has been number 1 and 2 of North America's Favorite Airports.
Ben ???
Are all the facilities and amenities at Changi for departing passengers only? Can I access anything as an arriving passenger (non-connecting)?
Totally agree. Best restaurants and gorgeous artwork throughout. Plus, Spirit has a gate and daily flights! Can't beat that.
The New Chitose Airport in Sapporo is amazing. It even has a movie theater!
In the USA I like LaGuardia (gasp...never thought I would see the day!), Savannah and Seattle.
I generally like the smaller US airports with cute stores and rental cars right outside.
I totally agree with Singapore, Tampa and Vancouver being excellent. Doha is very good, once you actually get into the terminal. I've had 8 flights (long haul) through Doha in the past two years and 7 of them had to deal with remote stands.
As long as we’re going small here, well, everyone will have a favorite or two. Most of us will have never been to most of them. I’m thinking beautiful architecture and a nice vibe that gets your trip off on the right foot. Three of my favorites: BZN, TVC & PLN.
With all respect, when you acquiesce to a tight connection, that’s your ticket to your cardio session. Likewise at MSP, as my former hometown airport, I still love it but would avoid a tight connection there.
No airport that buses you to your plane can be considered great. Sorry Doha but lack of jet bridges is a disqualifying feature.
Among the airports in Europe, I liked HEL the most—beautiful Finnish design, nice shops and solid lounges. It was clean and straightforward as well. It's also one of the European airports with the least mishandled bags.
My only issue with YVR is the lack of lounge variety in the USA terminal. The one and only lounge is lacking and closes early despite flights departing late into the night.
What makes Changi great is that it doesn't a mass chit show tsa style line that crushes your soul when you arrive. Instead, security is at individual gates so many of the amenities are available to the public. There are some airside only hotels that I remember.
Are you sure you were at sfo because I fly out of there more than a dozen times/year. It's great. It's definitely clean, maybe not that day for you at that instance but I have never been grossed out unlike cdg or lhr. You can access all terminals including international both pre/post security. Very few airports can do that. They separate tsa and clear/tsa precheck on 2 levels so that moves very fast. T2 has newer tsa queues so that parent with 9 kids in front of you can take all the time they want and it won't waste your time. Aside from holidays I routinely clear domestic tsa in less than 10 min. Occasionally not even 5min.
I love security at the gates. Lines are shorter but more importantly sometimes I like to escort my mom all the way to the gate if she's traveling alone. Also, but doing that most of the airport can be accessed by the public.
Sfo is my favorite airport in the US. It's extremely functional. It offers direct routes to everywhere that doesn't sux. It's easy to get to the east coast, Canada, Europe, asia and Australia direct. The airport itself besides Thanksgiving and xmas generally don't feel jammed pack and stressful. With their renovations last year all terminals are accessible pre/post security. That's a big deal for connecting flights and few airports can do this. My one big gripe is that mass transit options is crap. Bart is pathetic and often don't make any sense when it comes to the airport. The station is across the highway but at times it can take 45min to get to the airport because Bart does silly things requiring you to go to another station and transfer and on the weekend they run 1 train every 20 freaking minutes. So car is really the only viable option.
I have to agree with you. Singapore, Doha and Hong Kong are great. Singapore is the best in the world with Doha a close second. Hong Kong has the best airplane viewing especially from the first class Pier lounge. The Centaurian Lounge has fantastic ice cream which I can't stop eating. Honorable mention to Narita or Haneda for having 7-11, Lawsons and Family Mart. Those are the best convivence stores in the world. I love getting Flan (Purrin) at the airport. Even if it gives me a whole lot of gas. Haha. Also would like to note the airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They have a Centaurian Lounge that has sodas with sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. So much better. Many of central and south American countries have this though.
If arriving in T1/2/3, arrivals and departures are mixed so you could visit anywhere airside, and they are all connected through Skytrain. The famous Jewel is on the landside though, so it can be accessed after clearing the immigration.
In my opinion One of The Best Airports in the world is TORONTO PEARSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Toronto, Canada. I don't understand How you can miss this !! State of he Art Most Modern Airport with Amazing design, Most Progressive Arts & Signs inclusive of & Welcoming 2SLGBTQ Travelers. Also very accessible for Older Adults and People with Disabilities, Great Dining Options, World Class Cafes, & Shopping Outlets, Fast & Modern Connections by a Train between Terminals. Over all it is always a great fun to be at Pearson International Airport Toronto, Canada. Lots of People just visit airport who are not flying just for fun to explore the airport as it is one of the great tourist attractions in Toronto.
Seoul has Toto Washlets throughout the airport and it has an airside Korean spa. A shower, a soak, a schvitz, and a snooze is great on a long layover and you can’t get that combo anywhere else in the world.
Haneda is definitely not a good transit hub when a terminal change is involved.
I'm saying that's the only "nice" thing about DOH. Having to take buses to the plane knocks it out of serious contention.
The hot spring on the top floor at Sapporo is my favorite activity of any airport in the world. Where else can you relax in a hot spring pool and watch the planes?
Lucky you keep writing this article without visiting Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport’s Terminal 2. It blows Doha away and flight attendants have said its the best airport they’ve been to explicitly stating its better than Singapore.
In the United States Indianapolis keeps winning awards for best mid-sized airport and having been to the new Kansas City airport Indianapolis is still better
SIN is way overrated.
People who bring up "butterfly garden, to a movie theater." never really use those facilities.
Then the Jewel. It's not even airside. Using that broken logic, DMK blows every airport amenities away with a full 18 hole golf course.
Then the gate security. It makes looking at planes harder if you're not flying from that gate. You can't take liquid from the stores on board a long haul flight.
Then the long walk.
It's a good and efficient airport, but hardly ever going to be in top 5.
The worst disability transit experience I've ever had, was hands down, at YYZ / Toronto. So much so, it's impossible for me to fathom anyone having good things to say about the airport's accessibility. The ground contract teams' attitudes were offensive and demeaning. The luggage pickup is chaotic and the staff was not equipped to deal with handling wheelchair assistance, luggage, and customs. The wheelchairs are archaic, with no undercarriage bar to support a carry-on. All of these together almost caused me to miss my connection, which was ample. Technically, I did miss the connection, and it was only with groveling to American Airlines, that I was allowed to board. Meanwhile, the hired wheelchair assistant ditched me and the wheelchair at first opportunity and left me at the AA gate with no handoff, further complicating the problem. It's a fact of life for disabled travelers to have suboptimal transit experiences, so my expectations are low. But the support for disabled passengers at YYZ was heinous to a new level. I wouldn't in good conscience recommend YYZ for transit to anyone traveling alone with disabilities or mobility challenges.
Surely this can't be right. What about Cairo? You were caught on camera enjoying yourself!
This I agree with. DCA is my home airport, and it's usually a quick and efficient in and out. There can be some unusually surely GA's, but recently I haven't encountered any. In terms of curb to gate time, and gate to curb time, it's usually very quick. I can often be gate to taxi curb in 15-20 minutes, including checked bag pickup. Occassionally there are significant baggage wait delays but they also seem to better in this area lately. The disability services are also very good, especially on departures.
And travel to the remote stands on stretched golf buggies! Great, providing it's not raining. The airport also has a kiosk offering snacks, sandwiches and hot and cold drinks for free. (Never seen that anywhere else.)
MUC and ZRH for a relative ease when transiting.
DOH doesn't seem to have clear general signage.
HKG is great, except for a sub-par transit security experience IMHO. Late November pre-midnight rush had tons of passengers moving slowly through very cramped quarters, with just a few machines working, and the staff looking pretty inefficient, even if present in good numbers. The early morning transit experience on a return in December was just a tad better...
I originated out of SLC once only, but I was simply amazed at the speed and efficiency the security staff showed while handling tons of passengers departing one Sunday morning in September. Never saw anything like that at an American airport before...
I cannot understand why anyone would want security at the gates when it means you can't take any liquids/ drinks through with you and you're then stuck in a holding pen for a while with no toilets or water and you're stuck there if the flight has a last minute delay. Also sucks for Premium passengers as there is usually only 1-2 scanners and no fast track
US favorites:
LGA
PIT (new terminal is amazing)
DTW
PDX
Global:
DOH
SIN
IST
HKG
MAD
Absolutely correct! and I keep complaining about it,even after going to the DOH Lounges 4-6 times/yr for the past 5 years.
By the way, Business Class Immigration Control right after checking is a Joke. The automatic passport readers hardly ever work and the Idiots manning them are just Idiots.
I understand the need for eye candy, but why lead the story with an image of the Jewel - a landside shopping mall/theme park (beautiful as it is) outside of Terminal 1 in Changi, used mostly by locals or as a tourist attraction?
Yup, DOH and SIN, for sure; though, I’m still a sucker for JFK, not because it’s anything like the first two (and it definitely has… issues), but mostly for nostalgia, global access, and because it’s my hometown primary airport.
Koh Samui is my number one as the airline that has sole use owns the airport as well.
And this weeks star find is Queenstown in New Zealand. Where else can you check in, in under 10 minutes and then go back outside and eat. And its location is stunning.
Overall it’s the smaller airports that find it easier to get it right.
Disagree about Portland airport (PDX). While it is beautiful and it features high street pricing, the walk from gate C20 to the rental car was almost a mile, and Alaska Air check-in was a nightmare on Saturday, even in First.
By the way, the Greatest Airline Meals of the 20th Century dinner there was fabulous! We met so many interesting aviation buffs. The most exotic dish was probably the Qantas-inspired kangaroo tail soup. Thanks for the tip, Ben.
The best airport in the world has to be the one with the best airport code too: FAB.
From my home to wheels up in less than sixty minutes, has to something special.
My home airport - DPS - is much improved over the past couple of years. I still prefer SIN, DOH and IST. Haneda is awful when a transit involves changing terminals, which is almost always when connecting between North America and South East Asia.
I agree about Zurich. It is very pleasant for transit and very nice & clean overall with enough space to sit and work as well. MUC not so much. The new terminal may be better but overall transit is ok (far better than FRA) but not great. The old terminal and cramped luggage belt area is awful.
“… has been widely regarded as the world’s best airport for as long as I can remember, and that’s for good reason.”
Maybe that’s why i personally and 100% disagree, just like the so much braised Airline at Shangi Airport.
Almost as worse as paid Lufthansa 5* Airline! To me, ALL laughable!
Singapore Airport, spotless clean (maybe for a Floridian by choice?) i saw dirt all over, even the trains that connect the terminals! Monitores in Terminals for connecting passengers, total mess! “See next board” “see adjacent monitors”. A joke! Especially to older people who don’t travel often or not familiar with the strange Singaporean way of looking at things! As you wrote, connecting is seamless, then good luck if you need to connect Int.-Int. in 90 minutes but their transit system not operating, alternative transports are very bad posted and then you run forever to a far away gate to do another Security Screening!
A good int. Airport needs to be efficient, good, cheap on airport fees and modern equipment to make Travel seamless! SIN, does NOT qualify on most of these things! Who needs butterflies , Cinema, old carpets and outdated Security Screening where even perhibited items are NOT detected, but take your time away from worry free travel!
We all have different likes and desires, BUT we ate talking of Travel experiences here, not of Highlights, newest Movietheatr-seats, Lounges all over! If i plan an book a trip, i expect to travel smoothly or not at all! Singapore is FAR away from all that!
I wish people who travel “NORMAL”, no VIP access, no PRIORITY, no Lounge passes, no influence from wanna-bee internet influencers or paid but fake awarded rewards to airlines or airports!
Ask the average traveller, they can give you an HONEST answer!
It seems, the Information aspect here is being pushed more and more in the background’s here on this Blog, while it transforms more and more to scandal headlines i think?
Maybe a result of overworked family business? It’s of course not as easy to handle it all at once, understandable!!
BUT, keep focused, while Tampa is far from being a World Airport.
Could comment more, but i got so upset with praising SIN lousy Airport again, that i had to get my steam and just recently self experienced things at that “World Class” Airport in writing!
Absolutely Max, is not a PJ flight a “Commercial” enterprise flight?
Thank you for the ‘bite’.
T1 to T2 isn't bad, but I do agree that it's not fun if you have to go from/to T3.
But you really can't beat the landside amenities and the connections to Tokyo from Haneda if you're not making an airline connection.
Singapore’s Changi Airport has centralized security screening in Terminal 4. If that’s what you prefer, just choose an airline that departs from T4 such as Cathay Pacific or Korean Airlines. Terminals 1, 2, and 3 have security screening at individual gates (or for small groups of gates).
Nearly a decade back I had to catch a flight at 7 in the morning from MUC to WAW on LH.
Didnt check in online, got to the airport only at 6:25. I managed to lose my passport, find my passport, check in, complete security and boarded the aircraft by 6:51. I was not rushed through, nor did I skip the line. It was just how smooth the operations at the airport is (unless the workers are on strike).
Auf gehts Minga!
Bloemfontein Braam Fischer International in South Africa. Tiny with no international flights of course, but it's coming back home, the simplicity of it and friendliness of the staff.
There's even a miniscule Bidvest lounge but why bother when the excellent Mugg and Bean cafe will do and it takes less than a minute through security to the gate.
In terms of large airports though, Madrid T4 has always been very pleasant to fly from.
Brad, perhaps read the article again ?
Tampa's wonderful airport, while not making the list, was specifically mentioned by both city name and airport identifier 😉
I want to recommend to anyone who loves great airports, to check out the new Bengaluru, India airport. I was impressed.
agree with HKG, SIN and HND (especially their outdoor area for plane watching). The renovation of LGA still impresses me. I think DFW is good airport as well
IMHO, YYZ has the slowest checked baggage process in Canada, if not North America (LAS is up there). It's torrentially slow compared to other airports of similar size. Otherwise, I actually think it's a pretty good airport. The baggage system just knocks it down a ton.
It's a smaller airport but YOW (Ottawa) in Canada is really great - on my par with YVR, though it's apples and oranges I grant you. Short lines, quick baggage process, and it's a very aesthetically pleasing airport I think. It is let down by the food and bev selection but it's not the worst I've seen.
Take a look at the new BELGRADE airport . We were there last week, it opened about 10 months back , very large, spacious and modern and quite a surprise for a Southern European capital .