[canucklad]

A few thoughts on what makes a good airport and what doesn’t…….

1) An airport should positively reflect the national identity of the city/country that it represents !

2) There needs to be a balance between retail outlets and airport functionality

3) Being secure without thinking you’re in a prison camp

4) Ease of movement from aircraft to curbside and vice versa and willingness to see non-travellers as customers and not poterntial terrorists!

5) If an airport is a mega hub the ability to make it feel smaller or a small airport having the ability to make it feel bigger than it actually is!

A good example of where this has gone wrong is Dublins new terminal and the changes its made to it’s older facility. Although airside it looks and feels spacious it could be anywhere in the world. It must be the only place in the worl that doesn’t have a traditional Irish pub to see you on your way and in a move to become more European are renovating the Irish pub in T1 to a “Gastro Bistro” ….how ghastly !

once you pass security you can’t move for shops and shoppers !

So much so thast the signage to find the gates need to be seeked out through the shopping mall experiance.

Very disappointing !

My local airport EDI is anpther example of selling its soul..although to a lesser extent….Airports need to stop wanting to be Dubai wannabees! A horrific experiance

[travelworld]

Not on point, but I think that the most improved is London Gatwick..do people agree it’s 100% better since BAA sold it?

[JohnHarper]

LGW is certainly much improved.

IMO of the major European airports LHR is the worst by a large margin.

[AnthonyDunn]

JohnHarper – 17/07/2012 13:25 GMT

Yes, agree that LGW (notably the North Terminal) is much improved. Terminal 5 at LHR is really very, very good. Let’s face it, the “retail experience” that some complain of actually helps bump up the profitability of the airport which in turn aids its cash flow and ability to invest in improvements. So, it is a virtuous circle.

The other European airport that I really rate is LYS: superb facilities, relatively compact and great transport links to around the Dauphine/Savoie region and fully accessible by TGV from Paris or Nice etc. It’s a complete no-brainer about winter travel schedules to/from the French alps.

Just remembered that this is about the WORST airports. Hmm, Moscow Sheremetyevo (SVO) anyone?

[LPPSKrisflyer]

I don’t think you can consider T5 in isolation, it’s part of LHR which is a national disgrace as many will find out over the coming days as they arrive for the olympics.

I agree, LHR is the worst major airport in Europe.

[canucklad]

Not going to cross threads here but…….LHR is the worst in Europe when the 2 runways struggle to cope…then it becomes a nightmare….

Given how busy it is, it is normally quite user freindly….

Piccadally line/ Heathrow express/ its own bus terminal etc gives it a thumbs up…

Shopping therapy for those who like that sort of stuff….

Far worse in Europe than LHR, starting with……

[capetonianm]

I find LHR reasonable most of the time. FRA is a nightmare, confusing, badly organised, not what you’d expect from the Germans, and very time consuming.

Madrid is pretty dire, beautiful airport but badly let down by the ground staff, Iberia in particular.

For my money, CDG is the worst major European airport serving a capital city. It’s poorly designed, scruffy, and employs too many unhelpful staff.

[MarkCymru]

Anthony is out of date on SVO. I agree that Terminal F is a reminder of all that was bad about the USSR but the new D and E terminals are stunning. Last week, the transit queue got to be about 20 people long so a Russian border official ran up, opened a second door, quickly glanced at passports and waved people through. Good luck getting that at Heathrow! There is fast, free wifi everywhere (I had a Skype video call over it with no problems) and a selection of retail that makes T5 look like Poundland (personally, I’m much too poor for any of these shops so I’m not an expert). The new train into Moscow looks every bit as good as the Heathrow Express and is considerably cheaper

[VintageKrug]

Indeed, I flew through the renovated T4 and thought it excellent. T5 is superb on every level, T1 is adequate, but not long for this world, and T3 is a bit of a dog, but that’s not a bad tally for a 60 year old facility and with T2 opening shortly T3 should at least be less crowded, which should address many of the complaints.

It’s really not that bad, but a totally new facility would be so much better, fit for the 22nd century.

[Swissdiver]

LPPS: You cannot take LHR as a whole as it is not homogeneous. In addition, in most of the cases, T5 allows connexion without changing terminals. And, yes, T5 remains by a very large margin the best terminal in Europe!

[Swissdiver]

charlesQ: interesting you dislike GVA. I think they massively improved the facility over the past two years… Would you mind developing?

[cbroo79]

I agree CDG is the worst and I will try not to go there if I can avoid it.
On the same level is LHR if you have to change terminals. FRA was good, but lately completely lost the plot. Transfer times are long, I had 1.45h min last week changing LH international to LH inner-Europe and missed my flight (because passport control was completely overwhelmed and there is no way to pass it by and because we landed on an out-field position with the slowest bus service ever and the longest walk from A-Bus arrival to B!). This is now a night mare.
Agree, at this point AMS is the best and sometimes ZRH is right up there with them (but there perfomance is inconsistent).

[RHMAngel]

I know this is focused on Europe, but seriously… after experiencing FIVE different US major cities, I’m not going to complain about LHR in isolation again (T5 aside, which is new and ‘showpiece’ like many Far Eastern cities have been able to do, with design and modern-ness)

These established capital city airports (even if they’re not in the capital but call themselves capital airports) – have legacy to deal with and upgrade is always tough on aged places.

But I agree, CDG sucks, and for the Germans surprisingly, so does FRA.

But after the staffing farces, rudeness of the US airports and dire shopping facilities and rip off prices (way worse than LHR) in the US this year. I’m going to bite my tongue on Europe’s airports’ failings…

On a positive note:-

AMS is a delight now (no lost luggage their worst failing in the past) and the most cheerful immigration/passport control staff to greet you. ARN (Stockholm) is nice too, albeit limited on lower priced (rather than luxury) shopping.

[transtraxman]

I have found this article. It deals with the world´s 10 worst terminals, so it is more than Europe.

http://www.frommers.com/slideshow/?p=1&group=786&cat_cd=AIRFARE#slide

(note: you have to click on “next” at the top of the article/photo)

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