[ontherunhome]

Yesterday whilst flying back from Dusseldorf, I noticed a sign for an airport Dentist. My first reaction was a Dentist at an airport, strange. However when thinking about it, an airport is a small town, and the staff need these services, so they can have a dental service as and when it suits them, without a long commute to disrupt the working day, or so I assume.I would also imagine it would be useful for emergencies when flying and having dental issues.
I have also seen an emporiums of an adult nature in Vienna and Frankfurt.
I wonder what other unusual services can be procured at airports worldwide, that one would not consider whilst passing through an airport.
I am sure BT forum memebers can list many.

[nevereconomy]

Don Muang’s golf course between the runways??

[KennyK14]

I love going for a proper (i.e. cutthroat) shave in Munich airport, especially after landing very early.

[esselle]

20+ years ago there was a cinema showing pornographic movies in FRA.

Not sure if it had much patronage/

[capetonianm]

20+ years ago there was a cinema showing pornographic movies in FRA. Not sure if it had much patronage/

I was usually the only person there……… I mean, I am told it wasn’t well patronised …………. oops what a giveaway!

[nevereconomy]

Oodles of slot machines at LAS – cannot even
get to baggage claim without passing though them…

[fatbear]

There used to be a barber at Brussels Airport that I used on a couple of occasions.

[IanFromHKG]

The Rijksmuseum at AMS springs to mind. And thank God it’s there – what a terrible airport in every other respect (IME and IMHO!). I cannot understand why it used to keep winning awards. Admittedly I have never gone through there on the home airline (KLM) or their Skyteam partners, but as a oneworld traveller – what a freaking dump. Everywhere you need to go is miles away from wherever you start (even the airplane taxi to and from the stand makes you think they are using runways in a different country), the lounges are terrible and don’t even offer showers, the security queues are slow and run by staff who seem to have taken lessons from the surlier staff at LHR and then added their own overlay of grumpiness and tardiness, and… well, I could go on, but I know I digress…

Still – a museum at an airport. That is such a great idea and I wish more airports did something like that. HKG has a few half-hearted glass cabinets with stuff in them dotted around. Well, whoop-de-do… However, although I haven’t seen it, I understand that in SIN they have recreated an old-fashioned street of shophouses – the trouble is that is in the departure area. Anyone who has been to Singapore and is interested in that sort of thing will have seen the real thing already. So top marks for trying, but only about 3/10 for thinking it through.

KUL has a little forest garden in the centre of the satellite concourse. It’s tiny but quite nice. In fact, anything that lets you get outside is nice, and I wish more airports did that too.

[MarcusGB]

Schiphol always have their Rijksmuseum Museum, changed regularly, and a Piano “Please play me” for all, qualified Physiotherapists, lie down water spray massage bed, more in the Intercontinental Terminals. But truly unique and innovative concepts to enjoy your time, at any age.
I only travel through Schiphol with KLM and Sky Priority, but the airport has fantastic facilities for kids, including play areas, and a real library for adults and children, beautiful sculpture and art around, innovative seating from sleeper seats upstairs, to work benc areas, and family zones, terrific innovators through the whole airport. they make a clever use of colour, and Psychology built into the airport, planned 20 years ahead already, and 6 runways.

SIN of course has its Butterfly Sanctuary.
KUL has its real outside forest, which the airport was built around.
I do love to see around Asia, small roped of seating areas in terminals “Monks ONLY”! This could be a red sofa and two chairs in the middle of an airport.
In Thailand, a special Security escalator to a lane for Monks to go through security.

Imagine if we had “Priests and Bishops” lanes in Europe?!!!
Bishops and Cardinals may get a Priority lane…then being PC, we should really cater for all religions, or Spiritual practices.

I am sure if we had a “Naturist Lane”, it would be not only popular, but no “pat downs”, shoes or belts off, and very quick, no pockets (hopefully of sorts) to check into!!! The Full Body Scanner Position, may appear a bit Kinky. Perhaps subdivision lanes of Hairy / smooth?
A window “Have a look in” area at a £1 charge would raise huge amounts for charity…

[Charles-P]

In the 1970’s I seem to remember a “Madam Zelda” (or something similar) who gave Tarot readings at Jan Smuts in Johannesburg. Not sure if fortune telling before a flight is a good idea or not !

[BugAdvisor]

Prague Airport Terminal 2 (Schengen) landside, has a large Lego model of the airport. There are buttons that make the whole thing interactive.

[capetonianm]

Warsaw Airport (Chopin) has an aviation photo gallery on the viewing platform, it has some outstanding aircraft photography, mostly by Polish photographers, and is well worth a visit.

[canucklad]

We were talking about this a couple of days ago, my friends, including those of the fairer sex : ) where lamenting the amount of high street , high end shops that have squeezed into every nook and cranny of our airports, making air travel such as travail these days.

I pointed out that Schiphol have their own brand, , so you won’t see any recognised retailer names, am I still right ?

Of all the airports I’ve visited, I’d put forward the concept of a small town feel/ with all the different amenities that a small town has comes closest at Schiphol ?

[capetonianm]

Since someone else has mentioned it, I loathe the shopping experience at airports. If people are so driven and obsessed by consumerism that they feel the need to buy overpriced rubbish at every turn, that’s fine.

On the other hand I resent being forced to walk through a snaking maze of shops, each with competing sources of noise pollution and people thrusting unwanted leaflets and samples at me, and having to breathe the fumes of multiple cosmetic products, whilst people dither and dawdle and impede my passage.

Worse, all this is often at the expense of comfortable seating and boarding areas.

[MarcusGB]

Schiphol has many Brand name outlets these days, for food and restaurants, drinking facilities (Dutch Bar style).
I agree Canucklad…
It remains very spacious, very entertaining through the whole airport, very efficient, clean and contemporary, multi floor levels also make a difference. Only holdups are Immigration more and more these days, though EU Electronic gates are also at every entry point, and between schenghen and non, on the airside.

To add to the list, the old Fokker 100 on the roof of Amsterdam is a museum for all to walk into.
The fron cockpics and first rows of seats on a”Section” of a 737 cut out, between station and exit from the baggage area is also unique.

[Author]

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