Tiny, staff don't even speak English, chaotic inside, scanning pocket luggage is an absolute nightmare as the staff just throw your phones anywhere leaving anyone to pick em up.

Best - Newcastle.

Huge range of bars, good few (but expensive) take-away chains, the only airport I know where there's a smoking area past security, coming in the border police are good craic.

Transport links are amazing, you can get from Newcastle Airport to London in about 6 hours with only 1 changeover.

Is Waterford still in existence, sometimes small is good flew to Hahn from KERRY and found kerry to be a decent enough option.

Seriously Amsterdam one of the best, and Paris CDG and BVA both horrible places.

When I went to Alcudia last month and saw the smoking sign I almost burst into happy tears, smokers will know what I mean by when once you're past security the wait for the next cig is never ending 

I was coming back though Bydgoszcz last Friday and they actually have what can only be described as a giant phone-box for smoking right beside the departure gate. You pay 1 Zloty in the turnstile and then go in and have your fag. Can accommodate about 3 people I would say !

Monstrously expensive though (and eerily quiet). I despise Manchester Airport. Pretty sure I'm on some list there as always get the full treatment at security and the ques are always bastardrous.

Its been a good few years since ive been here but Bourgas in Bulgaria used to have an open terrace for smoking

Amsterdam Airport has this too. On the D-Pier. And best of all: It's in Murphy's Irish Pub!

My favourite airport in Europe is probably Oslo Gardermoen airport, lovely place altogether, good service, good array of shops and food and so on - although Barcelona is a close second. Vienna airport is nice enough for the same reasons. Schiphol is very good. I'd actually include Dublin T2 as one of the nicer ones as well if it weren't for the fact that you've to basically walk from there to T1 for your flight in reality. Most of the German airports are lovely with a notable exception.

Some middling airports are the low-cost airline ones that are actually quite nice for small places - Brussels Charleroi is a nice one like that, as well as a decent few of the UK airports that aren't in London - Liverpool and Newcastle would come to mind.

The worst airport i've been in Europe by a mile is Paris Beauvais. Anyone who has been there will attest to that. An absolute sh*thole that's two hours outside where i need to be. There are also some of the low-cost ones where there's just nothing there at all like Krakow, Bratislava, Oslo Rygge (also miles away). Leeds Bradford an appalling sh*thole as well. The exception to the German rule is Berlin Schonefeld - an absolute dive of a place. 

Then there are ones that don't neatly fit into any of those. Budapest, if you're getting an Aer Lingus flight i'm sure is lovely, it's a great airport, but i've only ever got Ryanair and Wizzair from there so they make you stand in a shed for about 2 hours before you can board. Also brussels Zaventem, i was there a couple months ago; looks nice but security (understandably) ramped up to the nines makes it difficult to get around in it

TBF Krakow has got a revamp and the rail link to the city is the business, still needs better food outlets

 

Stansted - grand don't mind it at al apart for the frigging delays but not a sbad as Gatwick

 

Gatwick South - fair if your flight is on time, if not expect to spend 30 mins driving around waiting for a take off slot

 

Gatwick North - terminal itself is ok gate 55;s sh*t holes with precious little seating , poor mobile signal and guanrenteed delays

 

Luton  - grand to fly into sh*t to fly out of

 

Heathrow - was pleasantly surprised when I meet up with the Hornets I think in Terminal 2 on way to srajevo  - very nice and security staff very pleasant

 

Special mention to Chicago O Hare ( yeah I know its not in Europe but whatever terminal I was in flying home  fuk all before security and a drinks cart after security )  disgrace

I'm going to take issue with this, and not just because I'm from here. There aren't many airports ya can rock up to with the plane out on the tarmac spinning the propellers (not big enough for jets) about 20 minutes before take off & still get on to it with little more than a ' Jaysus lads, ye cut it a bit fine, try & be on time next time' .

If its pubs or cafes or shops yer after, then, yes, it is a terrible airport. If yer looking for the shortest security queue anywhere outside of owning yer own private jet, or an airport that you can go from front door to plane in 20 minutes, its the best one I've ever been in & I wish they were all like that. Airport currently has no flights to anywhere after VKM (I think they were called, Belgian crowd) pulled their last route (to Birmingham I think) nearly a year ago & future looks bleak enough unless they get another carrier in, and there aren't many carriers operating planes small enough to land there & have a viable route, nearly all the small ones have been tried at this stage. 

Best ? Singapore, and if its shops & pubs you want, you won't go wrong there . Generally prefer the Ryanair ex-military airfield type ones as they are inevitably quieter, with generally less fcuking eejits fluting about the place, any of the smaller ones really, some nice examples in Poland, Gdansk, Poznan, Wroclaw, Krakow are all decent airports. 

Worst ? Paris CDG. Won't hear of anything else, though I'm not fond of Luton, mainly due to the fact it seems so miserable, and its always raining outside, and tis miserable. And you always end up in that ridiculously crowded main departure place for an hour while waiting on your gate to appear on a screen, before you are eventually ushered down some dull, dingy corridor to a tiny waiting room that hasn't seen paint since 1973 before heading out, in the inevitable rain, to a quarter mile walk across the tarmac in the dark. 

Dublin I have to say has improved massively, though I do think it still has ridiculously long security queues at times, and an odd time, passport checking can be slow on the way back in. Improve those 2 things, and it is probably one of the best for the sheer amount of passengers it handles. 

And seeing as I'm replying to a Cork chap, can you or someone else tell me exactly why it is that you wait forever for a checked bag to arrive at the carousel in Cork, especially on a nighttime flight ? Inside the terminal & through passport control in 5 minutes, wait an hour for the bag. WTF is all that about, the plane is beside the f**king building. Other than that, a grand airport too. 

Aye i was in it a lot of times but the most recent is when it was still being done up!

Shannon: dat's not Limerick Cidday

Concur with Deise

Favourite is defo Singapore! Has absolutely everything! Dubai not fair off either along with Amsterdam. 

Worst: Perth, Darwin and Istanbul is an absolute hell hole. Helsinki is an expensive sh*t hole also with one bar. Abu Dhabi is another hell hole! 

Hated the size of it, my baggage collection place was 40 mins walk from where I got into the Airport

Speaking of baggage collection it's the only downside of Newcastle airport, they typically put multiple flights onto a single baggage collection conveyor belt if they land at the same so you end up with about 200-300 people doing what looks to be like a big mass version of Bruce Forysth's Generation Game where you had to remember the items going along the belt 

Meh: Heathrow, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester

sh*tholes: Charles De Gaule, Beauvais, Termini, Mykonos, Leeds Bradford

Some disgraceful American/Canadian Airports: Kennedy, LAX, Newark and Toronto - absolute dumps. f**king pidgeons flying around Kennedy sh*tting everywhere

Do like Atlanta though for a layover to west coast. a million different food places

Comfortable seats that you can lie down and stretch out on.

 

If we'reexpanding this discussion to worldwide, then Hong Kong International and Incheon (Seoul) airports stand head and shoulders above all others;  Startling efficient transports links, efficient security with brisk moving queues, vast shopping malls and food courts.

I will throw this one out .

Kai Tak ( in Hong Kong ) was the best airport in the world to fly into and land just a massive thrill to say the least .

Colombo the worst I was in, no bar and the airport duty free didn't take the local currency, although this has changed I think

Showing your age there Murph 

Next thing, you'll be telling us New York Idlewild was always your favourite 

I'd have loved that, shame it's closed.

 

 

Have no problems with the location of the likes of Hahn or Beauvais just because there not Paris or Frankfurt and normally only use them as a layover but Beauvais is no longer suitable for the number of passengers using the airport. The terminal building is about 5 times too small and the security q's are almost out into the carpark. Going to belgrade we had about a 6 hour layover so headed into the beautiful town of Beauvais for a few beers but struggled to find a cab to bring us back so ended up getting a lift off a liverpool lad that was walking along the street. Arrived back in the airport about 2 hours before take off to find about 500 people in a q for security, if we had not skipped the q we would have missed our flight.

Only downside was the Hampshire Cops interviewing us all flying to Lyon to check none of us had football banning orders !

Must have been a strong lad.

Good point BM, I thought Byrner would have loved a thread like this

 

I liked Hong Kong and Singapore while transiting to and from Australia 7 years ago.

 

Warsaw Modlin has to be the worst one I've been to, I'd have hated to have been stuck there for hours with a delayed flight.

 

I'm sure Lyon airport will be nice when they've finished the work on it but all I saw of it when coming home from the Euros was a series of portacabins and temporary walkways. And as mentioned, quite expensive to get to. Taxi from my hotel (6am flight so had no choice) to the express tram stop  outside Part Deux station and the express tram came to about €30 altogether.  

Best: City of Derry (LDY, EGAE) (Eglinton)

An early brand for 'City of Derry'.

The only airport I've flown in and out of for domestic football.  Beautiful approach following coastline and views of the Foyle estuary.  Green, then Blue..then Green all at low altitude, very nice.

Logan air (?) (LM) used to fly from DUB.  Ryanair (FH) used fly from elsewhere and the public transport service(s) [bus] met the FH flight but not the LM flight.

An early morning taxi got me back in time for the flight, after an all-nighter, but it meant missing out on the inviting heaped sausage and scrambled egg in the restaurant.  it was quite a sight and I still think about it.

Worst: Baldonnel/Casement Aerodrome (EIME)

The Irish Govt. Dept. of Defence used the excuse of the underused flight paths, east to west landing, as part of the objections to planning for Eircom Park in Citywest.  Eventually FAI's budget for planning was being reached (2.8m approx spent for 3m planning budget) and FAI Exec Comm. decision to suspend/cancel further work on the project.  An unrecorded Irish Airport Disaster.

Have they addressed the cost of parking at Belfast City yet, got stung there going to Glasgow for the euro2016 qualifier

Now that he is actually studying to be a pilot he doesn't have the time to be on ybig preteneding to be a pilot. Which by my logic will mean that when he qualifies as a pilot in a few years, he'll reregister as BourneF, and will pretend he's an 18 year old rookie in love with the aviation game

always enjoyed derry airport for the pints before you step onto the plane. you can get from front door to departure in a few minutes too.

kerry airport is another favorite of mine.

in the uk inverness is my favorite smaller airport. beautiful scenery going in and out. 

of the london ones prefer heathrow T5. Stansted has made improvements and is now quick on arrival but it is still a horrible experience.

i love airports.

 

I had a quick scan last night through the thread, id echo most points from a costumers point of view obviously I have other experiences in various airports from ATC, ground crew etc.

Singapore is possibly the best in the world, outstanding gym etc Dubai is also pretty astonishing. Modlin is possibly the worst I have ever encountered in terms of facilities and security the fact I was able to get a 2 litre bottle of Coke through is scary... Dubrovnik is pretty relaxed with their security also but not to that level. BA's terminal is fantastic, T4 a nightmare 

Personally i like quieter airports, i.e. Belfast City, Dublin, Belfast and now Southampton which later tonight I board a flight to Belfast for a few days less queues less hassle in general i.e. Gatwick when a passenger lands with Easy, RYR, Jet2? I think now also, they will have a 15-20 min walk to the exit.. Madness. I love CDG, its a magnificent sight, on approach.. lovely, New York shocking, just behind LAX for the worst ATC going. 

Airports will continue to improve and grow due to passenger demand, i.e. RYR released a statement yesterday which suggested they are looking close to 1000 pilots FO's in the coming year, Easyjet 500 FO's Jet2 (not sure on the exact number 200/300?) Thomson, recruiting, BA well on average we've had 30-40 a month from Easy recently.. there has never been a better time to get into the industry there simply isn't enough cadet pilots at the likes of CTC,CAE,FTE the three main schools. I'd expect a lot of airports to upgrade their facilities as Dublin have/intend to do and Belfast international who very recently had a major overhaul.

Bob, Commercial Pilot training is roughly 14 months... depending on what airline the cadet get type rated at. 

 

My sister lives nearby so I use it a lot.

 

It's a fcuking airport, I dont eat there, shop there, drink there - I use it because they have airplanes there. Get in and get out.

 

I like Madrid airport.

 

 

Also washing my hands whilst someone washes their feet beside me was an interesting experience, I understand cultures and prayer time for some people but surely they can wash their feet in a more easier and hygienic way.

Then the airport staff give the shop/cafe staff a good run for their money in terms of how helpful they are, and for what its worth the poxy national airline are a disgrace. Phew...rant over. 

half the problem with stansted is the name, London Stansted. It's not London. It's not even close. It should be called Essex airport if anything. or just Stansted. but not london. by the time you get there on the poxy train from liverpool st you've already had a miserable experience. it stops in tottenham for christ sake. nothing should ever stop in tottenham. 

I just don't understand it, an airport is my idea of hell.

  - Perfect.

I've a friend who recently joined Thomson on the 787 the views they see heading towards the Caribbean are beautiful.

Source? I worked in the airport and used to do it

Apart from Man City's unbeaten run in the EPL.

 

Sorry for going off-topic for a moment there but I just couldn't resist that one.

 

Any particular reason you hate LAX Byrner?

Fair point, comment retracted!

Lately I like travelling through Vienna as it's affordable, lounge access is easy with a daypass you can buy on the spot, and a good network to connect onwards.

London Stansted probably the worst, as the facilities are adequate enough, but the fact you can;t do on airside transfer is just bizarre. Especially in an interational hub like London!

Also pretty bad were Faro in Portugal (security understaffing a nightare) and Miami is just a big ordeal to travel onwards when connecting as the immigration process really adds onto the connecting time. Always stress to get through there.

I believed the inbreds still liked the south of France, most have houses there just to piss the locals off. Think a few like Sardinia too, would imagine Palma be full of ordinary Tans.

Agree re Beauvais, a kip of the highest order with the most uncooperative staff I've ever come across.

I have a theory about those machines, the problem with them is where they are positioned, there's a massive f**king window behind you as you queue for them and on a sunny day the brightness from the window means that the camera can't focus properly because there's too much light going into the lens.

If you ever spend time queueing up keep an eye on the people ahead of you and you will see that more people who use the machines on the left hand side have problems than those on the right because the ones on the right don't get as much sunshine on the camera.

It is great for connecting Cambridge and Ireland alright, not that I will be using it for a lot now! Cambridge is a bit of a kip too mind.

I walked from the runway, through a small building and I was in the car park.

 

Has anyone on here, apart from Baron von Richthofen, been on a Fokker 50, great fun.

 

I meant the city, they are closing the airport forpassenger flights.

 

Alicante itself is a decent airport let down by some of the mongs going home from Benidorm to Burnley and Ballyfermot.

I have, not today or yesterday though, must be the guts of 25 years ago now. An aircraft once memorably described as a Renault 4L with wings 

yep, agreed. terrible main bar... 

best thing about gatwick airport (apart from the nandos) is the small "london bar" upstairs. Punk IPA and a local sussex pale ale on tap. 

Dark Star? Gatwick is hell, the worst of the worst, an overpriced and awful quality chicken and chips won't save it. I recommend a trip to nearby Crawley, a beautiful place, even by English big town standards.

Newcastle I paid £6.90 for a Burger King Happy Meal and in Palma I paid €7 for a Baguette chicken sandwich