As a passenger, Singapore Changi with the garden and waterfall.
Not a pilot, can’t answer from that point of view.
Madeira is pretty cool. The runway is on stilts, the approach is tricky and requires training, the cafe has a big balcony so you can watch the pilots do a tricky landing on a stilted runway with a beer.
I’m a simple man, so I’ll say Las Vegas airport because I can vape, drink, and gamble inside the terminal while waiting for our plane.
I like the Colorado Springs airport. Small lines and chill vibes.
Cologne, because it’s my home airport and it is nice and small and cozy. The wait for checked baggage is ridiculously long though.
Frankfurt International (FRA). As long as it’s not terminal 2 for American Airlines.
Never had long queues there. Always the cheapest flights. Solid choice of restaurant.
Just wish the signs for the monorail were more prominent and less confusing
My old home airport, Berlin-Tegel, was wonderful. Only 50m from the entrance to the plane. Now they closed and I have to use that abomination in Schönefeld.
Otherwise, Singapore-Changi deserves all the praise. Tons of food, monorails to everywhere (except that one cheap terminal), gigantic shopping mall, orchids, immigration without being interviewed by some stupid agent, check-in for Singapore Airlines even possible at the wrong terminal.
Hollywood Burbank Airport
Its the only airport I’ve ever flown in or out of that lets you board an deplane from both the front and back doors on a 737.
Baggage claim is actually outdoors! You get your bag and are standing about 30 feet from the arrivals pickup road.
Its a fun small airport with a prime location.
Baggage claim is actually outdoors!
Maui and Kona airports are like this too, except the entire airports are essentially outdoors. They have some rooms you can sit in but everything else is under canopies in an open-air area.
In my limited experience I cannot stress enough how much I prefer small regional airports.
Walk in, bags checked and through security in 5 minutes, walk a short distance through an area that’s not crowded and not full of shops, and be seated near the gate with a coffee a few minutes later. After a short wait, because you don’t need to get there an hour or more early, walk across a bit of open tarmac to a plane that’s not bursting at the seams, then take off after hardly any taxiing. So good.
Counterpoint to this is that security is bored as fuck and thinks everyone is a smuggler. We had to open and ruffle through our kids’ bag of Goldfish crackers and I saw security make a veteran empty his entire dufflebag on the security counter “just because” at the airport in Bismark, ND. Literally all 30 people (it was jam packed!) in line had to go through some form of “enhanced security”
Doha and Bengaluru
My favorite ones are:
Singapore - Beautiful, plenty to do and explore, and great lounges in general.
Istanbul - The Turkish Airlines lounge is among the best I’ve ever visited. A bit crowded though.
Amsterdam - Lots to do, efficient design, and fun to explore.
Copenhagen - Very efficient designHonorable mention: Aberdeen. Small, simple, and with a nice pub. Could’ve used a better eatery, though.
I’m not the most travelled person ever but I’ve always had good experiences at Edinburgh airport. Staffs been lovely and the security has good (relatively) smoothly.
Edinburgh is a banger. Great support for families, spacious, and generally chill - decent transport links too.
The departures lounge is starting to sprawl with retail now though, but can’t have everything I suppose.
Tampa International Airport
I give thanks every time we land at home. Our airport is really awesome. Good layout, beautiful, long security line usually but otherwise so good.
I agree, having flown in and out of there a number of times, plus a layover once. I actually enjoy the tram rides out to the terminal areas.
Portland, OR is easy and has some nice carpet
Have you seen it since the remodel? It’s fucking gorgeous now.
And alpacas
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