For all of my traveling flying lifetime - which for me is since the mid-70's - I've seen signs in airports ominously warning that Lagos, Nigeria's airport is not up to snuff in one respect or another.
I never went to Lagos, and don't expect I will, but with 30+ years
of flights and airports behind me now...I have plenty of opinions
about other airports! Some of which will beg the question, just how
bad *is* Lagos for the FAA to warn us to stay away?
| North America |
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| Los Angeles |
Tucson
|
Anchorage | Austin | Boston | Calgary |
| Catalina Island | Chicago | Dallas | Denver | Dulles | Houston |
| Huntsville | Killeen Ft Hood | Kodiak Island | Little Rock | Mexico City | Miami |
| National | New Orleans | New York Kennedy | Newark | Oaxaca City | Orlando |
| Phoenix | Portland | Puerto Escondido | San Francisco | Seattle/Tacoma | Vancouver |
| Central America |
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| Belize City | Guatemala City | Panama City | San Jose | San Pedro Sula | |
| South
America |
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| Caracas | Cusco | Lima | Merida | Puerto Maldonado | São Paulo |
| Quito | |||||
| Caribbean |
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| Montego Bay |
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| Europe |
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| Dublin | Frankfurt | London Gatwick | London Heathrow | Paris | Pisa |
| Rome | |||||
| Asia / Pacific |
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| Delhi | Honolulu |
Sydney | Auckland |
Christchurch |
Queenstown |
| Africa / Middle
East |
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| Jeddah | Nairobi | |
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My "home" airport, until we moved to Arizona in 2001. It's a lot nicer visiting than it is to be based there, as the parking is expensive, getting dropped off a hassle, and security is slow. The terminals are old, there's no quick/easy way to get between terminals (do not say the bus outside security), and the amenities (e.g. food) unexciting. At least I know where the Starbucks are, and the always-busy In-n-Out Burger not far off the airport loop is a nice welcome or send-off if you have time.
The volume of traffic thru LAX is staggering. And I remember it before the loop road went double-decker! The Bradley International terminal is the best. That, or I just like seeing all the international destinations and travelers. Southwest (1) is good. United's renovations in 7/8 can't hide the fact that they suck.
But overall...too big and busy for its own good. And the Mary
Poppins PA voice has to go.
December 2011 update: AVOID INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONS HERE! It
totally sucks that you have to exit security to get to another
terminal. Customs is a zoo when you arrive here from overseas,
with one person directing you one way, then the next yelling at you for
going that way. Left hand, meet right hand, and get out of my way!
And please, get some concessions outside security, ok?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_International_Airport
My current home airport, 80 miles from Hereford. (Yes, Sierra Vista has an airport, but we have yet to make a convenient and cost-effective trip from there.) I like Tucson, liked it as a visitor (easy rental car access), as a local (cheap parking!), and as a host (easy pickups of visitors!). Recent renovations and a new parking structure have made it pretty nice.
Southwest and American are good here with friendly personnel.
United dropped its shuttle several years ago, which is good, because
they suck. :-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucson_Airport
Austin used to have a lousy little airport unbefitting a state
capitol, then Bergstrom AFB closed and Austin-Bergstrom International
Airport was
born. Nice, clean, and they have a Salt Lick restaurant in case you
weren't lucky enough to make it out to the real thing in Driftwood.
Winner.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin-Bergstrom_International_Airport
Ah, Big D. My hub most of the time since, unless we're taking
Southwest to LAX, we're on American for the frequent-flyer miles.
It's big, but easy to get around, not too much walking required if you
are not so inclined - the relatively new SkyTrain monorail not only
reminds me of Disneyland, but gets you across the airport in 5 minutes
tops, without exiting security. Terminal B is a bit long in the
tooth; United ought to be there. Best food is terminal D
(international). A and C have good choices too. E is unknown and
there is no F.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dfw_airport
Denver...the poster child for how not to build a functioning
baggage handling system. Millions of dollars and a few years later,
the system was scrapped after never actually functioning. At least
when I went there, they did not lose my checked bicycle. Huge airport
way out of town that got to pretend to be Dulles in the second Die
Hard movie. The main terminal certainly is interesting with the roof
design meant to evoke the grandeur of the Rockies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver_Airport
If you can't fly into National (I can't quite call it just
"Reagan"), then IAD is the next best thing. Farther out, so takes
longer to get into the city, but the airport does have those cool buses
that
take you to the inner terminals. Movie note, Denver stood in for IAD
in the second Die Hard movie. The "Mountain Bell" sign on the pay
phone (quaint in itself) was a giveaway.
On the downside, United is the major carrier at IAD, so maybe it
should be avoided, at all costs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dulles_Airport
If only Ft Huachuca was as well-served by the Sierra Vista airport
as Ft Hood is by Killeen (aka Robert Gray Army Airfield). Nice
little airport, free wireless, easy
in/out. Most of the guys on your flight will be wearing Army
green. The airport is not much for food but hey this *is*
Killeen, normally
described as three strip malls and a gas station. It is actually much
better than that but let's not push it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killeen-Fort_Hood_Regional_Airport
Of all of our flights, this one
is on the top five list of e-ticket rides. We flew out of
Anchorage - enjoying a Dove ice cream bar en route - only to find
Kodiak socked in with fog. The pilot prudently turned the plane
around and took us back to Anchorage, and to assuage our
disappointment, the flight attendants handed out more Dove ice cream
bars. We sat in the airport in Anchorage for a few hours before
they decided they could try again. On the plane we went, got our
third Dove bar of the day, and wondered what it would be like. Another cozy, easy to navigate airport. But make sure you have an
in-terminal rental car company, lest you go on the grand tour of
airport environs as we did in 1988 with Enterprise. Tucson may be
bigger in terms of number of gates.
One of the good things about Clinton being president was that there
were more direct flights in/out of Little Rock during his
administration. Go figure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Airport
The first thing you notice flying into Mexico City is the smog. Yikes! If you can get past the horror, you might see the snow-capped volcano peaks that surround the city. But the airport itself, not bad, once you figure out where Mexicana and Aeromexico have their international departures. Aeromexico just moved into a spiffy new terminal in 2007. Getting out of the airport, just remember to get a taxi autorizado, arranging for it at a ticket booth before going all the way out.
Our first time here was en route to Costa Rica, and I remember
seeing bleachers at the end of the runway where families were watching
the planes land and take off. Two subsequent visits were to visit the
city and en route to Oaxaca. The airport hotel was pretty nice, and
there were good restaurant choices to walk to at the hotel and in the
terminal.
If you speak Spanish, the airport is called Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México, and is also called Benito Juárez International Airport.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico_City_International_Airport
There's no escaping it...if you go to Central or South America, or the Caribbean, chances are you are connecting through Miami. (Or Houston if you fly Continental.) Ok outbound, tolerably so; customs on the return, ay caramba. Sprawling, lots of walking required, long security lines with marginally friendly (not) personnel (probably in training to become United employees). I am still annoyed at losing a bottle of jamaican jerk sauce to security even despite the fact that I *was* actually wrong. :-(
On the bright side, you can get food purporting to be Cuban at
places named Versailles. And I've bought some nice scarves there,
too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_International_Airport
DCA...District of Columbia Airport, get it?
For convenience once you are in DC, National can't be beat. Step outside, get on the Metro, whoosh.
Getting there...you are virtually guaranteed of it being a one- or two-stop trip, since bigger planes can't land there. Nervous flyers may not want to think of how low you come to bridges over the Potomac (I remember a bad bridge-hitting crash one winter) or think about 9/11.
But despite that, it's clean and good for business travelers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan_Washington_National_Airport
"We're jazzed you're here!", proclaims the banner as you make the
long walk to baggage claim. It may not be all that long really but
when you're tired... The jazz reference and the music playing over
the PA system underscore that you are in Louis Armstrong International
Airport. (I wonder why MSY as a code; who or what got supplanted by
the great jazz trumpeter? Answer: it used to be called Moisant
Field, although I still don't get MSY out of that...MSF must have
been taken already.)
Anyway, a late arrival does nothing for your impressions of food, amenities, etc., as the place is empty and the concessions closed. But there is a quite reasonable shuttle ($15) to the French Quarter, which you can pay for in advance on the web. Loads better, if you are sticking to the French Quarter, than renting a car that stays parked and racks up high hotel parking fees.
Coming back through at a decent hour - 0900 on a Thursday - the
place was busier. The seats are lousy and the amenities in the C
concourse are minimal. And who wants to go out and back in Security
to get to the good stuff, especially with a guard who inexplicably
insisted that we walk the Disneyland-like maze up to his position
instead of going under the barrier straight to him, this with
absolutely nobody in line!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Armstrong_New_Orleans_International_Airport
Danger! Avoid!
Oh, maybe they are ok now, but in January 1984, they sucked.
Mostly it was Pan Am (whose poor customer service philosophy United
later embraced); our flight home from Zürich on our honeymoon was
late
and we missed our connection, and Pan Am unceremoniously dumped us
without assistance. Surly customs agents didn't help. Or the fact
that we had to take a taxi to get to another terminal. Nope, not a
good experience. Haven't been back and don't plan to.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Airport
Boo! My first trip to Newark was a work trip to Ft Monmouth. Arrived late, it was dark and snowing, the roads were icy, and for the life of me I could not figure out how to get onto the New Jersey turnpike. What idiot decided the signs should be tiny? Other people complain about the "jug handle" road design, but those were easier to figure out than the dumb turnpike signs.
Anyway road difficulties aside, Newark was ok. Beware with rental
car, there are NO GAS STATIONS at the airport! Once you are the
airport road, you're hosed. The nearest gas, no joke, is 10-15 miles
out on the turnpike at one of those center service islands.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newark_Liberty_International_Airport
After the hustle and bustle of Mexico City, Oaxaca City was a nice
place to wind up. We were meeting Mark Pretti for a birding trip, and
his directions for getting seats on a colectivo were easy enough to
follow. We'd have never found the hotel (Azucenas) on our own...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xoxocotl%C3%A1n_International_Airport
To quote Bette Davis...what a dump! The joke (or so I hear) is that MCO stands for "Mickey's Corporate Office", but if Disney ran it, it would look a lot better. They ought to sweep in and rebuild the whole thing, considering how much traffic goes through there destined for Disney World. Or they could give up and give it to United...
Old facilities, ripped seats, duct-taped carpets. Minimal, lousy
food concessions who closed up way too early. We flew here in 2007 to
go to Daytona Beach; maybe we can fly directly there next time from
somewhere else.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_International_Airport
A nice small (2 gates or so) airport on the sunny Mexican tropical
coast southeast of Acapulco. Sit and watch the trees sway, hope the
ceiling fans stay on, and watch for your plane, the plane, to fly
in.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Escondido_International_Airport
The main thing to note about SFO is the fog. On time? Ha. We
used to be routinely delayed when we took the United shuttle from LAX
to Tucson, because the plane invariably came from SFO. We have
managed to largely avoid this airport except for a flight to
Australia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Airport
Nice airport on the coast, but we didn't stick around, as we were
headed to Gallon Jug airstrip and the Chan Chich "resort". There was
a nice observation deck on the top of the terminal building where you
could watch the few planes come and go.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_S._W._Goldson_International_Airport
See San Pedro Sula...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Aurora_International_Airport
Strangely, not memorable. That's probably good. :-) We likely had
a nice view of the canal from the air.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tocumen_International_Airport
Don't remember the airport per se - only how we got there (via
Mexico City, Guatemala City, and San Pedro Sula), and the tech-less
approach to ticketing and check-in employed by LACSA (the national
airline of Costa Rica). The check-in line at LAX took three hours to
negotiate and I don't think SJ was much better. Seemed like my
pre-conception of what a mexican bus ride would be like, if only
someone were carrying a chicken or two.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Santamar%C3%ADa_International_Airport
The swaying palm trees, blue skies, wispy clouds, the warm scent of humidity, soldiers with AK-47s in the shadows of the palms...welcome to Central America.
This was a stop on our way to Costa Rica in 1991. The sign on the
terminal - Generallisimo something-or-other aeropuerto internacional
de San Pedro Sula - was bigger than the building. Didn't leave the
aircraft, so your guess is as good as mine what it was like
inside.
The airport is actually named for Ramón Villeda Morales, who
served as president of Honduras from 1957 to 1963. I swear there
was some other name on the terminal.
If you're wondering why "Sula", in the native language "usula" means
"valley of birds".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram%C3%B3n_Villeda_Morales_International_Airport
We flew into Simón Bolívar International Airport of
Maiquetia (aka Caracas international airport) at night, and the
city lights seemed
beautiful. Later we found out most of the hillsides were populated by
migrants ("nicaraguans", sniffed our local guide) in shacks, who
tapped into the electric lines illegally, often with tragic results.
The airport? No recollection, but we were met and handled by the
local tour operator, who shepherded us through customs. Certainly
leaving did not live down to our Quito experience.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracas_airport
Flying into our highest airport, just short of 11000 ft, was
exciting. Cusco occupies a very high, long valley. We flew along one
long ridgeline and could see the runway below. After passing the end,
we made the expected big diving u-turn to drop into the valley and
land on the uphill-sloping runway. Andean musicians in colorful dress
greeted the arriving passengers, making you feel you'd really arrived.
Posters of Machu Picchu and a bottled oxygen stand (unnecessary, IMHO)
added to the ambiance. Cusco definitely marked the start of our
Peruvian adventure.
The airport is CUZ and not CUS because not only does CUS belong to
the Columbus Municipal Airport in New Mexico, but because the spelling
of Cusco has varied (it's a transliteration, after all, from a language
(Quechua) that wasn't written - the closest they come now is Qosqo or
Qusqu.) and only relatively recently was decided to be officially Cusco
and not Cuzco. (Well, English-language documents still say
Cuzco. Whatever.) One interesting tidbit from
Wikipedia - they say the runway is "fully paved". That's nice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alejandro_Velasco_Astete_International_Airport
13 degrees south, coastal, big city, fog...can you say Los Angeles
or San Diego? We arrived in the wee hours, so baggage claim was
alarmingly slow, I think there was one guy shuttling between the
terminal and the plane. But eventually our bags arrived, having
negotiated transfers in Dallas and Miami. Getting out and finding our
driver was easy, and traffic not a problem (so early in the morning).
On the return the check-in and security were efficient. And we even
(and finally) found Cusqueña dark beer. Winner!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Ch%C3%A1vez_International_Airport
Merida was another high airport, but what I remember most was
looking out the window, past Robert's pale face, at the mountains
*right there*. A tight, high valley.
A web search reveals that the airport - Alberto Carnevali Airport -
is listed on a page of "world's
most dangerous airports". They say:
We love checking out the world's most dangerous airports--at least via YouTube. The latest to join our list is Alberto Carnevali Airport in Merida, Venezuela. Reader maky0317 writes:
The airport of the city of Merida, Venezuela is in between a valley with 17,000-foot mountains and houses at the end off the runway... As of matter of fact a passenger plane crash after take off on the 21st of February.
Thanks for sharing...
A lot like Puerto Escondido, except with some nice crafts
concessions (ok some good, some schlocky) with wares from the
rainforest. I bought a pretty embroidered red shawl here and an
embroidered folk art wall hanging (which at $60, was a quarter of the
cost in Lima). Terminal though was hot and sticky; good thing we
didn't actually try to clean up before getting there, since we just
got soaked again standing in line.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Maldonado_International_Airport
Robert really enjoyed the deep female voice sexily announcing
flight arrivals and departures. "Campo
Grange...Recife...Cuiaba..."
She was better than the fake Mary Poppins voice at LAX, at least.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Paulo-Guarulhos_International_Airport
At an elevation of about 10000 ft, not our highest airport - Cusco gets that nod at closer to 11000 ft - but exciting nevertheless. We were warned about a few things in Ecuador - old lady pickpockets, don't open your mouth in the shower - but nobody warned us what a free-for-all the check-in for our return flight home would be.
Line? What line? Concepts of order and personal space were completely lacking, but we were loathe to push ourselves since we didn't want to be "ugly americans". But the last straw was when a tour operator walked past all of us to the counter with a stack of passports. Time was running out as our boarding time approached and we still had to get through security. So Robert watched the bags while I vaulted to the counter, past people and stepping on their luggage, and practically smacked the agent in the face with our tickets as she handed papers back to someone else.
All rather distasteful, and we were both annoyed at having to act like that, but our own guide Peter English (who had observed the entire scene) said, "congratulations, you figured out how it works!".
And the kicker was, the plane was overweight, and they were paying big $ to get people and their luggage off, up to $1500/person (in 1996!) plus an overnight hotel room. But not even the promise of $3000 could make us face that check-in again.
Airline? Might have been United.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariscal_Sucre_International_Airport
Robert says Ireland is really green. :-) That aside, this airport has one of the coolest local names -- Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath in Irish. Niece Mo flew in there summer of 2008, and says: Customs was really easy to go through and everyone in the airport was quite friendly. It is a bit dumpy as far as airports go. Everything is older and looks sort of dingy. Additionally, you have to walk quite far to change terminals (though I didn't have to deal with that). Really easy to get into the city from here(great bus service), but terrible baggage claim. It took me an hour after I got off the plane to get my luggage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_Airport
Big, clean, efficient...German. Always seems to rain when we are
there. There was a nice hotel outside the airport near the entrance
to Rhein-Main Air Base (where I nearly got my camera confiscated).
There we watched a thrilling Tour de France stage (Lance crashes! He
gets up! He attacks!).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_Airport
Mind the step! Specifically, look the other way before you step off the curb outside the terminal, lest you get flattened by a car driving on the left side of the road.
Recollections of Heathrow - big, ok, tight security (thanks to the IRA).
Niece Mo adds: Great airport, but massive. glad I don't have to figure too much out there. If you fly from Ireland, they apparently don't care who is entering the country as there was no form of customs whatsoever and no one checked my passport. I was kind of bummed not to get my stamp from England. :-( [The beauty of travelling between EU countries...or not... lyw] Guess the IRA is no longer of concern? Great for getting into the city though. Wonderful direct and easy tube service!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathrow_Airport
One thing sums up the Galileo Galilei International Airport -
awesome cappuccini from a vending
machine. No kidding!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisa_Airport
When in Rome...don't necessarily do as the Romans do. Layover
to/from Nairobi. I well remember the group of
chain-smoking idiots puffing away while seated directly beneath the No
Smoking sign. We opted for an insane dash by train to make the
fastest-ever visit of the Vatican rather than sit there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci_Airport
The country in miniature - huge, busy, colorful, and full of really nice people. For the most part I people-watched, gawking at the beautiful saris and other traditional dress.
As you might guess, it was a well-run airport, even if it did look
a little used. Officially named Indira Gandhi International
Airport it is the second busiest airport in India - who is first?
Mumbai (Bombay)?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi_Airport
The soft breezes greet you gently, and the Wiki-Wiki Shuttle takes
you between terminals. There are beautiful gardens at the airport
leading to decent "first glimpse of the islands" birding
opportunities. The airport is kind of old but with this scenery, who
can complain?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honolulu_Airport
The surprise here, if you hadn't done your homework, was the elevation. We were watching our altitude drop on the monitor, arriving at night, couldn't see much out the windows, and touched down at about 5300 feet, provoking noticeable gasps out of not a few passengers!
That aside...Nairobi was probably the closest we'll get to Lagos. The airport reflected the state of the country, a benign neglect since independence resulting in the deterioration of the infrastructure. At least the runways did not look like the roads.
Our vote for worst airline stems from this trip...worse even than
United or Pan Am...Alitalia. They still allowed smoking, and although
we were nominally in the non-smoking section, we were the first row
behind the smokers. Our request to move resulted in the flight
attendants taking their smoke breaks next to us and flicking ash on
our heads. Ugh.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jomo_Kenyatta_International_Airport