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Original poster

Worst airport you have been in

369 replies

disappointed101 · 27/12/2024 20:06

Travelling through BHX this evening. Looks like a building site, no staff to be seen at check in, then a poor guy turns up apologising for lack of staff. Security an absolute mess, lots of staff having a lovely chat whilst the queue moves at a snails pace, nobody taking control. Awful. It’s got to be up with the worst experience I’ve had. Luckily our flight is delayed due to fog, else we wouldn’t have made it. What’s your worst experience in an airport?

OP posts:
AuntyMabelandPippin · 27/12/2024 21:28

Can't remember who said Glasgow, but we fly from there frequently and it's great.

Bristol is an absolute shithole. Not big enough for the amount of passengers, just awful. Never gone through security in less than forty minutes there, I was once stood for an hour and a half to get my luggage through, then they had the cheek to tell me I'd need to hurry up through, as if it was my fault the check in was slow...

TwistedWonder · 27/12/2024 21:28

Ohwhatfuckeryitistoride · 27/12/2024 21:27

Haven’t rttft, but Sharm. Hot, really shit food, thieving security guards, filthy. Then Marrakesh. Beautiful building, but omg the queues, (I know security) queue to get in, no online check in, so paper check in with a huge queue, then the slalom queue filling the whole hall.

Took us 3 hours from landing to get through security at Marrakesh last month.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 27/12/2024 21:29

MrsTerryPratchett · 27/12/2024 20:31

This.

Richest city in the richest nation on earth. LAX is a shitty shitty crap hole. Rude staff, terrible organisation, awful tech. They randomly close TSA in places they are still flying from. The bus is dreadful and slow. Dirty, disorganised and smelly.

The only thing that helps is avoiding anyone well-paid in a uniform. If you ask cleaners, retail staff, anyone paid shit wages, they are unfailingly polite and lovely and helpful.

I HATE LAX and they should make T-shirts that say that.

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God yeah, the bus. It's like getting a bus around a city. A city with a traffic jam. And you feel like a criminal when they do the narcotics dog walking up and down in front of you. And then you want to punch their handler cos they treat the dog like a robot and not like a living thing, yanking at its lead and barking instructions at it. Up and down up and down. i get it's a boring job but still......

Business class lounge is sublime though. I felt like an A-lister.

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Flying Holidays
natwalesrug · 27/12/2024 21:29

I think Palma airport is horrible,packed in a small space and when son lost his passport between checking in and passport control absolutely no help from anyone!! Son had to stay in Palma for two days to get the paperwork sorted out..thank you Brexit..he could have come with us with ID prior Brexit.
Best airport Vancouver..a great experience inwards and outwards,friendly helpful staff and a tranquil atmosphere.

ItsCalledAConversation · 27/12/2024 21:29

CMOTDibbler · 27/12/2024 20:19

To be fair to BHX, it is an actual building site at the moment.
LAX is one of my most hated airports as it is always chaos there and the staff are so rude, but my worst airport ever was in Belarus where you constantly felt you would be arrested, it was freezing cold (-30'C outside), no food or drink to be had and the general vibe was soviet era police station.
My favourite airports are Linkoping, Sweden which basically only exists due to the Saab aerospace factory and is minute, but the same people check you in, do the security screen, let you out to the plane and load your luggage. There is free coffee on a trolley in the check in area.
Okinawa is my absolute favourite as it is both commercial and military so fast jets take off on the same runway. From the JAL lounge it is like an airshow with the backdrop of the pacific ocean

This poster’s life reads like a James Bond novel. @CMOTDibbler are you a spy??

Cynic17 · 27/12/2024 21:29

Manchester.

wizzywig · 27/12/2024 21:29

@FKAT AGREE!!! luton airport is the mutts nuts. No idea what people are moaning about.

NoNoNona · 27/12/2024 21:29

MUC
Exeter
FRA is local to me and fabulous
CMB is also ok, if flying business class
Manchester was dreadful, had to fly through there twice, when my father was dying/to go to his funeral. The airport was not wonderful, but I was as scared as hell of all the people getting drunk.

MontyNojangles · 27/12/2024 21:30

Puzzledandpissedoff · 27/12/2024 21:25

BHX - it's been a building site for at least 2 years and shows no signs of getting better. Even the staff are utterly sick of it. Queues outside in marquees in all weathers. Dire

So I've been told, @MontyNojangles, but when last there in May I'm certain the notices said it would be completed "in time for summer" ... though with the way practically everything's run in the UK I should have known better Hmm

Otherwise I agree about Luton; it pains me to think this complete sh1thole will be some folks' introduction to the UK, but so it is

Flew out of there end of June, crossed into July for the return and it was just as shit coming in as going out.
Can't say if it's improved since then but definitely wasn't complete for summer 😒

pollyglot · 27/12/2024 21:30

Guangzhou. Never, ever, ever again.

Winterskyfall · 27/12/2024 21:32

Decades ago Dar es Salaam. The toilets were literally filled with shit right to the very brim. Utterly foul.

More recently Chennai - also filthy loos but nothing like Dar es Salaam.

Cynic17 · 27/12/2024 21:32

OverthinkingOlive · 27/12/2024 20:39

Zurich. Awful

Zurich is fab - very efficient and good food.

Gatekeeper · 27/12/2024 21:33

Pula Airport back in early 1980s...was like a garden shed and totally disorganised, boiling hot etc BUT the pilots were unbelievably beautiful with their Slav cheekbones and grey eyes!

AdaColeman · 27/12/2024 21:33

Ciampino Rome, chaotic and no information being given, little space and almost no seating in departures. Never again!

Athens, no visible staff, travellers sitting on the floor, blazing temperature.

youngerself · 27/12/2024 21:33

I am so embarrassed by BHX. It's my local airport and was so nice.
It's like the third world.
I went to Manchester 3 years ago and it was horrible but better than BHX is now.

I go to various Spanish airports regularly and they put BHX to shame both for organisation and appearance.

JustMyView13 · 27/12/2024 21:34

Gatwick.

gotmyknickersinatwist · 27/12/2024 21:34

Gatwick. I fucking hate it.

samarrange · 27/12/2024 21:34

TwistedWonder · 27/12/2024 21:28

I really like Southend airport and I’m pleased EasyJet starting more flights again. It’s very small but it’s really well organised and easy.

Another vote for Southend. So easy to get to anywhere in Essex or Central London by direct train.

I was waiting for my bag one time and a lady from the airport was helping someone with a wheelchair. I said "Is this place as nice to work in as it is to pass through?" and she said "It's wonderful, I've never been happier in a job".

As large airports go, Palma (Majorca) is not bad. You might have to walk a long way, but everywhere is well organised and there are more clean loos than you can shake a stick at. In fact I don't think I've been to a bad Spanish airport. Security there always seems to be pretty quick too.

WaterWall22 · 27/12/2024 21:35

youngerself · 27/12/2024 21:33

I am so embarrassed by BHX. It's my local airport and was so nice.
It's like the third world.
I went to Manchester 3 years ago and it was horrible but better than BHX is now.

I go to various Spanish airports regularly and they put BHX to shame both for organisation and appearance.

Couldn't agree more, it's such a shame how hideous BHX is now

MummyJ36 · 27/12/2024 21:35

Fiji, although this was over a decade ago. I had a flight home via LAX and it was over 20 hours in total. The airport had zero facilities. I remember boarding the plane and just praying they had some food and drink onboard! Turns out on an 11 hour flight you got one sandwich and a bottle of water. Safe to say I felt pretty rough when we arrived in LA!

Lauraa7 · 27/12/2024 21:35

Frankfurt, they make you walk for miles, it is so grey and the security are rude.
Birmingham, when I landed there in November I got through in 15 mins - was very impressed.
Singapore is the best!

CurlyhairedAssassin · 27/12/2024 21:35

Missmarymack2 · 27/12/2024 20:33

I’m from Ireland and I agree . It’s horrific and always absolutely packed in summer. Dublin needs another airport. It’s not enough for a growing population.

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I agree too. It can't handle the amount of planes. We got a connection from there, Heathrow to San Francisco and back again. When we landed from San Francisco it honestly loooked like the pilot was trying to find a parking space. He even said as much, "we're just trying to find somewhere, we've missed our space". Because of that we had to then wait for an air bridge. And as we were in a different part of the airport from where we should have been we had to run to get our connection to Heathrow. We made it, all out of breath, but our luggage didn't, and we had to hang round in Heathrow for 2 hours because they couldn't even get it on the next flight, it was the one after.

DH blames Aer Lingus but I said to him "did you not see how chaotic and over capacity that airport is?!"

timetodecide2345 · 27/12/2024 21:37

Manchester by far and I've been to some airports! It's disorganised. Its staff are rude. I go out of my way not to fly from there.

stargazerlil · 27/12/2024 21:37

Cynic17 · 27/12/2024 21:29

Manchester.

I second that. It’s a shit hole.

JudgeJ · 27/12/2024 21:37

DreamTheMoors · 27/12/2024 20:47

Newark

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I recall flying out of Newark in about '89 and seeing a notice saying that all weapons had to be unloaded before loading!
Amman, Royal Jordanian had seriously messed us up, we were flying back from India and changing at Amman but as it was the end of the Hajj all flights were massively overbooked. They put us into the Queen Alia airport hotel, all meals included, only to find it was awful, the restaurant like a work's canteen and we had to pay!