The International Marbella Set

Sunday 13 November 2011

5. Ninoy Aquino International, Manila, Philippines

 

Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Wear a helmet -- the first collapsed ceiling in 2006 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.


Beleaguered by ground crew strikes, unkempt conditions, soup kitchen-style lines that feed into more lines and an overall sense of futility, NAIA brings the term “Stuck in the 1970s” to a new level.

 

At Terminal 1 all non-Philippine Airlines remain crammed despite serious overcapacity issues and a new and underused Terminal 3 is occupied by a few minor carriers. 

A rash of bad press this year (including a “Worst in the World” ribbon from Sleeping in Airports) was capped by a collapsed ceiling in T1, a paralyzing ground service strike at T2, and the usual charges of tampered luggage, filthy restrooms, seat shortages at gates, re-sealed water bottles sold in retail shops and an Amazing Race-style check-in routine spiked with bureaucracy, broken escalators, lengthy Dot Matrix passenger lists and creative airport departure fees. 

Read more on CNNGo: World's busiest airports announced

4. Toncontín International, Tegucigalpa, Honduras

 

worst airports
Over-priced corn chips will be the least of your worries.


When do the most common airport gripes about inefficiency, uncomfortable gate chairs, dirty floors and lousy dining options suddenly become irrelevant? When you’re preoccupied about whether your 757 will actually be able to stop before the runway does. 

 

Nestled in a bowl-shaped valley at 957 meters above sea level, Toncontín’s notoriously stubby, mountain-cloaked landing strip was recently lengthened another 300 meters following a fatal TACA aircraft overshoot in 2008.

Not enough though to avoid being named the “second most dangerous airport in the world” by the History Channel. 

Nepal’s hair-raising Tenzing-Hillary Airport in the Himalayas is the top seed, but receives fewer gripes from its thrill-seeking Everest-bound clientele.

Read more on CNNGo: Shanghai Pudong International Airport: Fifth best in the world

3. London Heathrow, London, England

 

bad airports
"You'll fly through departures -- at the speed of a penguin."



Depending on which of Heathrow’s five terminals one is funneled through, the average experience at the world’s third-busiest airport ranges from mildly tedious to "Fawlty Towers" ridiculous. 

 

With its rash of -- as they were politely called -- “teething problems” in bright and airy T5 (remember that riotous grand opening with 34 canceled flights?) and nicely matured problems in Ts 1, 2 and 3, the issues passengers are beset with run the gamut.

Parking messes. Busted baggage carousels. Deadlocked security lines. Long walks (or, more commonly, runs) between gates to a frenzied soundtrack of “last call” announcements. Realizations that getting out of Heathrow took longer than actually flying here from Madrid. 

In the airport “where the world changes planes,” it all boils down to a chronic inability to cope with this many people. Plans for a sixth terminal should help sever even more nerves.

2. Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, United States

 

It's not even a good spot for celebrity sightings.



If the world’s seventh-busiest flight hub was an old ballpark resting on the stale reputation of its Dodger Dogs and that great 1959 series, LAX might have some endearment value. 

 

But it’s an airport -- a dramatically undersized and moribund one with the architectural élan of a 1960s correctional facility and several publicized concerns about how its 1,700 takeoffs and landings a day can be sustained in a facility a fifth the size of healthier cousins like Dallas/Fort Worth. 

The unsupportive donut-shaped design -- it’s been called “eight terminals connected by a traffic jam” -- makes dashing between airlines feel like a diesel-scented cardio test. 

Plunked in the middle is the airport’s landmark Jetsons-style restaurant and only mentionable amenity, Encounter, but how does one actually get inside this place -- at least before being nailed for a petty traffic violation by some of the most ticket-hungry airport cops west of the Mississippi?

Read more on CNNGo: World's most terrifying airports

1. Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris, France

 

Don't expect to make friends during a storm closure.



“A great country worthy of the name,” President Charles de Gaulle once opined, “does not have any friends.” 

 

True or not, it’s this sort of attitude that has helped CDG become the most maligned major airport on earth. What’s fueling it? 

Grimy washrooms with missing toilet seats don’t help. Nor do broken scanning machines and an overall lack of signage, gate information screens and Paris-worthy bars, restaurants or cafés.

The baffling circular layout is worsened by warrens of tunnel-like structures, dismissive staff and seething travelers waiting forever in the wrong queue. 

The worst part may be this airport’s aura of indifference to it all. “Waiting for a connection here,” notes one commuter, “is like being in custody.”  

If you’re actually staying in Paris, you may be okay. If you have the gall to just be passing through between Malaga and Montreal, you can cut the spite of this place with a cheese knife.




0 comments:

Post a Comment

Categories

'Cheating' Chilean miner rescued (1) 'Codependency is not about a relationship with an addict (1) 000 inhabitants (1) A Pole Addict's 12 Step Program: Step 12 (1) ADDICTED TO LOVE (1) CONTINUE ENGAGING YOUR PRIMARY MATE (1) Celebs manage a quiet divorce (1) China’s aggressive new regulations aimed at cooling off the nation’s real estate market have led to the first decline in housing prices in 16 months (1) Courtney Cox was cheating (1) Depression (1) Hollywood ex-romance: Shia LaBeouf and Carey Mulligan confirm their Split (1) INVEST IN A “PAY-AS-YOU-GO” PHONE (1) Jerry Hall former model and wife of Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger (1) Joaquin Villanova (1) Juhu-based actress has lodged a case against her husband and his two brother-in-laws from his first marriage for cheating and threatening her. (1) Successful businesses must focus on relationship building (1) That was the best sex ever (1) Tiger Woods Tiger hole number 3 (1) What is Compulsive Sexual Behavior (1) as ‘outrageous’ for a municipality of 30 (1) but she didn't give up looking for me at just one strip club. (1) control battles take place (1) denounced the salary of the Mayor (1) has revealed her ex-husband’s addiction for poker and women. (1) husband was having sex with someone else (1) it is the absence of relationship with self (1) mood swings and irritability - these symptoms are more visible in men when they break up with their girlfriends. (1) signs of a cheating wife you can't ignore (1) “It was like she was stalking me. “She definitely knew who I was and wanted to meet me and talk things over (1)

Unordered List

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: The statements and articles listed here, and any opinions, are those of the writers alone, and neither are opinions of nor reflect the views of this Blog. Aggregated content created by others is the sole responsibility of the writers and its accuracy and completeness are not endorsed or guaranteed. This goes for all those links, too: Blogs have no control over the information you access via such links, does not endorse that information, cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided or any analysis based thereon, and shall not be responsible for it or for the consequences of your use of that information.

Blog Archive

Pageviews from the past week

Subscribe via email

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Members

Powered by Blogger.

Translate

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Popular Posts

THE INTERNATIONAL MARBELLA SET

THE INTERNATIONAL MARBELLA SET

Popular Posts