Revealed! The best airports in the world!
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South Korea's Incheon Airport has bagged the top spot for a second year in a row at the annual World Airport Awards, which are based on surveys conducted by Skytrax.
The airport has, once again, fended off fierce competition from a host of sophisticated airports from around the globe. But what do you think? Does Incheon Airport deserve to be number one? Have a look at our gallery and decide for yourself...
Ten of the best: Airports
- 2. Singapore Changi Airport<p> Changi Airport serves more than 100 airlines and operates 6,100 weekly flights - yet it is still a pleasure to travel through. The airport boasts tropical gardens, cinemas, a rooftop pool, rain showers and even fish spas in case your feet are feeling a little weary and in need of a relaxing nibble...</p>
- 3. Hong Kong International Airport<p> Offering what's been described as 'the world's best airport shopping destination', Hong Kong International Airport also contains a variety of top-notch restaurants serving Western, Chinese and Asian food. It also has sport simulators and a SkyCity Nine Eagles Golf Course to boot!</p>
- 4. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport<p> Located a convenient 20 minutes from the city centre, Amsterdam Schiphol keeps its customers well entertained, with a casino, a library, an indoor/outdoor park, a museum, a huge variety of restaurants and shops and a 6D cinema. No chance of getting bored here!</p>
- 5. Beijing Capital International Airport<p> Beijing Capital International Airport has three terminals and is currently the second busiest airport in the world. Its third terminal, opened in 2008 in time for the Olympic games, is also the second largest in the world. It's widely praised as one of the most efficient airports in the world.</p>
- 6. Munich Airport<p> Munich Airport, the second busiest in Germany, features a vast assortment of shops and eateries, from Pandora to Hermès, Starbucks to Subway. It also has a cinema, mini golf course, and tours of historic aircrafts.</p>
- 7. Zurich Airport<p> Currently ranked as a 4-star airport by Skytrax along with only eight other airports around the world, Zurich airport is Switzerland's largest international flight gateway. It has plenty of shops and restaurants, and even an underground train.</p>
- 8. Kuala Lumpur International Airport<p> In addition to a wide range of restaurants and retail outlets, Kuala Lumpur International Airport caters to everyone's needs with a variety of facilities and leisure activities, including reflexology and massage treatments, nurseries, and smoking lounges.</p>
- 9. Vancouver International Airport<p> Located a handy 7.5 miles from downtown Vancouver, this airport has won several prestigious international best airport awards. Its interior features one of the most extensive collections of Pacific Northwest Coast Native art in the world, and has blues and greens to reflect the colours of the land, sea and sky. The airport, which uses great quantities of carpet and glass, even has a waterfall nestled between two escalators to keep passengers calm as they travel.</p>
- 10. Central Japan International Airport<p> Situated on an artificial island in Ise Bay, this airport is 22 miles south of Nagoya in central Japan. Centrair, as the airport is also known, features the 4th Floor Sky Town shopping centre with 61 shops and restaurants that are organized into two "streets": Renga-dori and Chochin-yokocho. The airport has won a number of accolades including 4th Best Airport Worldwide in 2011.</p>
- 1. Incheon International Airport<p> The largest airport in South Korea, and one of the largest airports in the world, Incheon International has plenty of room. Enough, in fact, to house a golf course, a spa, private sleeping rooms, a casino, indoor gardens, a Museum of Korean Culture and even an ice skating rink! Departure process takes 16 minutes and arrival takes only 12 minutes, beating the global average of 60 and 45 respectively. </p>
Now check out the worst!
The worst airports in the world
- Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Manila<p> The NAIA in Manila has been voted as the 2011 world's worst airport by users of the online travel website The Guide to Sleeping in Airports (sleepinginairports.net), based on reader reviews and poll votes. The website listed reasons such as safety concerns, theft, poor facilities, bribery and lack of comfortable seating. One reader said: 'You will not want to even close your eyes here! Bribery and theft exists. Airport taxes are collected, but the money does not seem to go towards the betterment of the airport.' In terms of facilities, passengers may have better luck at the newer Terminal 3, where it is clean, spacious and offers an internet connection.</p>
- Charles de Gaulle International Airport, Paris<p> It might be the largest airport in France - and one of the busiest in the world - but Paris CDG, which opened in 1974, has since frequently been criticised for its confusing layout, rude staff and ugly buildings. What's more, the seating benches have been deemed uncomfortable and insufficient, and homeless people are said to frequently disturb sleeping travellers.</p>
- Frankfurt Hahn Airport, Germany<p> Frankfurt Hahn also made sleepinginairports.net's worst airports 2011 list. They said: 'Limited seating, bucket seats, and a lack of passenger facilities. A very basic airport for budget airlines.' In a 2010 World's Worst Travel Survey, passengers also complained of 'confusing signage' and 'unpleasant ground staff'.</p>
- London Heathrow AIrport, England<p> In a Priority Pass survey in 2010, London Heathrow was voted the least favourite airport, owing to the fact that it is also one of the world's busiest. The problems of winter 2010, when the airport was ill-prepared for bad weather and snow grounded thousands of flights, further weakened its image. Long security queues and hours waiting at the baggage line have also been cited.</p>
- Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, India<p> According to Independent writer Peter Popham, Delhi airport's 'carpeting is a thin scarlet runner, and stains are splattered in corners. Creature comforts are negligible. Passport control takes an eternity. Half the trolleys are broken down. They force you to x-ray your luggage coming in to the country as well as going out.' And, according to a survey by Foreign Policy magazine, it also boasts 'aggressive beggars, syringes on the terminal floor, and filthy bathrooms'.</p>
- Mutala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria<p> According to reports, 'the odour of faeces and urine abound in this airport, which no doubt attract the hoards of rats, cockroaches and other bugs that scurry around the departures and arrivals area.' There's also been talk of overflowing toilets, and passengers escaping the airport chaos only to be mugged or beaten on the tarmac outside.</p>
- Los Angeles International Airport, America<p> The San Francisco Chronicle describes LAX as 'eight terminals connected by a traffic jam'. And, according to sleepinginairports.net, seating is limited, rude security staff 'automatically assume you are a terrorist or that you will never leave their country', bathrooms are in poor condition, signage is poor, and there are no conveniences for people in transit.... 'not even a 24 hour coffee shop.' Ouch.</p>
- Lukla Airport, Nepal<p> This small airport in the town of Lukla in eastern Nepal is popular as it is the gateway to the Mount Everest region in Nepal. But it will give you a nail-biting landing, involving a plummet onto an uphill airstrip cut into the side of a mountain. And on takeoff, the airstrip comes to an abrupt end at the edge of a mountain cliff.</p>
- Leopold Sedar Senghor International Airport, Senegal<p> At Dakar's airport 'there is only squalor, an unnerving sense of confinement, and to some extent danger,' said salon.com's Patrick Smith. Foreign Policy magzine's survey concurred, writing: 'Dakar has no seats and travellers are targeted by hawkers, porters and security guards who move them on. Immigration takes three hours.'</p> <p> <strong><a href="http://travel.aol.co.uk/2011/10/03/the-worlds-scariest-airports/">Don't miss our picture gallery: world's scariest airports!</a></strong></p>
- Simon Bolivar International, Colombia, Venezuela<p> Simón Bolívar International, known locally as ‘Maiquetia’, is the main international airport in the South American state of Venezuela. It is located around 29km from the centre of the capital, Caracas, and is described as being 'situated practically in the middle of the favelas'. Hundreds of travellers have been robbed or mugged as soon as they left the airport, while kidnapping, stabbings and shootings 'have all occurred before passengers have even reached the taxi line', according to the Matador Network. What's more, you'll be charged a $53 airport tax for the privilege.</p>
