Airports are often an essential and unavoidable part of traveling. Sometimes, you luck out and find yourself in an airport that has minimal wait times and is full of shops, restaurants, and polite staff. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Take these 10 airports for example: They are known for having rude staff, long lines, poor facilities, and a chaotic environment. Here’s a look at 10 of the worst airports in the world.
Ninoy Aquino International Airport
This Manila-based airport struggles with the 32 million passengers who use its facility each year. That shouldn’t come as a shock, though, considering it only has the capacity for 6 million passengers, according to CNBC. In 2013, Ninoy was given the title of the world’s worst airport by The Guide to Sleeping in Airports, which asks travelers to rank airports based on comfort, conveniences, cleanliness, and customer service.
Travelers complained about the airport’s rundown facilities, impolite staff and officials, and long wait times. There is, however, some good news for this Philippines airport: CNBC writes that the government there is planning to build a new one, which it hopes to have up and running in five years.
Charles De Gaulle
This poor Paris-based airport does not have a good reputation. In fact, it has one of the worst. “By far the most chaotic and unruly airport in the world. The staff are impolite and sometimes even refuse to speak to you in English even if they seem to understand what you are saying. And God forbid if you land in T1 and have to connect through T3: The two terminals are a kilometer (.6 miles) apart, but the walk between them is around 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) long,” Bertrand D’Souza, editor of Overdrive, wrote in an article for Forbes India.
In addition, Jalopnik asked its readers for input on the world’s worst airports, and Charles De Gaulle took the No. 2 spot. Feedback stated that the airport is the worst in Europe, horribly unorganized, has terrible customer service, and has very few seats.
Los Angeles International
You would think that one of the world’s largest airports would also be one of the best. But that isn’t the case for this Los Angeles airport, which is the sixth-busiest airport in the world and third in the United States, according to LAX’s website. In 2013, Los Angeles International served nearly 66.7 million passengers and handled 614,917 aircraft operations. Unfortunately, many of those passengers weren’t happy customers.
Comments on SkyTrax, a site that details air travel ratings and reviews, describe the building as being messy and chaotic. In addition, one review said there is no sense of urgency among the staff, while another said the airport lacks shops, restaurants, and seating. The airport currently has a 4.3 out of 10 SkyTrax ranking.
Bergamo Orio al Serio Airport
Don’t expect too much when you visit Italy’s Bergamo Airport. According to a review on The Guide to Sleeping in Airports, the security staff is horribly unfriendly, there’s a huge lack of outlets, and the facility lacks cleanliness, particularly when it comes to its bathrooms. In 2013, The Guide to Sleeping in Airports’ traveler survey revealed that Bergamo was voted as the second worst airport in the world.
Travelers also stated that it was hard to communicate with the staff due to language barriers, and described the airport as extremely loud and dirty. If you can’t avoid using this Italian airport, come with fully charged appliances, and don’t expect to get much sleep. In several The Guide to Sleeping in Airports reviews, travelers warned that the security staff has been known to wake up sleeping customers.
LaGuardia Airport
New York’s LaGaurdia airport isn’t connected to any sort of public transportation other than a slow city bus, making it especially hard to get anywhere once you land. “Once inside, check-in areas are tiny, security lines overflowing, and your cellphone will most likely stop working because it has no signal. And Wi-Fi isn’t free,” Jason Rabinowitz, editor of NYCAviation.com, told USA Today.
Furthermore, the airport is described as “a dump and an utter disgrace. It’s filthy, crowded and there’s no room for what must be a massive business clientele,” media executive John Barth told USA Today. The airport is despised by many, including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, according to the Los Angeles Times. In Cuomo’s State of the State address, which he gave in January, he said the airport was ranked as the worst in America, and called it unacceptable and a disgrace.
Zurich International
If customer service isn’t important to you, you might not find fault with this Switzerland airport. In fact, the airport has new and comfortable lounges, great shopping, and plenty of restaurants, according to its website. But those amenities may seem trivial after dealing with the airline’s staff.
“Such a fabulous airline and an incredibly amazing airport is completely let down by the attitude of its staff. I have had several issues with immigration officers and security staff over matters that may seem trivial, but to an overseas traveler who has just spent eight hours or more imprisoned in a flying tube, it can be the most unpleasant first impression,” Bertrand D’Souza, editor of Overdrive, wrote in an article for Forbes India.
N’Djamena International Airport
If you speak with someone who’s had the displeasure of using this airport, there’s a good chance you’ll try to avoid it at all costs. Traveler reviews on The Guide to Sleeping in Airports had less-than-favorable things to say about this Chad-based airport. Complaints included a lack of working lights and the disgruntled staff, who seemed almost hostile at all times.
One review states: “The hard plastic bucket seats precluded any attempts to sleep in this airport. The one toilet that did work was filthy from people washing their feet in the toilet bowl. There were also muddy foot prints on the toilet seat from patrons who apparently prefer the squat type system. Aside from the muddy tracks all around the departure lounge (from the foot washing guys) there was also garbage strewn all over the place.”
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport
After stepping foot in this Russia airport, you’ll understand exactly why the location has made this list. Lifehack writes that the terminal is miles away from the rest of the airport, which makes flight transfers difficult and time consuming. Transfers, even those which claim to be quick, are often delayed, and it is known for its poor customer service and broken signs, making it quite difficult to find your way through the airport. Lifehack’s suggestion: Try to fly into Domodedovo International Airport instead. It’s close by and has a much better reputation.
Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport
The Clintons shouldn’t be pleased about the reputation their namesake airport holds. In a Travel + Leisure survey, travelers said the Little Rock, Arkansas-based airport is the worst in America, which is partially due to its ridiculously long wait times. The airport also received poor scores when it came to checking in, delays, design, food, and shopping.
Travel + Leisure warns that these results could be because the airport is on the smaller side and doesn’t offer any airline clubs. Additionally, it only contains a few stores and restaurants, meaning there’s not much to do (or eat) if you’ve got a little bit of downtime before a flight. It’s not all bad news, though — the airport does have free Wi-Fi for its visitors to use.
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport
This India-based airport was voted as one of the worst airports in the world, according to The Guide to Sleeping in Airports’ survey. Reviews warn that you won’t be able to get any sleep if you’re stuck there waiting, due to the noise, crowds, and uncomfortable seats. One traveler stated that it’s time-consuming and hard to get through the airport’s security, and the airport itself was uncomfortable and loud.
“To top it all off, I visited the filthy toilets and happened to drop my passport in the process. Ignorant to it, some people instructed me to visit some office. I was shocked to receive a 10 minute interrogation as by the airport manager as to whether Pakistani militants had paid me to loose [sic] my passport to ‘test their security,’ ” according to a review on The Guide To Sleeping In Airports.
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