On the U.S. board there's a thread on the worst U.S. airports - am curious about opinions on the worst airports in other parts of the world.

my experience last week leads me to nominate Heathrow. There just isn't enough room there for everyone who checks in, so passengers are left standing in line for hours, then running frantically for the gates.

Athens was pretty bad.

On this side of the ocean, JFK without reservation. On the Europe side, Athens. <BR> <BR> <BR>

For some reason, my worst experiences have been at Heathrow. I just hum a few bars of a semi-obscure Monty Python tune (the refrain ends with " and I'm so worried about the baggage retrieval system they've got at Heathrow") and try not to panic. It's just soooo much.

Florence airport.

top <BR>

Malpensa (the new Milan airport) -- hands down the worst ... at least in Italy. A vast, incoherent space. Information booths never staffed -- and, if you ask a policeman a question, you get directed to the nearest (empty) information booth.

Shermetivo II in Moscow . . .

Athens gets my vote. Guess I've been lucky at Heathrow - I've been through it 13 or 14 times and I've never had a hitch. It just seems like a big shopping mall that happens to have airplanes taking off! I just wade through the smoking section to the Pret a Manger for a sandwich and I'm all set.

Athens new airport was opening tomorrow so hopefully it will be better

Charles De Gaulle - I will never accept a layover of less than 2.5 hours there - you need a minimum of 1.5 hours to change planes there. What a disaster.

Mary, I totally agree with you. <BR>The worst airport in Europe has to be CDG for connecting flights. You have arrows pointing in all directions for the same terminal. It is the most confusing airport I have ever been.

yes, and at both of our originating destinations the check in clerk told us we could walk between gates but all the signs at CDG point you to buses which are horribly inefficient - we never did figure how to just "hoof it". Oops guess I shouldn't use that terminology.

Sheremetyevo I in Moscow. It is like taking a trip back to Brezhnevian Russia. Wonderfully dismal connection to Sheremetyevo II as well.

My vote is for CDG, terminal 1 I think, it's the older part. That had to have been the most disorganized place for checking in, then finding the proper gate. All the signs said one thing, but then the airport employees were saying something different. After a while of just hunting around we finally found our gate.

Not in a Moscow class, but anyone arriving for the first time at "London" Luton Airport is probably pretty underwhelmed, and then probably gets really steamed after schlepping halfway across southern England to get to London proper.

Arriving at Malpensa at 11:30 at night was one of the worst arrivals ever!Luckily a wonderful policeman going off duty helped me out. <BR>But Heathrow is my all time worst! Its like they're herding cattle! Does anyone know a way to beat the gate announcement system? 'Cause there's plenty of room to sit at the gates. <BR>Favorite? Coppenhagen. Well planned, great resting cabins, food and shopping.

Worst to get in and out of via car: Logan Airport, Boston (will the construction ever end??); JFK runs a close second. <BR> <BR>Worst facilities and for killing time: Athens <BR> <BR>Worst for connecting for a newbie: CDG. It's not hard once you've been there a few hundred times. <BR> <BR>Worst for getting help with anything: Milan (Malpensa is not a misnomer) <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Rob wrote: <BR> <BR>"A vast, incoherent space." <BR> <BR>That isn't an airport. It's my bloody life!