What makes a good airport?



David Whitley takes a look at the qualities that the ideal airport should be aiming for

I’ve been to some shocking airports in my time (hello Berlin Tegel and Bucharest Baneasa!) but most tend to blur into one. It’s only the airports that cause you the most hassle and pain that you really notice. But what would the ideal airport look like? Well, for me, it’d be something along these lines...

Close to the city centre
Having to travel another 50km after you’ve landed to get to where you’re going is no fun. I can really do without a 60 to 90 minute transfer. My favourite airports tend to be ones where you’re not far from the action. Sydney ’s is surprisingly good for this, although Tobago ’s was the best – you can walk to the airport from the beach.

Proper transport links
Airports where you’ve basically no choice but to take a taxi are terrible. In should be a mandatory requirement that all airports have a rail link to the city centre, with frequent trains serving it – and preferably going further beyond. Zurich does this best – it’s tremendously painless to get both into the city centre and beyond.

Lots of seats
Let me sit down. And not just on the proviso of buying something at one of the food outlets. If I can’t, you’ve given too much space over to shops.

Good navigation
On that subject, I really don’t want to have to walk through a duty free shop for miles to get to the gate. Keep the distances as short as possible, signpost things well and don’t make every step an opportunity to sell something.

Free internet
Both Wifi and computer screens for those who haven’t brought their laptop.

Plenty of plug sockets
And ones that are reachable from the seats without turning the laptop cable or mobile phone charger into a tripwire.

Efficiency
A good airport employs enough people to get passengers through both security and passport control as quickly as possible. A really good one takes a leaf out of Geneva ’s book and has tables lining the security queue. As anyone who has ever tried will know, it’s impossible to carry a bag, unzip the bag and take laptops and liquids out of it whilst in a moving queue. If you can put the bag down and slide it along, everything is much easier.

Variety of food outlets
Some airports offer just one grim canteen-style café, where you shuffle the least appalling of the soggy-looking sandwiches along on a tray, and then pay a fortune for the privilege. Others opt for the depressing choice of McDonalds or KFC. A few choices, a variety of meals and a range of price points is the preferred scenario; sometimes it’s nice to sit down for a meal, sometimes you want something quick, cheap and decent.

Variety of shops
Personally, I don’t care about shops. Anyone who goes to an airport for the shopping is clearly mental. But some people like browsing for trinkets, so let’s keep them happy.

Relative peace
No-one wants to listen to continuous announcements. Shut up unless it’s absolutely essential.

What would you have in the perfect airport? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below


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Comments  

 
# Unexpected Traveller 2011-11-21 20:10
I would add half-decent food to the list - unlike the stuff in Hartfield: http://www.planetmona.com/reviews-on-planetmona/43-restaurants/3201-the-black-bear
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# Stuart 2011-11-23 09:30
I'd add enough bastardvtoilets. Really annoys me how many are suspiciously shut for maintenance...
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