Ironic CDG is mentioned on the list, the next International Airport we are doomed to visit..... Actually my wife (who is a French teacher by trade), had incredible difficulties changing planes there a couple years ago experiencing totally indifferent, arrogant, staff who were totally rude to her even tho she spoke French!, no restrooms, no signage, and even the French people she asked there did not have a clue what in the hell was going on or where to go. I wasn't with her on this trip, but a year later, we departed from there.... Once we got there on the fairly efficient train from Paris, you have to shuffle (no signs) to a bus to your terminal. Then after asking total strangers (no airport help,no sighage) to find your terminal, you find a totally arrogant and inefficient staff waiting to put your luggage thru security which looks like some Keystone Kops video....After you stumble thru this comedy, then you are sent thru one of the concrete tubes where you eventually go thru security....Be warned, when you get to your gate and the security xray you are stranded with only a small Duty-Free stall and no other amenities (perhaps a restroom) to while away the next couple of hours before your flight..... Pleasant surroundings! Don't get me started! Can you imagine a departure terminal that looks like your typical concrete Parking Garage? Whoever did the Concrete Contract for CDG is a multi-Millionaire living far away from this dump! CDG, in my opinion, is by far, the WORST airport in the World. Bryant Petitt Cumming, GA --- clay.wardlow@xxxxxxxx wrote: > Even if you travel abroad only occasionally, you may > be familiar with = > some of the better airports internationally.=20 > Like wide-open spaces? Vancouver (B.C.) > International Airport is your = > terminal. Shopping? Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport is > your preferred = > stopover in Europe. Tidy? Dubai International > Airport, winner of the = > latest International Air Transport Association > customer survey, fits = > the bill.=20 > The good airports are easy to find. They pop up on > every "best-of" = > list. They're no secret.=20 > The bad ones? Well, that's another story. No one I > know of conducts = > "worst-of" polls. If they do, they're not widely > publicized. That's a = > shame, because it's these terminally awful terminals > that you need to = > know about.=20 > I'm here to help. By popular request, here are my > five worst = > international airports. I've cobbled this list > together with the help = > of this column's readers, my personal experience, > and the survey data I = > was able to find.=20 > But before I name names, allow me two quick > disclaimers. First, this = > list is biased toward destinations where you're > likely to travel. For = > example, one reader stationed in Iraq nominated > Baghdad International = > Airport as one of the world's worst - a designation > I'm not inclined to = > argue with. But which of us is planning a trip to > Iraq anytime soon?=20 > Second, and most important, if your hometown airport > shows up here, = > please don't fire an indignant e-mail saying I've > insulted every = > inhabitant of your city. I'm still counting the > missives I got after I = > said the New York area's three major airports tied > for first place as = > the worst airports in the United States. Really, > folks, I love New = > York. I just don't like its airports.=20 > =20 > Here we go:=20 > =20 > 1. London Heathrow (LHR). This airport is so > laughably bad that it = > deserves its own category. It's a dark, confusing > maze blocked with = > security checkpoints staffed by humorless > bureaucrats. And just when = > you think you've found your gate, you're forced to > board a rickety bus = > that takes you to yet another dark, confusing maze > of a terminal. On my = > last visit to this airport, I contracted a wicked > case of Norwalk = > virus, the dreaded gastrointestinal ailment known > for infecting cruise = > passengers. Thanks a lot, Heathrow. Matt Petersen, > who works for a = > nonprofit organization in Alexandria, Va., says he's > willing to = > overlook the cigarette smoke and confusing layout at > Heathrow, "but = > there's no getting around the annoyance of that > long, twisting, = > lurching bus ride." Indeed, there isn't.=20 > =20 > One redeeming quality: The airport employees. Apart > from the = > stone-faced security guards, the gate agents, > customs officials, and = > airline employees I've met are friendly and > apologetic about the = > monstrosity they work in. Adds Sharon Adcock, a > consultant from = > Manhattan Beach, Calif.: "The shopping isn't bad, > either."=20 > =20 > 2. Mexico City (MEX). Benito Juarez Airport is > Mexico's tribute to = > Heathrow, to hear passengers talk about it. More of > the same problems = > plague this airport, from confusing terminals to > inefficient = > luggage-delivery systems, to the ever-present smoke. > (As a point of = > disclosure, when I travel south of the border, it's > always by land. = > Sounds as if that's the smart choice.) "Hellish," > rants Oriana Tickell = > de Castell=F3, a magazine editor from Mexico City. > "I hate arriving on = > a long-haul flight to Mexico City. The luggage bands > are too small to = > allow people to get close to it to pick up their > luggage, especially = > from a large aircraft. Chaos ensues."=20 > =20 > One redeeming quality: A new state-of-the-art > extension of the east end = > of the airport recently opened, relieving some of > the congestion. = > Unfortunately, it's not enough and now there's talk > of building another = > airport to take the pressure off of Benito Juarez > Airport.=20 > =20 > 3. Frankfurt, Germany (FRA). When readers nominated > Frankfurt for my = > "worst international airports" list, I was > skeptical. I used the = > airport frequently when I lived in Frankfurt a few > years ago - never = > with much of a problem. So I decided to investigate > it one more time to = > see if I was missing something. It turns out that I > was. The walk = > between my gate and the luggage claim area was far > too long to be = > called a walk. It was more of a hike. Cigarette > smoke? Yeah, they've = > got that too. I couldn't even find the luggage claim > area for my flight = > and ended up having to re-enter the secured area > after making several = > wrong turns. Departing from Frankfurt is equally > difficult, according = > to Alan Bloom, an executive with a sign company in > Louisville, Colo. = > "Teutonic efficiency has been jettisoned in favor of > total chaos," he = > complains. "The last time I had the misfortune of > connecting in = > Frankfurt there was only one open security station > between terminals = > and a mob of people spread out trying to squeeze > into a single line. I = > was reminded of the scene in 'The Killing Fields' > where the horde of = > people was trying to get into the French > embassy."=20 > =20 > One redeeming quality: Say what you want about the > airport, the train = > connections into Frankfurt are excellent. That's > something that can't = > be said for a lot of American airports.=20 > =20 > 4. Moscow Sheremetyevo (SVO). It's probably unfair > to compare this = > outdated, communist-era airport to anything in > Western Europe. Then = > again, no one ever accused me of being fair, at > least when it comes to = > my series of columns on airports (OK, to be > perfectly honest, a lot of = > you did agree with my previous selections). This > facility really makes = > the worst of the American airports seem not so bad. > It is a crowded, = > gloomy terminal in which your senses are assaulted > by the odors of = > unfiltered cigarette smoke. Want to catch a train > into town? Not gonna = > happen - try the bus, which will take you to a Metro > station. But = > that's before you stand in a half-hour long line at > customs, and it = > also assumes you can elude the cab drivers. "They're > very aggressive," = > says Steve Lyautey, an executive with a software > company in Irving, = > Texas. "And on the way back, when you're trying to > unload at the curb, = > it's a nightmare, because you have to deal with the > luggage handlers."=20 > =20 > One redeeming quality: A new international terminal > is reportedly in = > the works. And not a moment too soon.=20 > =20 > 5. Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG). At first I thought > the vitriolic = > rants about the Paris airport - one traveler > repeatedly referred to it = > as "D'Gall" - had something to do with the recent > anti-French sentiment = > in the United States. But then I realized I was > wrong. Charles De = > Gaulle Airport really is awful. "It looks like it > was created by an = > === message truncated === __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search http://shopping.yahoo.com