Airports of the world
Airports have recently become things to dread. Between
security lines and underwhelming food, most people just want to get to where
they are going while spending as little time in the airport as possible. Airports
can be interesting places if one takes the time to look at them. In the last 10
years, most every major airport in the world has undergone or is undergoing
refurbishment and part of the goal of these projects is to not just handle more
passengers, but to make airports esthetically pleasing as well. So why am I
telling you this?
You may have noticed I haven’t posted anything to the travel
blog in over a month. There is a good reason for that. I had a PAID writing
assignment and it took the entire month of October to finish. My task? To write
a 110-word paragraph about the world’s major airports, 182 airports in all. For
the assignment, I was to merely provide factual and statistical information,
such as the number of passengers per year, the number of non-stop destinations,
how many concourses, etc. However, during the course of this work I learned way
more about these airports than just facts and figures. Some airports are quite interesting.
Some have artwork on display. And others are just downright dangerous (Tripoli
anyone?) So for fun I thought I would compile some interesting airport information
just in time for you to use to impress people at upcoming holiday parties. Your
welcome!
The world’s largest building is Dubai International
Airport’s Terminal 3 in the United Arab Emirates at 1.5 million square meters
(16,137,600 sq ft). The world’s second largest building is also an airport
terminal. Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 3 is No. 2 and was
built to handle the passenger traffic for the 2008 Olympic Games.
King Abdulaziz International Airport in the city of Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia, has a special terminal called the Hajj Terminal. This terminal is
specifically designed to handle Muslim travelers entering the country for their
pilgrimages, or Hajj, to Mecca/Makkah. What’s interesting is that many Middle
Eastern airports have expanded in recent years to accommodate the millions of
pilgrims that make the Hajj every year, however, this airport, which is the
closest airport to Mecca, is the only one that has a specific Hajj Terminal with
its own masque inside. The airport masque can accommodate 80,000 travelers.
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) recently reopened
their Observation Deck, located on that cool Jetson’s type spaceship-like
building. The official name of the building is the Theme Building. Closed after
9/11, the airport completely remodeled the deck and restaurant and it is now
open to the public for viewing airplanes as they take-off and land. To visit
the deck is FREE. However, patrons have to pay for airport parking and if they
eat in the restaurant.
As a side note – dozens of airports in the US and around the
world have Sky Decks or Observation Decks and most are free to use with paid
airport parking. So if you like airplanes or your kids like airplanes, see if
the airport nearest you has a sky deck and take a camera or binoculars, some
will even allow guests to bring their own food and have a picnic.
For those of you who play golf, Huntsville International
Airport in northern Alabama has an 18-hole par-72 golf course attached to it.
Called Sunset Landing Golf Course, the course is open year around. On the
flipside, Munich International Airport in Munich, Germany, features an 18-hole
MINI-golf course on-site at the airport’s Visitor’s Park.
Many major airports, mostly in Europe, but also Sydney,
Australia, and San Jose, California, feature bike paths and bike parking at
their airports. Now I can’t image taking luggage for a week’s vacation on a
bike, but when you consider that Denver International Airport is 23 MILES away
from the city, having a bike trail to and from the airport sounds like a good
idea. Think of the gas and money airport employees would save. Think of all the
people who like to ride bikes. Denver, are you listening? All that open space
with beautiful views of the mountains on the horizon? Who wouldn’t want to ride
a bike on that?
By the way, at 23 miles, Denver Airport is one of the
farthest airports away from the city it is supposed to serve. London Gatwick
Airport is 28 miles away from central London, but it has a Metro. Orlando
Airport is 20 miles away from downtown Orlando and has a Disney Shuttle. The
airport that is farthest away, of the airports I researched, is Kuala Lumpur
International Airport at 35 miles south of the city, however, they have a high-speed
rail line that takes travelers from airport to downtown in 28 minutes. Denver
has no such thing, yet.
And one final note on Denver. As you enter or exit the
airport, you see a sculpture of a blue mustang. The horse has red lights
for eyes. Looks evil, especially at night. Many people in Denver don’t like it
and there is even a Facebook page asking for the airport powers that be to
remove it. Those of you from other parts of the country might be thinking,
what’s the big deal. What if it told you the artist who created the piece, Luis
Jimenez, was killed during instillation when a section of the sculpture fell
from hoist on top of him. Creepy.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas, one
of the coolest music cities in the US, right up there with, Nashville, Seattle
and New Orleans, features live music from local bands in their airport every
afternoon.
Daytona Beach, Florida, is one of the world’s first runways.
Not airport, runway. In 1906, boys flying their new toys would land their
“flying machines” on the beach because the beach was long and wide and the sand
was hard packed and smooth. After a while they thought it would be a good idea
to build a facility next to it and the rest is history.
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport has
several miles of horse riding trails surrounding the airport. In order to use
the trails, you have to fill out an application and undergo a background check
by the airport. Once accepted, you and your horse have access to the wide open
spaces that surround the airport.
Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California, has been featured
in two movies, Giant, from 1956
featuring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, from
1989 featuring Harrison Ford and Sean Connery.
All airports have some sort of dog park or pet relief area
for passengers traveling with pets or service dogs. However, Hartsfield-Jackson
Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, is so proud of their pet
area, they have a video of it on You Tube.
Check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QStxuI-9qI
Punta Cana International Airport in the Dominican Republic
has three terminals, all three featuring palm frond thatched roofs. They also
have live merengue music. I want to go there.
Speaking of airports I’d like to visit, the top of that list
is Princess Juliana International Airport on the island of Sint Maarten/St.
Martin in the Caribbean. Those of you that have seen the St. Martin episode of
Three Sheets know what I’m talking about. Not the easiest airport to land at,
the runway begins over Maho Beach. Maho is a public beach and next to it is the
world famous Beach Bar. Imagine drinking a rum punch while a jumbo jet flies
mere feet above your head? I must go there so I can write about it someday.
Antalya, Turkey – Considered the gateway to the Turkish Riviera.
I had no idea there was a Turkish Riviera. According to Frommers online guide,
this is a place where you can hike through ancient ruins in the morning and sit
on the beach and drink mai tais in the afternoon. My kinda place.
Tenerife, Canary Island – I knew about the Canary Islands,
but I never would have guessed the airport on Tenerife receives over 7 million
passengers each year. Although temperate year around, their main tourist season
is from May to September, so that means a lot of people are going through that
airport in a short amount of time. For those who are geographically impaired, the
Canary Islands are considered a nationality of Spain, but are only a few
hundred miles from Morocco on the West Coast of Africa. To get there from the
US, one must fly to Europe first.
Here are some airports I recommend you NOT visit.
There is a subtle warning on the website for Mexico City’s
airport telling passengers to be sure to use the “official” Taxi Autorizado (government
run taxis), which are distinguished by their bright yellow cars and drivers’
vest. However, on Frommer’s travel guide for Mexico City, they are much more
explicit. They warned against travelers arriving at Mexico City after 8 p.m.
because that is when the official taxis are done for the day and travelers are
left to the mercy of “private” taxis drivers who may not be on the up and up.
On the subject of taxis, for women traveling alone in
Hurghada, Egypt, sitting in the front passenger seat of a taxi cab is considered
an open invitation for sex, as is shaking hands with a man, waving hello to a
man or even making eye-contact with a man. Please note this is NOT the case in
Cairo. I do not want to discourage anyone from seeing the Great Pyramids (in
fact now is a good time to go, Cairo is in desperate need of tourists for
income and several magazines articles including Frommer’s own Budget Travel say
it is safe). For more information on Hurghada, follow this link from Frommers.
I mentioned Saudi Arabia earlier. What I didn’t mention
before is that Saudi Arabia has strict guidelines on travelers entering the
country. You cannot enter the country if:
·
You have an Israeli passport or have an Israeli
stamp in your passport
·
You are intoxicated
·
You do not respect Muslim traditions
·
Visitors not of the Muslim faith are not allowed
in the holy cities of Mecca/Medina
·
Women traveling alone (unless you have a male
“sponsor” to meet you at the airport and drive you around, then you might be
allowed)
·
If you overstay your tourist visa (usually 30
days), there is $2,667 US fine and possible jail time
·
Chances are if you are a US citizen or of the
Jewish faith, you will not be issued a tourist visa and thus not allowed in the
country
(all information provided from Frommers.com
and Budget Travel Magazine)
Tehran, Iran – Most of us here in the US don’t think about
traveling to Iran. And those of my generation remember in great detail the Iran
hostage crisis. However, this is one of the world’s major airports with 12
million passengers each year. Most travelers are coming from Europe or the
Middle East and few from East Asia. You can’t get there directly from the US,
but a hop to Paris, London or Berlin and you can be in Tehran about 12 hours. Those
of us in Colorado are familiar with the Dizin Ski Resort located about 43 miles north
of Tehran. We’ve seen it in Warren Miller movies. You’d be surprised at how
many North American skiers have been there.
Havana and Varadero, Cuba – Fidel Castro has been running
Cuba my entire life. US citizens have not been allowed direct access to Cuba in
that time. However, with Fidel’s health failing and the government considering more
of a free market atmosphere, the US has eased some of these travel
restrictions. More and more US travelers are finding out what the Canadians
already know: Cuba is a spectacular
vacation destination - Beautiful beaches, good food, classic architecture, fun
street festivals. From what I have read about Cuba, it’s not an easy place to
visit or get around in, but those that have been there treasure the experience.
Sadly, I’ve read that the airports are crowded and difficult to get around in
and known for taxi and baggage claim scams.
Tripoli, Libya – I was quite surprised to see this airport
on my list. Especially since it’s only been a few weeks since Qaddafi was
killed. The airport ceased commercial operations when the civil war started
last spring so how it made the list I have no idea. There is no website for
this airport at this time. It was very tough to find any information about it at
all. I did find out that commercial flights are expected to resume December 1,
2011, from countries such as France and Turkey. Book your holiday flights now.
Airports with the coolest names:
Warsaw Chopin Airport is located in Warsaw, Poland. The
prolific pianist, Fryderyk Chopin is a native son and the Poles are quite
proud, as they should be. The airport along with the city hosts the National
Fryderyk Chopin Institute and “Chopin and his Europe” Festival every year. Chopin
was a child-prodigy and well known as a pianist and composer, however, he lived
his adult life mostly in Paris after the Russian suppression of Poland. Having
suffered health issues most of his life, he died in 1849. He was only 39 years
old.
Suvarnabhumi International Airport is located in Bangkok,
Thailand. Pronounced su-wan-na-pum, the name was chosen by HM King Bhumibol
Adulyadej and means “Golden Land” in Sanskrit. It refers to the region formerly
known as Indochina. Indochina includes the countries of Thailand, Cambodia,
Laos and Burma. It’s also one of the newest airports in the world opening in
2006.
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is named
for New Orleans native and jazz legend Louis Armstrong. New Orleans is known
for its music so what a great tribute, not just to Armstrong, but the city as
well. Beside music, the airport is home to an art collection valued at close to
$1 million.
O. R. Tambo International Airport is located in
Johannesburg, South Africa. Formerly called Johannesburg Airport, the name was
changed in 2006 and is now named after a South African liberation leader and
former president of the African National Congress.
Airports with names that are lame:
Omaha Epply Airfield – Airfield? Really? Makes it sound like
the place is just a dirt runway with a barn next to it. This is a metropolitan
city and the airport has over 4 million passengers a year. I had many small
market airports on my list that called themselves “International” and they
didn’t have any commercial international flights (that’s right, Amarillo,
Texas, and Green Bay, Wisconsin, I’m talkin’ ‘bout you!).
Albuquerque International Sunport – What were they thinking?
Sunport? Sounds like a child’s playground rather than an airport.
Portland International Jetport – Located in Portland, Maine,
this is not necessarily a bad name, but it does sound like it was left over
from the 60’s.
And here are some interesting facts:
1)
Cincinnati Airport is actually in Northern
Kentucky. Hebron to be exact. After many years of confusion they finally
renamed it Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
2)
Denver International Airport has a passenger
bridge between Jeppeson Terminal and Concourse A that is high enough for planes
to taxi under.
3)
The Tropic of Capricorn intersects the southern
tip of Guarulhos International Airport outside of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
4)
The world’s longest commercial flight is a
Singapore Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Singapore and runs 18
hours and 50 minutes. The second-longest flight is an Emirate Airlines flight
from Dubai to Houston.
5)
The world’s busiest airport is Atlanta’s
Hartfield-Jackson International Airport followed by Beijing Capital
International Airport in China and London’s Heathrow Airport.
6)
LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York, is so
close to Citi Field (Mets) and USTA Tennis Center (US Open) you could actually
walk to them.
7)
McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas,
Nevada, has 1300 slot machines.
