There might be better or worse airports in Asia other than the ones listed here, but staying with the "major" ones, which ones would you vote for?

I know that you mean East Asia, but the worst cesspool of an airport is in Delhi, India. For a capitol city they do not show much pride in their airport.

Now when you consider East Asia, then my vote for the worst has to go to Taipei....... try finding a place to drink a beer! I finally found a place after walking what seemed miles. Fly in around 3am and see what is open! Subway was but not a coffee shop.......

This post has been edited by Diablo Bob: 2006-10-28 15:40:29

bummer

i thought i d put jakarta as the worst airport but i got it wrong

Looks like Tagi-lands Manila is leading the bummers...wonder whyyyyyyy....

Im...eeelda...you are breaking my heart..your breaking my sou.......

My favourite is Phnom Penh, it's a very small walk from plane to luggage, the only problem is going through the line to get your visa which takes about 10 mins most of the time, luggage has always been waiting for me when I get to the carousel and there is always a taxi right outside the airport...

I know this doesn't exactly qualify for an international even though it is international but this airport is a nicely bulit, easy on the eye airport which pees all over the rest that I've visited!

This post has been edited by Nikkijah: 2006-10-28 17:38:20

My vote for the best goes to Hong Kong. The staff are very friendly and will go out of their way to help you and there are duty free shops on both ends of the airport.

I voted for it as the worst airport. Absolutely horrible. Lot's of bad experiences there, and never a pleasant experience. Some of the worst taxi touts in Asia. You've got to show your ticket for the same day departure just to get into the airport. Major hassles if you forgot to print out your e-ticket, or changed your departure but your ticket doesn't show the new date. Too many other hassles to even list. But it follows along with much of the Philippines as they seem to be hopelessly lost in ever getting anything right. Thailand looks wonderful after spending any amount of time in the Philippines.

Anyways, they went and built a brand new terminal which I hear is just sitting there not being used and not much chance of it opening anytime soon as it's tied up in courts. Meanwhile everyone is stuck using the ancient terminal which they don't seem to have any interest in upgrading. At least Thailand was able to open their new airport even if it was a bit late.

soju stop being pedantic Manila terminal 3 is a lovely looking building and to be fair to The Philippines its only been finished for 4-5 years so give them trime to get their act together

by the way,the reports that the interior is suffering from building failures such as collapsing ceilings is neither here nor there

Serious answers best airport Hk tied with Singapore. Worst, no contest Manila !!

No doubt, Manila gets worse from me, hands down. I find it funny that people whinge about the new BKK not having enough toilets, when many of the toilets don't even work in MNL. And as far as masses of people and inefficiency goes, it sometimes takes me nearly one whole hour just to get from the front door of Terminal 1 to the gate. There is even a wait sometimes just to buy an airport tax coupon. Oh, and be sure to wear something cool while you endure the many queues and long trek to the gate as the aircon is barely functional.

Yes, Terminal 3 at NAIA looks very nice sitting out there gleaming in the sun, as it has done for nearly five years since it was finished. And if you think Thailand is bad, consider this: construction was started on Suvarnabhumi in 2002. That is the same year that Terminal 3 at NAIA (Manila) was completed. So today, BKK is operational, while Terminal 3 still sits there tangled in a soup of corruption, greed, and inefficiency. Terminal 3 does present a nice first impression to foreign businessmen who might be arriving in the Philippines for the first time and considering investing there!

I'm wondering who voted for Singapore, Hong Kong, and Incheon as worst airports? Those are three very nice airports IMHO, and wonder what it is about them that makes them so bad for some.

I think one problem with this poll is that some people only visit an airport once and have some bad experience, maybe not even airport related, but airline related, and then hate the airport because of one experience. Or even they may be voting on the old airport and haven't even visited since the new airport opened. The old Hong Kong and Seoul airports weren't exactly great airports, but their new versions are completely different than the old ones. Same for BKK. Some of the votes for BKK being the worst could be people voting for Don Muang, not Suvarnabhumi.

For me I have only been to BKK and Singapore Airports so I can't really comment on the best or worst. I never found fault with either.

The great views of the aircraft make Incheon my favourite. Shanghai (Pudong)'s endless rows of bland white benches in the transit area remind me of the prison scene from THX-1138.

Had to vote other for KLIA, which probably would've been a good addition to the list. It's fairly new and has received acclaim in the airport community. Haven't been to HK and Singapore though, so I might prefer those.

I've voted without yet having expereinced the new Bangkok Airport.

However, from past experience I always found that the old Bangkok Airport looked fantastic on the way in and bl00dy awful on the way out.

b]Incheon[/b..must admit its a nice airport but why do the Koreans always look SOOOO miserable...they never seem to crack a smile

Shanghai (Pudong)'s...was there a couple of weeks ago and admit that its a bit big /bland but the lounges are OK with the cafe/bar prices pretty good,not busy and a wee trainset just outside the terminal to die for....the Pudong to Shanghai Mag-lev.....whoosh

Recorded a speed of 432 kms/hour on way back...(approx 275 mph)

I'd match either the domestic or the international airports in Bombay (Mumbai) against Indira Gandhi International in Delhi for worst "honours", but it'd be a close race. B)

Funny you should mention the new airport. Its very nice and all but its too ###### small!! The passageway to passport control was kinda narrow. Not enough room around the baggage carousels. Only three urinals in the mens room so you had to wait your turn. And the arrival hall was so jam-packed you could barely push your cart through. I hate to say it but I think the old airport is better. I thought the whole idea of a new airport was to make it bigger for the increase in traffic. Somebody blew it.



This is a quote of a friend. He did not know about the new airport being open. I'm going to be in BKK nest week I'm worried.

Narita is the best by a mile. It would be leading if all voters had been there. It is efficient and clean and everything works. The only bad point is that customs, as a rule inspect all luggage, so make sure you have your luggage keys and combination lock numbers.

I voted Manila as worse. But I have been through some of the worst airports in the whole world, and every airport on this list is O.K. for me.

Try passing through Tripoli or Dhaka or Islamabad.

The OP needs to be more specific. What exactly are we voting on? Are we voting which airport is the best looking? Which is the most convenient? Which is the most customer-service friendly?

I see guys giving opinions saying they like one airport because it's new and looks nice. I guess we just have to vote on all around preference?

I like Narita the best because it's efficient, the people that work there are friendly and helpful, the bathrooms are kept super clean, they have the sleeping rooms and shower rooms for not too much money and if you get stuck there, hotels in the area won't kill you for cost.

Hong Kong is nice, clean and all but no cheap sleeping rooms and the airport hotel is ridiculously expensive. Plus it's too big with too much walking and there is nothing else around the area.

Osaka is very nice similar to Narita but can be a pain if you have to take the train.

The new airport in Incheon, Seoul, South Korea is very nice, clean and customer service friendly but the sleeping rooms are too expensive.

The worst would have to be Pyongyang in North Korea. I haven't been there but have heard terrible stories.

This post has been edited by TRIPxCORE: 2006-11-04 15:57:00

I had wanted to put in PP as well, for the same reasons, but then I thought about the poor relatives and drivers or whomever is charged with picking up people from the airport and their need to stay outside... It's the same in Siem Reap - nobody, except the passengers, is allowed inside the airport. Therefore: NO to PP, sorry.

Maybe true. But so far more than 50 % voted for Singapore as best airport - and so did I.

If you're going for compactness then Ha Noi takes the biscuit. Only nine gates, having time to kill I walked round the entire terminal and then had five minutes less time to kill.

Best airport in Asia for me is KLIA, judgement on Suvarnabhumi will wait until December when I avail myself of it's services.

Worst airport by a country mile is Manilla which is why I am going back there end Nov for a visit (GF needs to see family and get a visa renewal - yes muggins here is sponsor).

I like Sydney airport (ok so its stretching Asia a bit). Very relaxed, good food, free internet, lots of comfortable places to sit or work and NOBODY hassles you inside or out (except for a couple of lame-duck American Express sales people).

Worst: Kathmandu for general clapped-outedness, Bali for in-your-face corruption at immigration, and Beijing for depressing design.

Incheon is the most beautiful and best airport I have seen in my life, bar none. I was wowed by it; it's just such a remarkable looking structure and so well appointed and thought out. I have to think it would have fared better in the poll if more people had been to it. With all the horror stories and oversights of Thailand's new airport I fear it may be the worst, but I have not seen it yet so I am really curious to see it for myself. I thought Don Muang was fine. That blast of humidity as you went from plane then past customse was the unmistakable welcome that you were in Thailand again.

Pyongyang