World’s Worst Airports, Ranked
When AirHelp recently announced its ranking of 141 airports across the world, Hamad International Airport in Qatar, Athens International Airport in Greece and Haneda Airport in Tokyo were given reason to celebrate. The top three airports on the list all earned praise for their friendly service, timeliness and clean, modern amenities.
Unfortunately, not every airport came out looking so good.
The following 20 airports earned the lowest marks, based on data assessing on-time performance, public reviews of quality of service and passenger sentiment on social media. Suffice to say, these airports have provided passengers plenty to complain about.
20. Geneva Airport
On-time performance: 7.5
Quality of service: 6.8
Passenger sentiment: 2.6
TOTAL: 6.7 (out of 10)
Geneva Airport, which used to be called Cointrin Airport, is the main international airport of Geneva, the second-largest city in Switzerland. Sure, the airport is convenient — it’s just a few miles outside of the city center — but the perks seem to stop there.
Travelers say it’s disorganized and that the security area feels very cramped.
“The lines and security are extremely inefficient and outdated, every kiosk is understaffed, and the whole place is small so every place is jam packed with people,” one reviewer wrote.
19. London Gatwick Airport
On-time performance: 7.3
Quality of service: 6.8
Passenger sentiment: 0.6
TOTAL: 6.66 (out of 10)
Located about 30 miles south of London, Gatwick Airport serves some 45 million passengers traveling to 228 destinations in 74 countries each year.
Though Gatwick has lots of fans, other travelers have complained that it’s outdated and lagging behind when it comes to amenities offered at other airports. People also don’t like that the airport essentially forces you through a duty-free shopping area after you go through security.
One reviewer summed it up nicely when he wrote: “Definitely not the most modern of airports, in need of a lot of investment in all areas. Lack of staff and comfortable seating.”
18. Stockholm Arlanda Airport
On-time performance: 5.7
Quality of service: 7.8
Passenger sentiment: 5.4
TOTAL: 6.62 (out of 10)
Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport is the city’s largest and most popular airport. Last year, more than 26 million people traveled through Arlanda — but that doesn’t necessarily mean they enjoyed themselves.
The airport, which is roughly 25 miles north of the city center, frequently gets dinged for its unfriendly staffers, long wait times for baggage claim and long lines everywhere.
One passenger traveled through Arlanda was so unenthused by his time there that he took to the internet to write: “Constant delays, long queues, clueless staff, toilet shortage in gate areas, no drinking water taps. Terrible airport.” Yikes.
17. Reykjavik Keflavik International Airport
On-time performance: 6.7
Quality of service: 7.0
Passenger sentiment: 4.6
TOTAL: 6.61 (out of 10)
If you booked a cheap flight to Europe from the U.S., chances are pretty good that you’ll be flying through Iceland’s Reykjavik Keflavik International Airport, thanks to popular flight deals from budget airline WOW Air.
People say it’s clean and modern, but way too small to accommodate all the people flying through (the terminal is being expanded right now).
“An authentic nightmare,” one passenger wrote. “Structure and organization totally inadequate to manage the tourist flows … Personnel desperately trying to manage but systematically overwhelmed by people.”
Hopefully the expansion fixes all that!
16. Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport
On-time performance: 6.7
Quality of service: 7.2
Passenger sentiment: 3.2
TOTAL: 6.59 (out of 10)
Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson International Airport has the distinction of being the busiest airport in all of Canada — and that’s a lot of pressure.
With some 44 million passengers traveling through each year, of course there are going to be some disgruntled ones. Despite Canadians’ reputation for being friendly, many travelers reported rude staffers on their way through this airport, along with little to no signage and delays at every turn.
“Oh how I loathe this airport. I’ve had luggage lost. I’ve had bags take an hour to drop on the belt. I’ve had delay after delay. I’ve had airplanes arriving on time to full gates and blocked taxiways. This is a terrible airport. Terrible,” one frustrated traveler wrote.
15. John Paul II International Airport Krakow-Balice
On-time performance: 5.8
Quality of service: 7.6
Passenger sentiment: 5.3
TOTAL: 6.56 (out of 10)
Located just 10 miles outside the city center of Krakow, the John Paul II International Airport Krakow-Balice serves an area with roughly 7.9 million residents.
Though it recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, the airport has quite a few detractors who complain about everything from dirty facilities to rude employees.
One passenger’s advice? Avoid at all costs. “I’ve travelled through loads of airport as a frequent flyer, well (I’ve) never seen such a bad airport like this one. Toilets absolutely disgusting, the security operated by totally arrogant and rude people who want to humiliate you as much as possible.”
14. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
On-time performance: 6.7
Quality of service: 6.8
Passenger sentiment: 5.0
TOTAL: 6.56 (out of 10)
Though it’s the largest international airport in France, Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris has a reputation for being disorganized, unclean and generally slow (the staff don’t appear to be very helpful or friendly, either).
One passenger took to the internet to express his frustration, writing: “This airport truly is terrible, inefficient, dirty and overall provides a bad service for international travelers. Well worth the visit for the novelty of seeing an awful airport, so you can appreciate the good ones.”
In other words, you really don’t know how nice you have it at other airports until you fly through Charles de Gaulle.
13. Berlin Schönefeld Airport
On-time performance: 8.7
Quality of service: 4.6
Passenger sentiment: 4.9
TOTAL: 6.48 (out of 10)
When you get a review like this, you know things aren’t good: “Pretty sure there are prisons with better customer service. Honestly one of the worst airport experiences I’ve ever had. Avoid if possible.”
Apparently, Berlin’s Schönefeld Airport has made quite a few people unhappy over the years. It’s one of three main airports serving Berlin and is located about 15 miles southwest of the city center.
Travelers report that it’s small, crowded and that there just aren’t enough seats to accommodate the high number of people flying through on a daily basis.
12. Moscow Domodedovo Airport
On-time performance: 6.6
Quality of service: 7.4
Passenger sentiment: 1.6
TOTAL: 6.46 (out of 10)
Domodedovo is one of three international airports serving Russia’s capital city of Moscow. It’s nearly 30 miles from the city center, though an express train can get you there in 40 to 50 minutes.
Apparently, the people who work at the airport are not very friendly and the gate areas are overrun with too many passengers.
“Crowded horror show. Not enough seating available and you’re not allowed to sit on floor. Not sure whether it’s just Russian language barrier or staff hate you,” one traveler wrote.
11. Newark Liberty International Airport
On-time performance: 7.5
Quality of service: 6.5
Passenger sentiment: 1.5
TOTAL: 6.4 (out of 10)
Disorganized. Dirty. Long Lines. Rude staff. Those are just a few of the complaints you might hear about Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
The airport, which first opened in 1928 (yes, 90 years ago) as the New York metropolitan area’s first major airport, is managed by The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
It’s undergone renovations, but the upgrades haven’t impressed many of the 43 million people who travel through this airport each year. “If I could rate my experience this morning any lower I would, but sadly 1 star is as low as it can go,” one traveler wrote.
10. Eindhoven Airport
On-time performance: 5.9
Quality of service: 7.2
Passenger sentiment: 5.1
TOTAL: 6.39 (out of 10)
Eindhoven in the Netherlands is not the absolute worst of the airports analyzed by AirHelp — but it’s certainly not the best either.
A quick scan of comments on the Eindhoven Airport Facebook page brings up a myriad of complaints about bad customer service, long security lines and general disarray. One representative review? “After being dismissed by every staff member with the response of ‘That’s not my problem!’, it was nearly impossible for us to speak to someone in charge and when we finally got contact info they responded with a generic email just giving their condolences. Your condolences don’t give me back my money for the flight I missed because the airport security was such a train wreck.”
9. Bordeaux-Merignac Airport
On-time performance: 7.4
Quality of service: 5.6
Passenger sentiment: 5.1
TOTAL: 6.37
The Bordeaux-Merignac Airport is located seven miles outside the city center of Bordeaux in southwestern France. While it received decent marks for on-time performance in AirHelp’s analysis, the airport lost points for passenger sentiment and quality of service.
Complaints about this airport frequently target unclean restrooms, long security lines, rude staff members and an overall unwelcoming feeling. Reviewers have called it a “shed” that’s “the cheapest of the cheap,” with a “primitive” security process and “indifferent food.” Wrote one disgruntled passenger, “The whole atmosphere gives the impression of what I would imagine a world war 2 experience would be.”
8. Edinburgh Airport
On-time performance: 6.6
Quality of service: 7.0
Passenger sentiment: 1.8
TOTAL: 6.29
Though Edinburgh Airport touts itself as being “where Scotland meets the world,” some travelers were thoroughly unimpressed with this airport. According to AirHelp’s analysis, the airport received pretty awful marks for passenger sentiment, which dragged down its overall score.
People who have flown through Edinburgh say it’s difficult to navigate, mismanaged and chaotic. Travelers also point out that the airport is severely lacking in seats to accommodate passengers as they wait, so many people end up sitting on the ground — definitely not ideal.
7. Boryspil International Airport
On-time performance: 4.3
Quality of service: 8.0
Passenger sentiment: 4.9
TOTAL: 6.03
If you’re planning to visit Kiev, Ukraine, chances are you’ll be flying into the No. 7 worst airport in the world, Boryspil International Airport.
Travelers have griped about it being difficult to connect to this airport’s Wi-Fi and to find drinking fountains to fill up their water bottles. Another common complaint? Shoddy restrooms, which have been described as “smelly” with “toilets which were really dirt.”
6. Manchester Airport
On-time performance: 6.1
Quality of service: 6.6
Passenger sentiment: 2.6
TOTAL: 5.95
People really like to complain about Manchester Airport — and that negative passenger sentiment is one of the main reasons the airport is No. 6 on this list.
Most recently, people have been grumbling about the fact that Manchester now charges a fee for passenger drop-offs, so even those who aren’t actually stepping foot inside the airport have something bad to say about it. As one reviewer put it, “New drop-off parking charges are slimy, money grabbing and shameful.”
Other travelers say the airport doesn’t have enough staff to keep up with the number of passengers traveling through it, which creates long lines and lots of frustration.
5. Stockholm Bromma Airport
On-time performance: 4.4
Quality of service: 7.6
Passenger sentiment: 5.1
TOTAL: 5.91
Despite Sweden regularly being named one of the happiest countries in the world, the country’s Stockholm Bromma Airport, located a few miles west of the city center, has caused quite a lot of headaches for recent travelers.
Though it’s much closer to the center of Stockholm than Sweden’s largest airport, Arlanda, travelers complain that Bromma is tiny, which means there are few places to sit when things get busy. On the other hand, a smaller airport also means quicker check-in and security procedures, travelers report, so you may not want to write off Bromma completely.
4. Paris Orly Airport
On-time performance: 5.3
Quality of service: 6.8
Passenger sentiment: 4.1
TOTAL: 5.83
If you aren’t flying into Paris’s main international airport, Charles de Gaulle, you’re likely flying into Orly Airport, south of the city center. And chances are, this will lead to a not-so-pleasant experience.
In addition to the airport’s low marks from AirHelp, travelers don’t hold back on its Facebook page. Some of the most common complaints about Orly include that it’s crowded, not welcoming, disorganized and somewhat difficult to navigate. (“Most pathetic international airport [I] have ever been to,” wrote one Facebook reviewer. “Hands down worst airport experience in the decade I’ve been traveling internationally,” groused another.).
3. Lyon-Saint-Exupery Airport
On-time performance: 6.1
Quality of service: 5.8
Passenger sentiment: 4.2
TOTAL: 5.78
Though travelers love the design and architecture of Lyon-Saint-Exupery — the airport, located on the eastern outskirts of Lyon, France, has a distinctive fan-shaped canopy over its rail station — that’s about where their compliments stop.
Travelers have complained about the lack of technology during the check-in process, long lines and unhelpful French staffers. Or, as one passenger more crudely put it in a review, “What a bunch of complete useless idiots must run this place. Honestly a child could do a better job.”
2. London Stansted Airport
On-time performance: 6.2
Quality of service: 5.8
Passenger sentiment: 1.1
TOTAL: 5.53
When you think of London airports, you typically picture Gatwick or Heathrow. But don’t leave out London Stansted Airport, which is roughly 40 miles northeast of the city center.
The airport also happens to be the second worst in the world, according to AirHelp’s findings, due to an abysmal score for passenger sentiment (though surprisingly not as low as London Gatwick Airport) and mediocre marks elsewhere.
What do travelers have to say about Stansted? Well, for starters, they complain that the lines for check-in and security are always incredibly long and that it takes forever to get your bags once you land.
1. Kuwait Airport
On-time performance: 4.1
Quality of service: 7.0
Passenger sentiment: 3.9
TOTAL: 5.40
Coming in at “No. 1” on the list of the worst airports in the world? Kuwait Airport.
Travelers flying through here noted that it was disorganized and not as clean as they would have liked, and that they felt the staff was not very friendly.
As one disgruntled passenger put it succinctly: “This airport is a total disgrace.”
