Airport POWER RANKINGS #1
Once again, it’s football season! And as is tradition around this time every year, beat writers from every football blog imaginable will put together their own version of the best NFL team power rankings. I’ve decided to put together my version of power rankings using the international airports I’ve been to. I didn’t use any fancy metrics to rank them. I didn’t take into account the quality of the airport lounges or how great an expensive restaurant was. I just ranked them based on vibes. Let me know what you think. I’m going to update these rankings as I travel to other airports.
10. Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BML) - Berlin
Making the top 10 is BML. The first and only time I went to Berlin was with my college buddies right after graduation. We did a Europe trip over a couple of weeks, drinking as much as possible in every city we went to. We flew into Berlin from Paris at night. Each of us brought several shooters to drink during the flight. We all sat in the same row towards the back of the plane and by the end of the short hour and 45-minute flight, we had drunk all the shooters. Thinking back on it, I’m pretty sure everyone wanted to open the hatch and push us off the plane without parachutes.
We went to a restaurant to drink some beers as we waited for our checked baggage. It’s a miracle how we got to our Airbnb from the airport because we were so drunk by the time we left the airport. If this were a ranking of the airports I’ve been the drunkest at, this would be easily a top 3.
9. Heathrow Airport (LHR) - London
Coming in at number 9 is LHR. It’s low on the list because nothing special really pops out when I think of the international terminal at Heathrow. What’s convenient is that the airport is directly connected to London Underground (Piccadilly line) which can take you to London in 40 minutes.
8. Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN) - Barcelona
Next up is El Prat Airport in Barcelona. It’s not the only airport in Spain in this power ranking. The train ride from the airport to Barcelona is pretty quick since it’s pretty close to the city. With knowing barely any Spanish, I was able to get to Barcelona city center in about an hour. The train tracks go up a hill on the outskirts, so the train ride has a great view of the city.
7. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) - LA
I’ve been to LAX more than any other international airport, and each time the traffic gets worse and worse. The city has been promising that the renovation will clear up this traffic. The city of LA is in year 10 of what feels like a 50-year plan to renovate a small section of the airport. I remember arriving at LAX when I was a child and there was the same construction going on.
The domestic terminals are nothing special either. It feels outdated and dirty. It’s a huge pain in the ass if you need to switch terminals. You have to walk outside and sometimes there’s not even a sidewalk for people to walk on. I guess we’ll just have to wait another 40 years. I do love the views of Los Angeles during the descent.
6. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) - Atlanta
The best part about Hartsfield-Jackson is that it’s a Delta hub. The airport dedicates a whole terminal just for Delta airlines. If you are on any other airline, you are going to be in the other terminal. There are 7 concourses in total, all connected by SkyTrain trains that stop by each concourse every 2 minutes. This makes it convenient for the millions of passengers that come through every year to get to their gates on time. It’s the busiest airport in the U.S., but when I’m in there, it doesn’t feel like it because there is no wait for anything.
The dining options are mostly fast food, and it’s not that great, to be honest. They are there for a quick bite.
5. Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas (MAD) - Madrid
MAD squeaks into the top 5. This airport might be the only airport in Europe that is as clean as the airports in Asia.
I’ve never had to walk more than at this airport from arrival to my gate. It felt like I had to speed walk through an endless number of corridors and stairs. But is it weird that I enjoyed it? I enjoyed walking through the airport. If you like people watching then this is the right airport for you.
4. Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) - Hong Kong
It might not be a surprise that 4 out of my top 5 airports are in Asia. Coming in at number 5 is Hong Kong. I had a layover here on my way to Shanghai. The airport covers just 19 square miles of land, but when I was in the terminal, the place felt absolutely massive. I think it was because the international terminal was just one giant hallway with high ceilings. I felt like I was walking through this terminal for miles before I got to my gate. I’m pretty sure there was a second level to this terminal too.
What’s even more impressive was that every inch of this place was squeaky clean. This seems to be a common theme among airports in Asia. It must take an army of janitors to properly clean this place every night.
3. Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) - Shanghai
This airport has something called an “automatic people mover” Going to have to put this in the top 5 purely based on this information. It’s basically a metro system that takes you from one terminal to another. I didn’t get the chance to ride this when I was there, but I’m going to make a point to next time.
2. Incheon International Airport (ICN) - Seoul
When I moved to the US as a child, my family and I flew out of Gimpo International Airport. Since then, Korea has replaced it with Incheon airport. There were a couple of small islands nearby and Korea decided to connect them together by creating land in between them. Then they used the new land to build this airport. It’s 30 miles from Seoul. It’s still considered a brand new airport with it’s 4th phase in progress. Every facility is brand new and it has that brand new airport smell.
Coming in hot at number 2, this airport has so much stuff to do that you wouldn’t have to have a layover. It’s the only airport I’ve seen with live music concerts in the middle of the terminal. There’s also Korean museums and exhibition rooms dotted throughout.
This airport includes a golf course, an ice skating rink, indoor gardens, and even a casino.
1. Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) - Singapore
First of all, this airport is unique because this is the only airport in the world with a 130ft tall, indoor waterfall. The waterfall is in the center of a circular retail complex called Jewel Changi, where you can spend a whole day just window shopping.
It also has the most high-tech luggage check-in and security systems I’ve ever seen. I attached my tags to my luggage and handed them to the agent. Then the agent lifted it onto a futuristic-looking loading dock with a conveyor belt. There was a set of cameras that read the tag and automatically sorted it to make sure it was headed to the correct plane.
Then the security check was something I had never experienced before. There was no x-ray machine, no taking my shoes off, no security guards. It was just a fancy-looking electronic turnstile. It scanned my passport and a green light flashed and I was through.
Honorable Mentions: Haneda Airport (HND), Los Cabos International Airport (SJD), Dubrovnik Airport (DBV)