London's Heathrow tops list of worst airports, again

Time : 2009-10-28

SYDNEY - London's Heathrow Airport has been voted the worst airport in the world for the second year running in a poll of 14,500 frequent fliers while Singapore's Changi was again ranked as the best.

The survey participants, all member of airport lounge program Priority Pass, rated Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport as the world's second worst with Los Angeles International Airport coming third despite a recent $1 billion overhaul.

"A result that suggests anyone wanting a romantic break in Paris should avoid the Heathrow-Charles de Gaulle route if they don't want to kill the mood," said a statement from Priority Pass.

"Sadly, Heathrow remains firmly entrenched as the airport the world loves to hate," added Jonathan French, head of brand for Priority Pass.

Also coming in the bottom five in the online poll were Frankfurt International and Miami International airports.

One of the few major countries whose travelers did not put Heathrow at or near the bottom of the list was the United States. U.S. fliers rated Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York JFK as the worst.

At the other end of the scale, the poll conducted in September among fliers from 160 countries found that Singapore Changi topped the list of the world's best airports followed by Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok.

This was the second consecutive year that these airports have come in the top two slots.

The favorite airport in Europe was Amsterdam Schiphol.

The respondents to the survey were all frequent travelers who have taken on average 17 flights in the past 12 months.