The other day I came across a photograph of a stunning Art Deco airport and, although it is no longer in use as an airport terminal, it is now home to a lovely museum, the 1940 Air Terminal Museum, Houston.
Houston airport museum by Bill Wilkson.
Wanting to know more I started looking around the internet and from my search on Flickr, I was delighted to see just how many lovely Art Deco terminals there still are, including one just up the road from me at Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex, which I must try and get to see for myself sometime.
Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA by Guy Fisher
As well as these charming vintage airports, in total contrast, I also love the sleek futuristic airport interiors that would look at home in any modern science-fiction movie, such as Bangkok Airport pictured below. I can imagine feeling very important sweeping down these stairs!
Bangkok Airport by Glenn Foster
The connecting tunnel at Detroit Airport changes colour as you walk along to give you all the colours of the rainbow – lovely!
Detroit Airport, USA by Matt Cline
My favourite airport
I’m quite sure, however, that my favourite airport, IF I had ever been there, would be the award-winning Koh Samui Airport.
It’s been described as the most beautiful airport in the world, being both visually beautiful and environmentally friendly, in that it has been built using local material and with its open air design there is no need for air-conditioning. It really does look like the perfect place to relax while waiting for your flight.
Koh Samui Airport, Thailand by Guava
Bearing in mind that I have never been to any of those above, I have always thought of airports as merely a means to an end with one exception, Dubai.
I was on my way to India, quite a few years ago now, and the first leg of my journey was a flight to Dubai with Emirates. I have to say the service, food and everything about the flight was head and shoulders above any other airline I’ve flown with before or since. However, what really got me excited was the airport terminal itself. I loved it, from the set of Arab nesting dolls that I bought for less than £2 to the ostentatious gold palm trees that adorned the building itself. There were many beautiful things on sale at great prices so I made a mental list of all the things I wanted to buy and then picked them up on my stopover on the way back. Having already bought up half of India it was lucky that I had an extendable bag and a very generous luggage allowance! My poor credit card took a bit of a battering that year, which took a long time to recover from. I’m not normally much of a one for shopping but take me somewhere like India, or Dubai airport, and I instantly transform into a shopaholic!
Dubai Airport, by Jason Jones
Above, the hustle and bustle of Dubai airport as I remember it and below a stunning, more recent image of another part of the airport.
Wow! Don’t forget your sunglasses.
Dubai Airport by Johannes Heuckeroth from PNF Photo.
One day I hope to make it out of the airport and actually have a chance to explore Dubai itself but perhaps I should leave my credit card at home!
Do you have a favourite airport?
When I think of what I do or don’t like about airports, I’m thinking…
…length of queues
…shopping facilities (Brussels, where are they? I’m stuck here for four hours with nothing to do!)
…ease of finding your way around (Brussels, your confusing me!)
…not having to pay for those silly little plastic bags for your toiletries (Yes Stansted, I’m looking at you, grrrrr!)
and now, having seen all these beautiful airports on Flickr, I’ll have to add
…the design of the building
…and even, how environmentally friendly it is (OK, I guess most airports fail dismally on this point).
Do you have a favourite airport, whether because of its beautiful design or for any other reason, or indeed an airport that you don’t particularly like?
This post has been brought to you in association with Emirates. As always, my thoughts are my own, honest opinions.
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Currently sat at a gate in Koh Samui, it is indeed beautiful. Lovely evening breeze. Surrounded by beautiful flowers, gardens and lily ponds.
Taking in Bangkok and Dubai airports tonight, then dreary Glasgow!
I never new about the old airports in Houston or Pennsylvania. Very neat. I also really like the bright beautiful colors of at Detroit, always makes me smile when walking through that tunnel.
Happy to be able to introduce you to something new – aren’t they all lovely in their different ways.
I’m no big fan of flying so usually spend my time in airports in a state of extreme nerves and can barely remember any of them! I do recognise Koh Samui though and really liked being out in the open air. Though it’s the sort of thing that’d only work in Thai style climate!
Yes, not sure it would work that well in Edinburgh. Shame!
Glad you don’t like your dislike of flying stop you. Good for you!
Love this piece. We follow great airport photography on our Pinterest board: http://pinterest.com/flyinstyle/airports-for-shutterbugs/
And please stay tuned….we will be launching our global airport app to make airport wait time a little more fun, connecting you with more fun ways to pass time while you wait. Since it looks like you spend a fair amount of time in airports, we would love your thoughts once we go live:)
Please follow us @flyinstyleapp on twitter and on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/flyinstyleapp
Happy traveling!
Hi Amanda, Feel free to give me a shout when it goes live. What gorgeous photos on your pin board, really beautiful!
I used to live near Shoreham Airport which is where they filmed some of the Poirot series with David Suchet. It was very odd to go into the airport cafe one day to see Hercule himself and lots of people dressed in 30s costume – like stepping into a film.
Koh Samui is the only airport I’ve ever been in that had a thatched roof and one of those mini tourist trains to transport luggage.
When we arrived early morning at Ho Chi Minh Airport there was no-one on the visa desk. We asked around but to no avail – the security staff ‘not understanding’. Dead on 6am the visa clerk appeared from under the desk where he’d obviously slept all night 🙂
They all sound like airports with great character, in rather different ways!
I’ve been to Koh Samui airport and apart from showing the premiership football and offering free snacks, I don’t remember it standing out – sorry!
My favourite has to be Hong Kong for the views of the cable car, mountains and big Buddha. Least favourite is Berlin – an absolute mess and pretty hard to find a bar!
No need to apologise, although I do think showing the football is not a great plus point! (Mind you even I am known to watch international football on occasions but don’t tell anyone please!)
Hong Kong sounds fabulous though and I’ve never been to Berlin so can’t comment there.
Wow – Koh Samui! One thing I really hate about airports is that I feel like I cannnot breathe real air in them. That airport would be fantastic for me.
I have been in the Detroit airport, passing through during a layover at some ridiculous hour like 5:00 am and those bright lights were really a surprise.
A good surprise I hope, although is any sort of surprise good at 5 am in the morning?
I was coming home from Las Vegas so my eyes were used to bright neon. Otherwise, it might have killed my retinas!
I just don’t like airports at all, dreadful places full of petty beurocrats, expensive retail facilities and queues. I don’t queue well. If I had to nominate one as the absolute pits Heraklion in Crete would probably top the list. Check in is a nightmare as you have to check in your bag and then carry it yourself to one of the two X-Ray machines that serve the entire airport and fight through the hordes of passengers to get there, the security beurocracy is nightmarish, I had ny boarding card checked at least five times and my passport three times. when they singled out my partner’s hand baggage for a special search they held everyone else up in the queue at the knife arch while they did it, my local supermarket has better value booze than their duty free shop and to cap that I paid ou t€12 for three bottles of water and two tiny cans of lager at the bar.
In the UK I think Gatwick is the worst, but Luton isn’t far behind.
Oh dear! What to say….. Dare I ask… Do you like train travel? What about ferry terminals?
Very interesting airports. The Detroit Airport seems quite interesting, very modern. The Allegheny in Pennsylvania is also nice, looks like a typical country airport.
I think they are all quite beautiful in different ways.