I haven't really had any bad experiences, but I've had some pretty cool ones at airports in certain developing countries: driven straight to the plane in a private car minutes before the plane starts to taxi to the runway; arriving and being given an armed escort and bypassing immigration, customs, and baggage and going straight into a waiting car; using a vvip lounge. I was also once given an armed escort when I was departing, and I had no clue whether to tip the guards or not (in the end I offered whatever local currency I had left to them, but they did not accept it :)).

Worst experience was in LHR soon after 911. Security took forever, multiple checkpoints, but I don't classify it as a bad experience because it was understandable given the circumstances.

The rudeness came into play with that hyper-sensitive security. They took everything away from me for the manual scan, including wallet, passport, and boarding pass, put them through the Xray, and allowed them to sit unattended at the end of the conveyor belt several meters away while I was being probed -- carefully. Lots of people passed right by them.

The inspector made a loud joke about how he wasn't interested in my money. That was a nice touch, letting all the passers-by know.

I was not singled out for this, virtually everyone got the same treatment.

But they're the racist ones, right?

How does their ethnicity matter any more than yours should?

ORD wins this one, hands down... miserable, lazy staff. Even the TSA here manages to be about three times worse than usual.

I'm seeing what you're meaning..

We only connected through ORD once.. and maybe I got a good impression..

Perhaps I need to go through it a few more times.. to get used to the misery.:)

In my mind.. nothing worse than LAX..

Actually had a pleasent flight CUN-LAX.. UA at Exec check in got as E+ the row just behind bulkhead.. didn't charge us for it, and no fee for checked baggage..

Then reality hit.. land in LAX.. and 3 hours in customs.. made me think that the trip to LA wasn't worth it at the time when we were standing in line..

LAX! CBP is consistently horrible there.

My worst experience was in SYD where I had my most humiliating secondary screening ever (I was sent to secondary in DRW as well where they were a lot friendlier). I've only entered through SYD once though so it would be unfair to judge the airport solely on that experience. And the lady at the information desk was very helpful.

CDG (and I speak French). Stateside, my vote goes to BOS.

Was that on a US bound flight? I've never had any experience like that at FRA (or any German airport). If anything, they seem to be more careful and concientious about passenger personal posessions.

Boston.... very bad!

For security, LAX and RDU are the worst IMO.

For food service personnel, ATL takes the cake.

For general/overall rudeness across the board, LAX is the worst airport in the history of ever.

And while not asked, I've found that SW is the newly crowned rudest airline. They are making greyhound look appealing again.

FCO, and no US airport comes even close and I've been to most of them mentioned so far many times. It's not so much blatant rudeness as condescension and just the complete uselessness of the staff working there. They will make zero attempt to assist you with any problems and being Italy there are always operational issues. I go through FCO 1-2 times a year and upwards of 20-30% of the time it's a nightmare and it's entirely because of the airport and Alitalia staff.

I have to connect through ATL a lot, and my personal experience after flying through there for over 40 years, is, the level of rudeness encountered increases with every passing year. Doesn't matter if we're talking about food service personnel or GA's or FTO agents, or even the electric cart drivers.......hands down for me, ATL is simply awful.

+2^^

I agree wrt rudeness--no airport comes to my mind in particular. And, yes, in terms of contributing to a negative air travel experience, TSA is #1.

I'm surprised that you include SFO in your list above wrt international travellers. The SFO international terminal, and the airport in general, seems to be at international standards, to me. It also has nice public transport connections to the city of SF. Agreed that LAX and IAD are unimpressive. Curiously, I have never been to EWR.

This thread is an excellent reminder that very many posters are enjoying a very sheltered life, one that seemingly doesn't involve visiting other countries than the US.

I've been through LAX, JFK, EWR, BOS, DEN and MIA. MIA was pretty bad, but only in the language area - I did not expect having to learn Spanish before visiting the US. The rest are all just above the World average, unless compared to the really nasty destinations, in which case they are beacons of friendliness and efficiency.

You want rude? Try anywhere in Saudi as a westerner. Then multiply by 1000 if you hail from the Subcontinent. The way they treat guest workers from there is horrific, more akin to slave drivers than anything else. Have you ever been spit in the face by an official in the US? Thought not, but I've seen that happen in RUH.

You want inefficiency? Try anywhere in India. The level of bureaucracy is mind boggling, and there are seemingly hundreds of people doing nothing but stand behind an even larger number of people doing nothing at all.

You want to feel like a criminal, and being treated accordingly? Try Iran for size, and you'll make a beeline for even the worst the combined efforts of the TSA and CBA has to offer.

How about a combination of incompetence, laziness, discrimination and a large dose of corruption? I offer you Nigeria or the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This thread reminds of the numerous "worst airports", often populated by folks who haven't been outside the US, and certainly never experienced the "wonders" of Africa, India or certain places in Russia or Far East Asia.