Concerto

In Europe, the defunct Berlin TXL used to have security at each gate. It appears that FRA terminal 2 has the same.

In GVA you can mostly avoid the shopping area by simply not walking into it. Not the case in ZRH, where you are made to walk through it after security. In DUS you can avoid the duty free in terminals A and B (in B just go through the doors on the extreme left).

Duck1981

When it comes to shopping, isn't it also a benefit/ issue (depends how you see it) that the US never had tax free shopping?

Looking at LHR T5, the likes of Tiffany/ Prada/ Gucci etc. where buzzing with international shoppers before the Government ended tax free shopping, by now all these shops look mostly deserted when I pass by.

poisson

have you seen train stations in Europe? The bigger ones are basically inside of a shopping mall. Some even have grocery stores.

passy777

I would prefer to walk through a shopping mall to the gates rather than a soulless tunnel.

Nobody has ever forced me to enter the shops to buy anything and walking past them is hardly an ordeal.

lsquare

What's the reason for​​​​​​ doing security at the gate? SIN seemed pretty unique to me and I can't figure out why.

1P

It seems that all OP is concerned about is having a big duty-free store. That shows a bizarre understanding of priorities for air travel.

If s/he thinks the US is bad, come to LHR where the walk to the gates can be a mile long (literally � outer gates at T2, for example), or to Frankfurt, where badly laid-out terminals, etc, pretty much guarantee a minimum half hour walk through a wilderness of endless tunnels, unnecessary security checkpoints, etc, every time you connect there.

In Europe generally, jetbridge gates are the exception rather than the rule at many airports. Normative are remote stands with bussing to the plane, and even if it's not a remote stand you'll often be faced with steps up to the plane. The great thing about many US airports is that most non-puddle jumper flights that you're likely to take will leave from a gate with a jetbridge. Much more civilized!

It's all about perspective. I personally don't give a toss about being able to buy over-priced designer handbags or perfumes on my way through an airport. I do care about having jetbridges to access planes.

der_saeufer

I lived there, so yeah

Lots of train stations in Europe have grocery stores, caf�s, etc. but none of them is particularly luxurious and the shopping is mainly the sort of stuff one would want at a train station like magazines, food, beer, ibuprofen, etc. rather than Rimowa and Rolex. That's all I want in my regular U.S. airports--and a lot of the bigger U.S. airports basically have all the usual shopping mall stuff anyway. Fewer thieves than most European train stations, though.

The big connector airports like SIN and DXB are a different creature altogether--there, the nice stuff makes sense and, I assume, turns a profit.

How could I forget gates without jetbridges. Bus gates at Lisbon did at least get me some sweet EU 261 compensation a couple times, but there's nothing I love more than having to walk across the ramp in Northern Europe in December with a little kid when it's pouring rain. At least there was a nice duty-free shop where I could buy him some overpriced chocolate?

BuildingMyBento

They're forgettable airports. China and India have a lot of new, giant, glass-and-steel behemoths that look appealing upon landing -- that is, if the air pollution isn't so bad that day. But take a walk around them, and there will be a lot of cut corners such as chipped tiles or doors that don't close 100%, smoking in the restrooms (more of a China thing), crappy monochromatic food choices, and zero customer service. The U.S. is the same, just without the glass-and-steel bit.

IggySD

MCI is similar although I think there may be a couple of gates behind the checkpoints. For US airports I believe it was the pre-2001 mindset where you could just breeze through security immediately before your flight. I think DFW used to have gate specific security as well but has since been changed. Ex-US KUL also has gates with their own security, can�t remember if it�s just domestic or all gates. No idea what the rationale is for KUL and SIN but maybe they figured it�s easier to spread out security for anyone connecting vs having a central location? Doesn�t really bother me except on the occasions when your flight is delayed and you�re trapped at the gate.

EXP100

For me a "good airport" is one that is easy to get in/out, around and close to ground transportation (no external train like MIA). I don't need or want a shopping mall. A few necessity stores are good enough.

M60_to_LGA

Because Jesus hates taxes and infrastructure

More seriously, America has serious problems with public investment at all levels, exacerbated by the fact that our costs are excessively high and our entire bureaucratic process is broken - needing a 1000-page EIS and 40 rounds of public consultation for just about anything, etc. And let's not forget good old corruption and graft in many regions of the country (hello, NY) - the same reason we can't build a new subway station for less than eleventy trillion dollars.

Also, isn't airport construction in the US often led by the airlines themselves rather than being treated as a public good by the government? That ends up discouraging investment because companies will see it as a cost.

I will say that some US airports are fine. CLT is nice, DFW is tolerable, the new LGA is actually quite pleasant. But yeah - most are mediocre to hot garbage - looking at you, EWR.

IluvSQ

Primarily because arriving and departing passengers are not segregated - they mingle in the same concourses.
So this is to prevent an arriving passenger coming from an airport without adequate screening to pass contraband on to
a departing passenger.

This is also why a few arriving flights are selected for security screening on arrival.

CGK T2 also had screening at the gates until a few years ago, then they shifted to screening at each concourse

beachmouse

My biggest complaint about ATL is that Delta is now running mainline out of the D Concourse gates that were originally designed for Barbie Dream Jets and the seating situation there can be really miserable. Otherwise I�ve come to appreciate its very logical layout and ability to move huge number of passengers very efficiently every day. And it�s hard for them to have to work around that many people to make improvements there- it took them forever to get rid of the dropped ceilings in some of the older concourses a few years back because they could only work between maybe midnight and 4:00am.

With Zurich you get the grocery store right between the airport and the train station for the airport.

IIRC, AMS had security at the gates until somewhere around 2016-17.

oreocookies

I've been to Zurich, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, etc... in my experience, they are more spread out and more of a hassle for travel. Like, what is it with needing to take a bus to and from the plane and gate? These airports aren't even designed to let planes park at the gate so travelers can walk from the gate to their plane. On my last trip to Germany, we had to walk down a steep set of stairs with luggage and board a bus where we were packed in like sardines, and I watched the older people struggle because there was no ramp or elevator or anything. American airports have a lot of amenities that airports in Europe do not, specifically the ease of the actual travel. Who cares if American airports don't have duty free shops? I've never bought anything at duty free in my life - I don't think it's actually any cheaper.

I always thought PDX was one of the nicer airports with its shopping and food selections. They even hire harp players and piano players to play there. PDX also recently had some renovations in the last few years. What do you think is so terrible? Because I can assure you, there are worse airports.

TBD

We'll have to agree to disagree.

I can think of a few nice US airports, my home airport (TPA) being one of the best! Airports have been on a spending spree in the last few years. JFK, LGA, and LAX are improving. Otherwise, big city airports like Philly, Chicago, San Fran, DC, and NYC (etc) reflect the cities they're in - old and not in great shape.

I can't think of a single EU airport that I would consider "nice" except maybe MUC. Or HEL. Bus gates should be an automatic disqualifier (acknowledging MUC does this sometimes).

Finally, I'm absolutely fine with gov't ownership of airports. It means we don't have tolls to drop someone off.