Airports are an important part of our lives and also very essential. They mark our point of departure and arrival, transitional points, meeting, or separation. When traveling the world, you spend a significant amount of time at the airport, so it always feels good to spend a few hours in a comfortable and elegant airport. It is an added advantage if its architecture is exciting and beautiful. Who enjoys traveling through the world’s worst airport where attendants are rude and the infrastructure deplorable?
In the last ten years, the website database of the airports has grown tremendously from 10,000 to over 40,000 airport airports and airstrips around the world. That’s attributable to the lower cost of flying and the increase of population in the world. Here’s a list of the best airports in the world based on their artwork and architecture.
Incheon International Airport, Incheon, South Korea
According to airport council international, Incheon International Airport, Incheon, South Korea has consecutively been rated the best airport in the best airport in the world. It also has a five-star rating from Skytrax. Being the busiest airport and the largest in South Korea, Incheon airport has a golf course, spa, private dorms, a casino, and indoor gardens.
Dubai World Central International Airport, Dubai, UAE
Dubai World Central International Airport is the largest airport in the world. It has a projection of accommodating a maximum of 160 million passengers and 12 million tons of cargo per year when completed fully. The airport was inaugurated in 2010 and expected to be fully completed by 2027.
Menara International Airport, Marrakech, Morocco
The Menara International Airport is Morocco’s only airport in Marrakech. Its recent facelift and expansion made its ranking to shoot due to the façade created during the expansion. The services offered to the customer in the airport include ATMs, duty-free shopping, and free Wi-Fi connection, among others. 1952 was the airport’s inaugural year.
Denver International Airport, Colorado, USA
The airport has elicited a lot of theories over the years, hence resulting in the name “Denver airport conspiracy.” The designs throughout the building are unusual with rare minatory, though a few pieces have been linked to Nazism. There is an interesting piece in the main hall of a nazi soldier attacking the dove of peace. The granite monument is said to contain a “time capsule” that can only be opened in 2094. How weird is that?
Bilbao Airport, Bilbao, Spain
Talk of the most profitable airports in Spain, Bilbao airport is one of them – though not big in terms of size. It’s popularly known as “La Paloma” due to its design, which looks like a bird taking a flight. This airport was officially inaugurated in 2010.
Carrasco International Airport, Montevideo, Uruguay
Rafael Vinoly, a renowned architect in Uruguay, designed the Carrasco International Airport to be not only a modern beacon of transportation but also a symbolic figure. The terminal symbolizes the countries milestones in terms of investments, technology, high-quality services, architecture, and innovation. This airport officially came to life in 2009.
TWA Terminal, John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, USA
The design in John F. Kennedy International Airport looks like the wings of a seagull flight. The prestigious airport has appeared in several Hollywood movies such as catch me if you can. It was inaugurated in 1962.
Madrid-Barajas International Airport (Terminal 4), Madrid, Spain
The main objective of the airport is to send a message of peace, calmness, and lightness to passengers traveling through the airport. The materials used to build the airport are environmentally friendly. The integrated bamboo takes advantage of natural light. The inauguration date of Madrid-Barajas International Airport (Terminal 4) was 2006.
Beijing Capital International Airport (Terminal 3), Beijing, China
Beijing Capital International Airport (Terminal 3) in Beijing, China, was designed specifically to welcome athletes during the 2008 summer Olympics. The fuse between the traditional Chinese culture and modern architectural trends makes the airport stand out from the rest. This beautiful artwork is the brainchild of architect Norman Forster and his team.
Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan
Completed in 38 months, the Kansai International Airport boasts of one of the longest runways, stretching about four kilometers. Even better, the airport was built on the artificial island at Osaka Bay, employing about a million employees for the construction work. Additionally, the airport was constructed in such a way to resist natural disasters like earthquakes and typhoons.