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The worst Eurpoean airports

Anyone who has travelled will find this piece, from the IHT, about some of Europe's awful airports, resonates in many ways. Travel is supposed to be pleasurable - at least for the casual vacation-traveler. No longer. Read on - and reflect on your own horrible experiences:

"As we sat for an hour waiting to deplane at Leonardo da Vinci Airport from a short-haul flight this year, the pilot got on the public address system. "Sorry," he intoned. "Everybody knows this is one of Europe's worst airports."

At the time it seemed hard to argue: After the 50-minute flight and the wait to get off the plane, we would wait another hour around a carousel before receiving our luggage.

But these days, there is intense competition for the title of "worst airport."

Each year, the World Airport Awards, given by an air travel research and consulting firm called Skytrax, honor the best airports. Only a few in Europe made the top 10 this year: Munich is No. 4, Zurich is No. 6, Amsterdam Schiphol is No. 7 and Madrid Barajas is No. 10. The top three are in Asia, while no U.S. airports made the list.

While passenger numbers have skyrocketed in the past decade, airports have expanded in a makeshift fashion, leaving travelers to hike longer and longer distances. The treks are best suited for marathoners, doable for fit mortals. I am not quite sure how people with children or those who are elderly or have disabilities are expected to handle them."

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