Two Halifax Newspaper Daily’s recently congratulated Halifax for winning the banner of ‘Best Airport in the World’. Is this a joke?
3 first place finishes and a silver medal…? who exactly were these people surveying? First off, there is no convenient way for the public to access the airport. The company providing ‘frequent shuttle service’ is a cash grab, and even when I’ve held an overpriced shuttle ticket in my hand… I’ve waited for many shuttles to never show up, almost missing my flight and having to fork over more cash to a taxi. Arriving in ‘Stanfield’ at 11:30pm, the shuttle office has been closed, and I’ve been forced to cue for hours for taxis to drive out, only to get home at 2:00am, broke and pissed. The structure itself isn’t bad, but the fact that the city hasn’t addressed transportation problems makes it one of the least convenient to travel to. I’ve had the misfortune of being in many airports across Canada and the world, and I would have to rank the Stanfield International Airport near the bottom for having the worst on-ground public transit network I’ve encountered. The airport has responded to this problem by constructing more parking spaces amidst falling income levels and pre-existing empty parking lots. Good work!
In Montreal, billions were spent making ‘Mirabel International Airport’ (ironic acronym of MIA) the worlds second largest airport, yet its distant location and lack of transport links had passengers refusing to use it. This symbol of ‘national pride’ became a total embarrassment and is now only used for cargo. The only difference between this lovely structure, and Halifax’s Stanfield International Airport, is the latter holds a monopoly, and the citizens don’t raise a voice (a brief history of everything Atlantic).
You can build a beautiful structure in the middle of nowhere, like Ivory Coasts’ Yamoussoukro Basilica (which doubled the national debt in a country where most don’t have running water), yet it doesn’t always mean it was a good idea. But go on… congratulate yourself Halifax… looking at what our tax dollars fund, this failure is our greatest success.
—Michael
This article appears in Mar 12-18, 2009.
Maybe it’s Best Airport in the World of Bad Airports.
Hey poster, we think alike:
http://www.thecoast.ca/RealityBites/archiv…
Halifax is one of the worst airports I’ve ever been through – even in the under 5 million cat. – there are a lot more airports worthy of the title.
You folks should have been traveling through it back in the 70s/80s. It is hugely better. Best? Worst? I dunno, but way better or not so bad. Try the one in Quebec City sometime, thats what Halifax was like back then.
Heh, you think the shuttle is expensive here…I paid 20 bucks for a ONE WAY trip from the Royal York to Pearson last Sept, and the ONLY reason I did was because the subway didn’t start running until 9 and my flight left at 8.
Halifax, actually is a great airport to travel through, except for the parking issues. Security, for the most part, aren’t raging hemroidic assholes like some airport security (I’m looking at you, Pearson). And I’ve always found baggage claim to be pretty hassle-free. And this is from someone who turns into a huge bitch when she steps into an airport/plane 😛
Seriously though, I wouldn’t say HFX is the best. Ottawa’s airport is roughly the same size (they were actually designed to be roughly the same originally) and it’s miles above Halifax (except for the fucktard security guy who broke my laptop). Then again, more money’s been pumped into Ottawa’s airport than Halifax’s. But what’s great about Ottawa’s airport is its location relative to downtown. OC transpo had a route (or routes, it’s been a while) that goes directly from the airport to downtown in about 20 minutes. It’s -great-.
I dunno, I’ve always had pretty pleasant experiences with Stanfield, esp in comparison to other airports I’ve been through.
I’ve been everywhere from Heathrow to Newark, and trust me, YHZ is not really that bad. Not the best, maybe but nowhere NEAR the worst.
FACT:
HSIA has signed up to be graded in this competition. Not every airport in the world is being graded, only those airports willing to participate in the survey are graded. (126 in this case). There are over 597 airports that make up the council that conducted the survey. So HSIA is the best out of approximately 20% of these airports.
In the interest of full disclosure: I worked at the airport for four years (though not for the airport authority itself) from 2003-2007.
My opinions:
Not really bragging rights in my mind. Saying best in the world is a little misleading. Maybe, saying best out of X number of airports graded in this category.
Having said all this, the former CEO, Reg Miller, turned the airport around in the late ’90s and early 2000’s. It is interesting to note that some of the airports that beat HSIA in the overall category have been here to study how things are done. HSIA has hosted numerous delegations from airport operations around the world in order for them to study things here.
Also, this bitch is aimed at the ground transportation system at the airport. It does suck. There is no doubt about that, however, the airport did not receive an award for this, so I don’t get the bitch in relation to the award?
Y’all should read the titles more clearly! Best Airport “for it’s size”. They were commenting on the layout, hospitality and overall function-ability of the airport. For it being an international airport they got it RIGHT!
ever been JFK? You’ll go crazy!
Ciao
Having traveled through North America, Asia, and Australia…the worst airport is definitely the Halifax International. Even an airport in the middle of nowhere Philippines had better service.
<3 JFK
heh.
One of the things I like about our airport is the ease of getting around and knowing where to go. Been to Pearson, Calgary, Miami and Orlando, and all of these airports are too large and not conveniently organized. As far as the transportation issue, I agree it sucks but it’s not the resonsibility nor the fault of the airport. OP should direct his bitch at HRM.
In all honesty, access aside (although a cab ride is kinda cheap given the distance, btw) , the airport is decent. If you want a shit-hole, get stuck in Fredericton for 3 hours. It’s basically a tiny little thing, and the best thing about it is that you can get (relatively speaking) is cheap drinks. You walk to and from your plane as it’s only serviced by local airlines. In terms of Canadian airports, Halifax is in the top 5. Seriously. Trudeau? Absolute shit. It’s going through major renos right now and everything is torn up and looks ugly, and all of the amenities are super expensive (5 bucks for a sandwich? Fuck off!) oh, and good luck getting your luggage in a timely manner. Pearson is so huge, even regulars get lost. Winnipeg’s is pathetic as there’s nothing to do if you are on a layover. There isn’t even a bleedin’ coffee shop. Ottawa is okay, they’ve got a sports bar. I’ve never seen some of the larger American airports, but I’ve seen a solid chunk of Canadian ones and I’d say I like Stanfield the most.
They probably surveyed people delirious from the agony.
HSIA is a terrible airport, ground transportation issues aside (and they are significant). The check-in area is too small, the ceilings in many areas are too low, the walks too long for getting just about anywhere, and if you have to take one of the regional puddlejumpers you get exiled to no-man’s land. Add to that a surly and unhelpful airport staff and it’s clear this survey has no credibility.
The new parking garage just opened at stanfield. Just heard ol’ Brucey say there’s 2300 parking spaces now.
ALso: the last time I flew into Pearson, someone had shit themselves in the bathroom and there were shit prints and shit filled underwear all over the floor so…I guess Pearson really *is* a shitty airport. haha.
GET IT?
Srsly tho that stuff was dried and crusted so it’d been there for a while…obv. cleaning services aren’t too wonderful. At least in Hfx the bathrooms are cleaned on a regular basis.