The worst airport in the world? Easy, it’s Los Angeles

The worst airport in the world is in Los Angeles. This is the opinion of one who has passed through airports in Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Dallas, Orlando, Washington DC, Singapore, Bangkok, Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, Cancun, Colombo, Dubai and London (Heathrow and Gatwick).

I have passed through LA in 2013, 2014 and 2016. Why does LA qualify as the worst? The buildings and facilities are alright but the staff are both incredibly inefficient and rude. They do not seem to give a damn about doing their jobs – which is to ensure that passengers get through the airport as fast as possible and catch their connecting flights or leave for their homes.

It is common to find airport staff — and there are legions of them — lounging around while crowds of passengers try desperately to get through the maze-like rigmarole that passes for immigration. There is no thought given to the fact that there may be passengers who have little time to catch a connection – anyone who wants to seek assistance has to go searching for some majordomo who is in charge, some tinpot dictator who is located at a considerable distance away from the milling crowd.

Then in order to change terminals, one has to walk the better part of three kilometres. I kid you not. No shuttle buses, no vans, no nothing. This is supposed to be one of the best known cities in the world. Had this been a Third Wold airport, I’m sure that all the white people would be complaining. Yet, in a so-called First World country, one is expected to overlook this mess.

The staff at customs are rude. I think they receive special training towards this and the ones who end up being the most obnoxious get awards. There is no other reason to account for the fact that they behave like thugs, boors and buffoons.

Many of the staff I have encountered are unhelpful, semi-literate and yet seem to think that they are the best. Perhaps this is because of the myth spread by the US media that the country is the best in the world. They need to remove the scales off their eyes.

The level of arrogance is so high that you cannot transit through LA without having your baggage checked. And then the customs officer has the gall to ask you why you are going to the third country for which you are bound. When I told the man who asked me this impertinent question — I was en route to Mexico — that it was none of his business, he sent me for a secondary check, a cheap way of getting back at me.

There appears to be the distinct feeling that people cannot avoid travelling to the US and that they have to put up with whatever is dished out. Nobody is indispensable and the Americans will end up learning this lesson the hard way.


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