The airports miles and miles away from their namesakes revealed
09:25 04 September 2009
Have you ever gone on holiday, arrived at an airport and then had to travel miles and miles until you actually get anywhere near the city the airport is supposedly named after? Well you certainly wouldn't be alone. And it's no surprise after the results of a new survey have revealed this is common issue all over the world.
Travel search site Skyscanner.net has investigated the world of ambiguous airports, where the airport is actually nowhere near the city it claims to serve.
Barry Smith, co-founder and director of Skyscanner said of the findings: "It's easy to get caught out by flying to an airport that is miles away from where you want to be, especially if youÂ’re not familiar with your destination."
Skyscanner named and shamed the worst offenders of this irritating offence, with Munich West topping the list at 70 miles away from the centre of Munich. Germany featured another two airports in the worst offenders' top 10, while Britain was featured four times.
The research also discovered airports a little nearer to the truth of their title. Taiwan's Taipei Sungshan Airport and Salt Lake City in the US tied as the nearest, at only 3 miles from their respective city centres.
Smith had some words of advice for travellers eager to holiday on a budget: "That low price flight could easily be offset by the cost of a bus or taxi fare. Double check the airport location before your book, especially when flying on low-cost airlines."
Some of the worst offenders:
1. Munich West (Memmingen) – 70 miles (112km) from central Munich
2. Oslo (Torp) – 68 miles (110km) from central Oslo
3. Frankfurt (Hahn) – 68 miles (110km) from central Frankfurt.
4. London (Oxford) – 60 miles (97km) from central London
5. Stockholm (Skavsta) – 59 miles (95km) from central Stockholm
6. Barcelona (Girona) – 58 miles (94km) from central Barcelona
7. Barcelona (Reus) – 58 miles (94km) from central Barcelona
8. Paris (Beauvais ) – 55miles (88km) from central Paris
9. Dusseldorf (Weeze) – 50 miles (80 km) from central Dusseldorf
10. London (Stansted) – 40 miles (km) from central London
11. Tokyo (Narita) – 37 miles (60km) from central Tokyo
12. Verona (Brescia) – 33 miles (53km) from central Verona
13. Glasgow (Prestwick) – 32 miles (51km) from central Glasgow
14. London (Luton) – 32 miles (51km) from central London
15. Milan (Bergamo) – 31 miles (50km) from central Milan
And some of the closest airports
1. Taipei Sungshan Airport – 3 miles (5km) from central Taipei
2. Salt Lake City Airport – 3 miles (5km) from central Salt Lake City
3. Honolulu Airport – 4 miles (7km) from central Honolulu
4. Lisbon Airport – 4 miles (7km) from central Lisbon
5. Bucharest Otopeni Airport – 4 miles (7km) from central Bucharest
6. Mexico City Juarez International – 4 miles (7km) from central Mexico
7. London City Airport – 6 miles (10km) from central London
8. Warsaw Airport – 6 miles (10km) from central Warsaw
9. Vancouver Airport – 8 miles (13km) from central Vancouver
10. Edinburgh Airport– 8 miles (13km) from central Edinburgh