My worst experience was flying out of phoenix sky harbor and the Nashville TN airports security personel actually slapped my hands away from my bags in both places. At the Phoenix one i had put my luggage down where they xray the bags and i reached to push down the extended handle and the man slapped my hand away. Then in Nashville going through security to the gate they were checking my backpack and the woman was finished with it and my shoes so i started to put my shoes in the backpack and she also slapped my hands away. It has also been my experience coming into the US from overseas that the immigration personel are very rude and abrupt and I'm an american citizen. I can't imagine how they must treat our overseas visitors.

One of the worst experiences I had was at the Lagos International Airport in Nigeria. This experience was over 10 years ago but still very vivid in memory while I also understand that not much as changed. My ordeal started with the usual booking for my return flight from Nigeria to Paris - Charles De Gaulle. What seemed to be a routine day leaving my corporate living compound I ended finding myself arriving to an airport where some distress was apparent. Impatient people, line formations that would resemble a gathering of cattle as they are moved from one field to another and a prominent police and military presence was obvious! I did not think anything about it as I had become somewhat impervious to violence and disorder after being in Nigeria for 4 years. Apart from the usual delays and over booking as well as the several security check points where bribing was a normal protocol to the police and military gendarmes, I proceeded to the embarkation process. Needless to say this time around was less than normal.... First the plane did not make it to the terminal so we had to walk from the terminal to almost, what seemed to be the runway. This process not usual in Africa was terrifying as we had to jog around planes moving around the gate areas while trying to assure that one would not find himself directly behind an airplane for the obvious reason. However the most disturbing experience from this entire ordeal had to be in trying to get on the plane itself. Again one was confronted to a pack of cattle or even perhaps a pack of wolves trying to embark on the plane. People were fist fighting, throwing each other off the stairs leading to the planes entrance, tossing carry-on bags, pushing, and screaming. Violence erupted like I had seldom seen, even in Nigeria, simply to make it aboard the flight. I was somewhat lucky as I made it into the plane following closely the crew members from Air France who were as much as I was completely taken by the situation. When the plane appeared to be reasonably full the door was closed irrespective of the traditional headcount. Several people had to sit near the stern of the plane or where ever stability could be found as there were more passengers than seats available. The shocking revelation of this dramatic exit from Nigeria was seen and felt when people on board the plane were cleaning up bloody fists, nose and attending to cuts and bruises while changing from the traditional attire to a more European attire. The sole explanation that was given for this eventful flight day was that we were approaching Ramadan and that many people wanted to leave the country for this month long period....

Arguably I am sure that several readers had worst experiences but in a country like Nigeria many would think that this type of situation could occur in a National airport like Warry or Port Harcourt but surely not at Lagos’s International airport.

Heathrow was the worst and most crowded. Had to be bussed across to another terminal(wrong side of the road for the first time, that is scary when you aren't used to it) and then put up with rude personell at gates. That would be bad enough if you weren't already worn out from a nonstop flight from Chicago. Next stop was Frankfort,Germany with security guys everywhere with assualt rifles. Felt like we were in a war zone. Think i'll just stay home in the U.S., at least it doesn't feel like a police state.

try asking for directions at Dallas airport!

Since living overseas since 1977, I can say without a doubt my worst experiences are @ all the US ports of entry. My worst experience always is returning to the US. Our customs people suck @ the highest level. I have never been treated this bad entreing any foreign country I have been to (19 so far) It is always a pleasure to return to home country and be treated like S---,
and after 9/11 it has only been worse (include the buffoons called TSA)
Ciao.

Some years back, a few months after I had undergone bypass surgery, I found myself flying into St. Louis. As we tried to land, the pilot was on short final, and kept throttling up and down, making me and several others nervous. After doing this several times, he hit the fuel and went around. His explanation was that another plane had not cleared the runway. When I got to the terminal desk, they (TWA) told me that my connecting plane was about to leave. I was told I could "run" across the terminal to try and catch it, but they would neither hold it nor help me. (Three of them were standing around jawboning.) I cashed in my ticked and drove the rest of the way. I almost jumped for joy when TWA was no more, but still wanted each and every one of their former employees to have to wear a sign around his or her neck saying "I was one of the idiots that worked for TWA." Unfair? Yes, but where is the accountability for poor service?

This past New Years Eve, my family and I flew out to Whistler, Canada for the holidays. As we were waiting for out luggages when we got back home after the trip, (we live in Los Angeles), this loud beeping sound went off and no one cared to turn it off. LAX workers came and went and didn't bother to turn off the annoying sound. When I had my brother ask the security guard to turn it off, she stared coldly at my brother's face and said "If I could turn it off, I would have already done so by now."
This isn't the only LAX horror story. LAX really needs to get it's act together and make it a more comfortable place for travelers.

I flew to St. Augustine, Florida on Skybus airlines because of the rock bottom price. It was $140 round trip from Columbus, Christmas week. The airport in St. Augustine was a joke. Shaped like a kwanzet hut, the entire airport had been constructed in one month. There were two gates. Both gates led to the same airplane, but at either end. The flights were delayed but no announcements were made, and the kiosk displayed that the flights were on time, even an hour after the flights were supposed to have left. The luggage pick up area was a concrete slab cordoned off with yellow caution tape! The rental car desk was tiny, and all 3 agents for the various companies stood side by side. There were only about ten or less seats for us there. None of the food on the plane was free, and we were not allowed to bring any of our own food on board.

So I was flying out to Columbus, OH for my brother's wedding and I only had one bag that I did not check at Loan International and all was smooth and ok. I can't say the same thing about the check in for the flight back for Port Columbus though. I was asked to check my bag, so without making a scene, I inquired why. At this point I was met by securety immediately and asked to step aside, at which point I was all but strip searched. This was one of the most helpless moments of my life. We live in such a fascist police state and no one seems to care or have the want to do anything about it. We will soon have H.R. 1955 go though into law and all United States citizens will officially lose all their freedoms we take for granted. All the Ammendments will have to be written to read as follows for example: !st Ammendment - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances "in accordence with H.R. 1955". This will have to be added to all ammendments. Please read about it and decide for yourself. When you read H.R. 1955, please define the word "force" as it is intended in this bill to mean something different then "violence". Good luck... and hope god has mercy on all our souls.

Not nearly as painful as other previous posts but the intensity of traffic at Dallas International airport called for my plane to taxi around the airport for such a long time we had to go refuel before take-off.

Khartoum, Sudan. Almost no boarding control once the doors to the airport are opened. People rush to the stairways and push, punch and shove to get on, even though they hold valid boarding passes. Once on board many Muslims will demand that no one be able to sit next to their wife even though there are three seats and he and his wife have only two tickets. Mass confusion, unwashed passengers, anger everywhere. Once in Cairo things are much better but make no mistake, you are still in a predominently Muslim country and non-Muslims are not given the best of treatment.

Two years ago I had to make a connection in Paris (Charles de Gaulle) to Venice. I have to admit, that airport was the worst!
Ok so first off our flight was delayed. 7 hours. The people there were the bitchiest people I have met in my entire life. Being american, the french airport workers were able to tell us apart from everyone else, and made it clear by making rude and tasteless comments about us in french.
So many other things made it a nightmare. While I was going through security, the "staff" was sitting there smoking (under a NO SMOKING sign!) looking away from the screen rather than checking for illegal weapons on the monitor.
I also remember there being piss on the floor, and hearing that once a part of the airport collapsed, killing at least five people.
I also remember an announcement coming on as I was about to board the plane saying "Ladies and Gentlemen, there was -er- an incident. We need -er- everyone to evacuate the building immediately" Meanwhile, rain was pouring down outside and everyone seemed to go on doing their jobs, and there was no visible problem anywhere.

Several years ago I was seated next to a nanny from Sri Lanka in bulk head seats on a long haul from Amsterdam to Chicago. The family she worked for was sitting in first class, just behind the curtain ahead of us. Her employers were not from Sri Lanka, but another Middle Eastern country. Because both of us were wide awake, bored, and uninterested in the movie, we tried to converse. When I spoke very slowly and deliberately, she would use her limited, halting English to answer. A very kind and sweet lady, I thought.
When we landed in Chicago, I was separated from her and her family at immigration and customs. My brain was foggy from lack of sleep; I'd started my trip in Nairobi. After I claimed my luggage I pushed my cart to an exit; there was an airport official shouting directions at us. The woman was gesturing wildly and continued repeating the same phrase over and over: "Internationaldownhallturnlef! Domesticgorigh!" I had to ask her to repeat the directions, to which she responded irritably by increasing her speed of speech and volume. As a citizen of the United States, just off two consecutive long hauls complete with jet lag and a bit of culture shock, I had trouble understanding this airport official. I felt a pang of sympathy for my seat mate and her family, who would no doubt have much difficulty understanding the directions. What a way to welcome visitors to the United States!

July 2001, flying from Havana to Cancun on a flight that was scheduled at 6a. It's already hard enough *leaving* Cuba given all the military checkpoints you go through to make sure you're not a local trying to defect on a fake passport (like one of Castro's daughters). Get through all the checks only to sit for 2 hours with no word about why our flight hasn't boarded. We finally get word that they're 'fixing' something. Another two hours pass and we realize that they're working on the plane on the tarmac below the window. That is, they've completely taken apart the engine and have all the parts spread out on the ground. Not comforting! Another 3 hours and Mexicana tells the aiport authority that the only way the plane will be allowed to leave the ground is if Mexicana trained/certified mechanics fix the engine. At this point we're getting the authentic experience that the locals have on not being able to easily leave the island.

So we wait another 2 hours for a trio of mechanics to arrive from Mexico City. 90 minutes later, they've fixed and checked the engine, for a nervous flight over the Caribbean. One of the women in my group demanded that if they were so confident in their work, they should fly with us. Which they did and when the plane made it into the air without a bump, the cabin erupted into "Viva Mexico!" and applause.

MK Taylor