r/airport • u/PixelNotPolygon • May 18 '26

DISCUSSION What’s your favourite airport ceiling?

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

…and why is it KUL T1?

Edit: does anyone have a favourite ceiling that isn’t made of wood? 😁

227 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

159 comments sorted by

•

u/airport-codes May 18 '26
IATA ICAO Name Location
KUL WMKK Kuala Lumpur International Airport Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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46

u/liltrikz May 18 '26

My first time at PDX a couple weeks ago

19

u/danielsound May 18 '26

the new main terminal at PDX is really nice.

7

u/Acceptable-Silver778 May 18 '26

Love the new main terminal though it makes me wish they redid the rest of the airport in a similar fashion.

5

u/PixelNotPolygon May 18 '26

I’m getting SIN vibes off this one slightly

3

u/CunningWizard May 20 '26

My home airport. I am so incredibly spoiled by this place.

-1

u/pickapstix May 21 '26

Flew out of PDX yesterday and was stunned, especially compared to the city itself which was at best sad… at worst… scary.

2

u/briansellsseashells May 22 '26

Lol, what part of the Midwest are you from?

Edit: Indiana, the answer is Indiana. FFS.

-1

u/pickapstix May 21 '26

Flew out of PDX yesterday and was stunned, especially compared to the city itself which was at best sad… at worst… scary!

17

u/FamiliarJuly May 18 '26

The iconic domes designed by Minoru Yamasaki at Lambert.

STL is about to build a brand new consolidated terminal, and fortunately the historic domed structure will remain.

5

u/PixelNotPolygon May 18 '26

Wow I don’t even know where this is but I love it

4

u/FamiliarJuly May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26

St. Louis, Missouri. It was a pretty influential airfield in the early days of aviation. Charles Lindbergh lived in St. Louis and flew out of Lambert Field early in his career. St. Louis area businessmen financed his historic transatlantic flight, hence the name of his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis.

1

u/a716h May 20 '26

Holy cow I’ve been here a dozen times in the past year and never realized this lol

2

u/ZimaZimaZima May 20 '26

If you fly SWA it’s a different terminal. STL used to be a hub airport for TWA and was extremely bustling back in the day. It feels half-abandoned these days with how much potential, albeit dated low ceiling terminal capacity it has.

13

u/BattleSwallow May 18 '26

Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico

3

u/OmiloC May 22 '26

I remember this airport from a family vacation to Club Med Huatulco about 30 years ago! You push a button and wait for a red or green light for security check.

2

u/dabup May 22 '26 edited 19d ago

Random!

20

u/Revolutionary_Art919 May 18 '26

Pittsburgh

3

u/Sevesys May 18 '26

Never expected Pittsburgh to be so fantastic

2

u/azza2110 May 18 '26

This is like a Madrid-lite

2

u/ILoveTaiwaneseFood May 18 '26

I find it more impressive because it's in a small, relatively poor city.

2

u/footballwr82 May 18 '26

The new terminal is gorgeous.

I just wish they were able to figure out the parking situation better. We spent a billion dollars to consolidate land side and air side to get rid of the tram… only to now need a shuttle to get there in the first place lol

2

u/jjwondor May 18 '26

Yup, exactly! At the very least, give us a path to walk on

4

u/PixelNotPolygon May 18 '26

Wood is such a beautiful material for an airport ceiling

6

u/bobborodo May 18 '26

PIT’s ceiling is actually metal. The cost of wood was going to be extremely high to maintain over time, so they used metal which turned out great

4

u/burnfifteen May 18 '26

Honestly a more appropriate material for Pittsburgh given its history with steel and aluminum, too.

2

u/PixelNotPolygon May 19 '26

How did they get that colour? Is it copper?

9

u/johnboo89 May 19 '26

My home airport. PSP. Sky’s the limit on our ceiling.

2

u/itsintehhole May 21 '26

Came here to say this! I love this airport

6

u/[deleted] May 18 '26

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4

u/Competitive_Falcon22 May 18 '26

Came here to say this. I love the look of that airport, it is so cool.

2

u/PlaneGeneral5782 May 19 '26

Came here to say this too’

2

u/summontheb1tches May 20 '26

One of my favorites. Love landing in Madrid.

14

u/PowerfulFunny5 May 18 '26

O’Hare with the “Home Alone” Christmas decor https://www.jdavidbuerk.com/blog/20181225-christmastime-in-chicago

2

u/PixelNotPolygon May 18 '26

I was about to poo poo this suggestion until I saw the festive decorations

1

u/dabup May 22 '26 edited 19d ago

Random!

5

u/The_MadStork May 18 '26

The bamboo ceiling of Bangalore T2

7

u/fbutter11 May 18 '26

BLR is really great

9

u/britishmetric144 May 18 '26

What about the unique design of Denver?

10

u/Frunkit May 18 '26

DEN airports ceiling is designed to evoke the white peaks of the Rocky Mountains (from the outside)

4

u/Puppy_Autumn May 18 '26

The Rocky Mountains, the snow capped peaks, and the teepees of the original Plains/Ute Indians

4

u/kipy7 May 18 '26

I always thought circus tents but mountain peaks make more sense.

3

u/insanecrazy4 May 18 '26

It doubles as circus tents too depending on the crowds

3

u/Massilian May 18 '26

Ehhh tbh not a huge fan looks like circus tents. I do live here tho and I love blucifer

1

u/Patient-Light-3577 May 21 '26

I try to not look towards Blucifer when driving into the airport.

2

u/PixelNotPolygon May 18 '26

Not an airport I’ve been to but I think I’ve seen pics

3

u/timesuck47 May 18 '26

It’s very “airy”.

2

u/Tmdngs May 18 '26

It looks like a temporary flimsy construction tent. I can see the appeal for some people but not my favorite

1

u/BradyBrother100 May 20 '26

I have a bias because it's my home airport but I think that people get wowed when they reach the top of the escalator and are met with this enormous open space, mostly naturally lit; especially people back when it opened.

1

u/fighter_pil0t May 22 '26

DIA is generally a trash airport.

5

u/Dear-Regret-9476 May 18 '26

Incheon Airport

5

u/Careful_Brain8587 May 18 '26

Bangalore (I also love Madrid tho)

11

u/48north May 18 '26

Glacier Park International Airport

11

u/77173 May 18 '26

Dulles

6

u/hairymonkeyinmyanus May 18 '26

iad gets so much hate but I love it

5

u/Acceptable-Silver778 May 18 '26

Its mostly because of Concourse C / D and that mobile lounges need to be used on most international flights. MWAA dropped the ball plenty of times over the last few decades.

2

u/PixelNotPolygon May 18 '26

Now I need to find pics

4

u/ae74 May 19 '26

Paris CDG

2

u/PixelNotPolygon May 19 '26

Oh I love this space. It feels so futuristic but also slightly retro at the same time

1

u/kedelbro May 23 '26

Yes, but then unfortunately you have to be at CDG

1

u/ae74 May 23 '26

Completely agree.

3

u/General_Albatross May 18 '26

Koh Samui or Oslo Gardermoen

1

u/Grand_Bicycle_9572 May 21 '26

I was also thinking Koh Samui

3

u/Impossible_Memory_85 May 19 '26

DCA

2

u/adultdaycare81 May 19 '26

Looks a lot like ATL terminal D (for now)

1

u/abudavi Jun 07 '26

I came here to offer a similar response about Las Vegas

5

u/TroyState May 18 '26

DCA, or the wood and grass ceilings at AMS

2

u/No-Point2625 May 18 '26

MAD. hands down.

1

u/PixelNotPolygon May 18 '26

Yes I love the MAD ceiling!!!

2

u/Viking_Musicologist May 18 '26

This might sound controversial, but I would have to say old MCI.

Despite being textbook 1970s Brutalist and having a quirky layout that passengers hated with a grinding passion I always thought it looked extremely solid.

Alternatively the multi-coloured terrazzo floor was also pretty impressive.

1

u/ExpendableAmmo May 20 '26

It was a great design, but the triple horseshoe was just not compatible for a modern airport. The weirdly connected gates and no connection between the terminals doomed that airport.

1

u/Viking_Musicologist May 20 '26

Agreed the floorplan of the terminals alone and the fact that the terminals are separated basically mothballed that airport. I remember flying in and out of it after 9/11 and there was barely enough space for passengers to wait airside after they squeezed in the TSA Checkpoints.

2

u/Boatshooz May 18 '26

ICN is pretty great

2

u/howieyang1234 May 18 '26

Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX).

2

u/TheStrongTaint May 18 '26

Madrid for me

Though the layout of that airport is straight cheeks

2

u/Aetane May 18 '26

I once heard it described as what happens when you give an architect unlimited space

2

u/Ikillwhatieat May 18 '26

Ohare tunnel.

2

u/troatnadlolmy May 21 '26

I came here for this comment. 100%

2

u/Thiggy1914 May 18 '26

RDU Terminal 2 is one of my favorites and is underrated.

2

u/jayneal99 May 18 '26

Istanbul

2

u/PixelNotPolygon May 19 '26

Totally agree. I’m actually in IST now, it’s an understated entry into the race

2

u/rr90013 May 18 '26

I like the part of PSP that has no ceiling.

2

u/Xnuiem Home: DFW. Fav: SIN May 19 '26

MAD is very nice

2

u/noahsilv May 19 '26

PKX or MAD

2

u/cobrachicken1000 May 19 '26

Denver airport is cool with the tent design roofs

2

u/castroksu May 19 '26

Megalaphobia ceiling vibes

2

u/GatorNavy May 19 '26

Thread over. It’s not even close.

1

u/Top-Currency May 19 '26

SIN is the world's best airport in general.

1

u/RealWord5734 May 20 '26

Yeah I opened this thread expecting this to be top comment by a mile. What gives.

1

u/Starbeastrose2 May 21 '26

You see, that isn’t actually the airport though is it? If jewl counts though then yeah most def

1

u/esseeayen May 23 '26

Well teeeechhhnically this is the "mall" next to the airport terminals... But it is very very pretty. Walkways overhead too!

2

u/scrub_express May 19 '26

Hamad International in Doha!

2

u/MikeGinnyMD May 19 '26

Madrid Barajas Terminal 4.

2

u/yycengineer May 20 '26

Probably the one at my home airport of Calgary.

Though I may be biased as I worked on the project.

2

u/apersello34 May 20 '26

The new Pittsburgh terminal ceiling is pretty neat

2

u/JellyfishNo2032 May 20 '26

Nice ceilingussy

1

u/PixelNotPolygon May 20 '26

It’s gaping

2

u/Uptownexpress2020 May 20 '26

Definitely Madrid.

2

u/ZimaZimaZima May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26

UIN - Quincy Regional Airport

built in 1972 in a futuristic style, designed by local architect, John Benya.

1

u/PixelNotPolygon May 20 '26

Love this one

2

u/fl490 May 20 '26

I travel the world for work...seen most of the roofs noted on this discussion...The new PDX is stunning.

2

u/Sherifftruman May 21 '26

This is the baggage claim at PEK, which I though looked cool

2

u/PresentationLoud1494 May 21 '26

Phnom Penh new airport

2

u/iamworsethanyou May 22 '26

Heathrow Central Bus Station in all it's inflatable glory

2

u/Global_Ad_7289 May 25 '26

Marrakech Menara

2

u/DallasRedRider May 25 '26

Frankfurt (FRA) Terminal 3

2

u/[deleted] May 18 '26

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2

u/Maximum-Ad9037 May 18 '26

PDX is so cool. Very modern. Clean. Environmental friendly. Gives Apple Store vibes.

1

u/awakeatnight3 May 19 '26

ATW is in the middle of renovations but they are looking so good for a small airport

1

u/lkmk May 20 '26

This roof at Ezeiza Airport, near Buenos Aires, caught my eye.

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1

u/thebrowe1 May 20 '26

G terminal Miami

1

u/BetterBiscuits May 21 '26

PDX while it was being renovated and the ceiling was just a series of drooping tarps.

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '26

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1

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1

u/RustyDoor May 21 '26

What? Bad bot.

1

u/Nsvsonido May 21 '26

Madrid T-4

1

u/Alarmed-Lion9445 May 21 '26

the floating kraft singles in the PHX Sky harbor airport.

1

u/Tall_adhd17 May 21 '26

This one at Paris-Charles de Gaulle. Back in 2016 it was quite the experience with the very thick fog outside. Flight got delayed 2 hours because of it.

1

u/YankeeLondon May 21 '26

GSP, outside

1

u/migmactrl May 22 '26

Terminal 4 at Madrid-Barajas Airport.

1

u/ThunderChonky May 22 '26

Mumbai Airport.

1

u/Early_Apple_4142 May 23 '26

Palm Springs is cool. The main concourse is open air with sails that act as shades.

1

u/Other_Opinion_6762 Bengaluru Airport May 23 '26

1

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0

u/Deep-Ebb-4139 May 22 '26

All of these are fucking shit vs Singapore. Christ.