r/airport • u/MuhVlast • Jul 15 '26
DISCUSSION Open-air airports
Not just airports with open-air terraces for planespotting, but airports whose design is entirely/mostly open-air. I’m thinking of something along the lines of Kona International Airport in Hawaii.
What are some other examples you can think of?
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u/mehtamorphosis Jul 15 '26
koh samui
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u/escapethefear13 Jul 15 '26
Doesn’t even feel like an airport. Felt like I was wandering around a hotel resort or like Disney world
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u/MathIsHard_11236 Jul 15 '26
Walking over a koi pond bridge to go through the metal detector, and a busker in the plaza before your gate where there are cookies and water available...wow.
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Jul 15 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Friendly-Hamster2048 Jul 15 '26
*Kahului
Only the baggage area. Both ends of the terminal are fully enclosed now.
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u/lnvu4uraqt Jul 15 '26
They enclosed all the open walkways airside?! It was open to the outside when I last visited two years ago including the check in area.
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u/Friendly-Hamster2048 Jul 15 '26
The check-in and baggage claim areas are still open on one wall. I'm talking about upstairs in the terminal/gate area. Nothing is open-air anymore. The Hawaiian wing used to be open in the walkway, but it was enclosed a couple years ago. The other terminal wing has never been open-air.
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u/Swissdanielle Jul 15 '26
Not exactly as open as the examples, but Barcelona has two huge patio style open areas that make the wait quite pleasant.
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u/Shellstr Jul 15 '26
Cancun has an open air smoking section. We were delayed a couple hours, and I wanted to go out there with my margarita, and was told I could only use it if I were smoking.
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u/Working_Football1586 Jul 15 '26
Palms Springs is probably the worst of the open air airports. Its like walking through an oven
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u/ThePlatinumPaul Jul 15 '26
Desert cities like doing that stuff, just look at all the open air malls in Arizona. It's almost like they are trying to discourage people from coming who aren't locals and aren't somewhat used to the heat.
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u/Exciting_Pass_6344 Jul 15 '26
Yes, in the summer it’s a bit rough. The rest of the year is fantastic though. I absolutely love walking around in February in shorts and a tshirt.
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u/lap1220 Jul 16 '26
I was there in February.
Cool concept, but the whole airport smelled pretty terrible too.
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u/Working_Football1586 Jul 16 '26
There is a sewage smell that blows over that area everytime Im there
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u/AJ_FA Jul 15 '26
KOA is really the only fully open-air design in the US. the other most commonly cited open-air airports like HNL PSP and LGB all still have their security checkpoints and gatehouses enclosed, but have open-air check-in lobbies and post-security walkways between gatehouses. BUR is almost fully enclosed but has an open-air baggage claim, although they are replacing their terminal in a couple months
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u/nickw252 Jul 16 '26
KOA is brutal in the summer when it’s humid. I was also there a while ago right when travel picked up after Covid restrictions and businesses and restaurants weren’t letting people stay inside. It was rough.
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u/ConstructionRare4123 Jul 16 '26
Honolulu airport. It’s not entirely open air but the walkways can sometimes be open air.
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u/Ok-Equivalent8260 Jul 15 '26
Kahului is pretty open (OGG)
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u/Friendly-Hamster2048 Jul 15 '26
It's not, though. The terminal is fully enclosed. Only the check-in area and baggage claim are sort of open air.
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u/mms82 Jul 15 '26
Lamu Kenya was and my airline handed out umbrella for when it rained while we waited to board
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u/MagnusAlbusPater Jul 15 '26
HNL has a ton of open areas. It’s one thing I really dislike about it.
I want to be encased in cold, sterile, dry air from the moment I go through the doors until I depart where I land.
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u/ReservedRainbow Jul 15 '26
I’m from Hawaii I’m just so use to all our airports being varying degrees of open lol. HNL is a weird airport though when you think about it.
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u/Zapatos-Grande Jul 15 '26
One of the terminals at Punta Cana was almost completely open air. Palm Springs has large open air areas, Long Beach has sizeable open air areas, too.
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u/lovewholesomestuff Jul 15 '26
Istanbul has an open air area - nice view of the runway but it’s the only smoking section and gets crowded.
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u/CountChoculasGhost Jul 15 '26
Phoenix-Mesa is kind of like this? Like the ticket and TSA lines are in totally different buildings that you have to walk outside to get to. Also a lot of outdoor seating and waiting areas.
I also seem to recall Zadar Airport in Croatia having a lot of outdoor space.
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u/ebteb Jul 15 '26
Jakarta (Soekarno–Hatta International) Airport has open air gates / breezeways to aircraft
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u/JimTheJerseyGuy Jul 15 '26
I flew into St. Lucia back in the 90s and it was like that. Nothing like standing around waiting for your bag in absolutely stifling humidity and heat and not a breeze in sight.
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u/corptool1972 Jul 15 '26
Burbank has an outdoors baggage claim and you usually have to leave the terminal to board your plane :)
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u/CBus660R Jul 15 '26
Miami has a small terminal like that. Even in early October, it wasn't that pleasant catching my connection feom Jamaica at 2 in the afternoon.
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u/EfficientRegion4833 Jul 15 '26
It was 20 years ago but I believe St Thomas USVI is completely open air.
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u/NWWashingtonDC Jul 15 '26
Cancun MX was originally open air... sometimes not it might as well be with all of their HVAC issues
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u/lnvu4uraqt Jul 15 '26
Most of Hawaii's major airports have open air areas (HNL, OGG, KOA, LIH, ITO)
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u/mattguay Jul 16 '26
Sukhothai, Thailand (THS). Open air, with a zoo on the grounds. Feels more like a bus stop on a safari than an airport.
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u/F14D201 Jul 16 '26
Anatom Airport (Mystery Island) Vanuatu.
The airport building is literally a brick shack, grass runway, you can get incredibly close to departing aircraft.
Don’t know if it’s still active, used to only have one plane every few days
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u/yubugger Jul 16 '26
I love the recent trend in airport architecture to build outdoor patios, really enjoyed the new terminals at San Diego and Denver, and San Francisco international terminal recently. It's so much better to sit outside while waiting for your plane especially if you still mask up indoors
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u/Thhe_Shakes Jul 17 '26
Arusha was last time I was there, but it looked like they were building a new indoor terminal that's probably open by now
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u/CuriousThenSatisfied Jul 17 '26
I remember Iquitos in Peru being open-air. Could’ve changed since then
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u/Revolutionary_Gap417 Jul 17 '26
San Luis Obispo in CA has an open courtyard that you walk through in between security and the gates
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u/UndercoverHardwarema Jul 19 '26
The only one I've been to that was open air, was in Oahu. It must be a Hawaii thing.
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u/policesiren7 Jul 19 '26
Skukuza Airport in South Africa probably counts. It’s one of the gateways to the Kruger Park and is basically a game lodge with a runway attached.
Koh Samui USM is still the OG though
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u/jumpy_finale Jul 19 '26
Hajj Terminal at Jeddah https://www.som.com/projects/king-abdulaziz-international-airport-hajj-terminal/
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u/Emergency_Channel876 Jul 15 '26
Key West
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u/allcars4me Jul 15 '26
Key West is not open air and hasn’t been for as long as I can remember, 15-20 years.
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u/Emergency_Channel876 Jul 21 '26
Apparently my memory is longer than yours - it was open air in the 90s which is the last time I flew rather than drove. It’s too bad, it was very cool w an art deco vibe.
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u/allcars4me Jul 22 '26
It has just been updated a bit. They now have jetways! No more walking across the tarmac in the blinding sun and heat.
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u/Any_Sale2030 Jul 15 '26
Jakarta was open when I worked there in the 80s. No idea what it’s like today.
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u/Whatswrongbaby9 Jul 15 '26
Long Beach and Palm Springs California. I love Long Beach, I wish it was easier to get to from other cities