FX.co ★ The most beautiful airports in the world

Heydar Aliyev International Airport (Baku, Azerbaijan)

Heydar Aliyev International Airport is designed in a modern style. It has two passenger terminals: domestic and international. There are retiring rooms, many shops, cafes and duty-free stores in the main buildings.

Changi Airport (Singapore)

This airport 19 times topped the list of the world's best airports. Huge 13 square kilometers area offers tourists plenty of opportunities to brighten up their leisure time. There you can admire a waterfall and golden carps in an artificial pond, walk through the gardens and swim in the pool. And those who have more than six hours between the flights can go on a guided tour around Singapore. These free bus tours are organized several times a day.

Saint-Exupéry Airport (Lyon, France)

The airport, named after the famous French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery, was opened in 1975. The decision to start construction was made 15 years before its opening, due to heavy passenger flow. The main building was designed by famous Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Currently, the airport is considered to be one of the most memorable projects of modern architecture.

Menara Airport (Marrakesh, Morocco)

The Moroccan airport is rightfully recognized as the most beautiful airport in Africa. During World War II, the US Army used it to transport soldiers and cargo. In 2008, a modern building designed by local architects was built. It combines unique African traditions and culture with the latest technologies.

Queen Tamar Airport (Mestia, Georgia)

The airport was built during the presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili. The main building is small, the runway designed for small planes with maximum seating capacity of 50 people in the summer, and 18 in winter. The airport can serve only one flight per hour. Despite the fact that the airport is relatively small, its unique design was able to draw attention of the Western media.

Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (Shenzhen, China)

It is one of the few airports where you can get to by ferry. The ferry departs from the Hong Kong International Airport and allows passengers to bypass the border and custom control.

Authors of the project are Italian architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas, who were inspired by the giant manta rays, which are found near the Chinese coast.

Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (Madrid, Spain)

It is one of the largest airports in the world: it provide services for about 130 thousand passengers a day. In 2015, more than 46 million travellers used Madrid–Barajas, making it the country's largest and busiest airport, and Europe's sixth busiest.

The building was designed by Antonio Lamela and Richard Rogers. To create atmosphere of peace, they decorated the ceiling with bamboo. There is a metro line that links all terminals. A new T4 terminal built in 2006 earned several prestigious architectural awards.

Pulkovo Airport (Saint Petersburg, Russia)

St. Petersburg's airport received many awards for its design. This year, the US Entrepreneur Magazine awarded the airport with the Best Terminal Design Award 2016. The jury noted a gold tessellated ceiling that's vaulted to feel more like a canopy than a rigid enclosure.

Incheon International Airport (Seoul, South Korea)

Korea's main airport, which is one of the largest airports in the world, is located 70 kilometers from the capital, in the city of Incheon. Since 2005, the Airports Council International annually ranks it as the best airport in the world. British research company Skytrax awarded it with five stars.

Incheon tourists are provided with plenty of amusements: cafes and restaurants, game rooms, a cinema, as well as spas, saunas, free internet and an ice rink.

Washington Dulles International Airport (Washington, USA)

Untill 1984, airports in both Washington and New York City, were named after John F. Kennedy. To avoid any confusion, it was decided to name Washington airport after John Foster Dulles, who served as US Secretary of State during Eisenhower presidency.

The main building was designed by the famous Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen. He managed to make the building fully functional and very light at the same time.