Airport Guides

Complete 2026 guide to Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH) covering the Acropolis 20,000-visitor daily cap with mandatory 2-hour timed slots (€30 standard / €15 reduced, seasonal discounts abolished 2026, summer slots sell out 3-6 weeks ahead), EES live since 10 April 2026 at MTB Hall A, the €1.3B Master Plan expansion announced April 2026 (40M-passenger target by 2032), Aegean’s Star Alliance hub, Goldair Handling Lounge 24/7 since 28 March 2026 for Priority Pass, Metro Line 3 €9 to Syntagma, X95 Express bus 24/7, Piraeus ferry connections, and Greek wildfire-season context.

Complete 2026 guide to Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport (AGP) covering the C1 Cercanías rail at €1.80 / 12 min (one of Europe’s cheapest airport-to-city rail links, contactless tap-and-go), EES live since 10 April 2026, ETIAS Q4 2026, the T2+T3 single-building reality (T1 decommissioned years ago), the new Avanza 05:00 Estepona-AGP coach added Feb 2026, the single Aena Sala VIP T3 (Pablo Ruiz Picasso branding retired), Andalusia’s no-tourist-tax-yet position, and Caminito del Rey day-trip logistics.

Complete 2026 guide to Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI) covering the €560M modernisation final year (Module D refurbishment 4 Nov 2025-April 2026, Sala VIP Formentor temporarily closed), EES live since 10 April 2026 at Module A, ETIAS Q4 2026, the EMT A1 Aerotaxi bus (~€3 contactless / €5 cash to Plaça d’Espanya), the metered-only taxi tariff with €4.65 airport surcharge, the 2026 Balearic rental-car cap reality (~€42/day summer), the ECOTAX €1-4/night defeated hike to €15, and the Mediterranean German-tourism dominance.

Complete 2026 guide to Doha’s Hamad International Airport (DOH) covering DOH’s withdrawal from Skytrax 2026 World Airport Awards in March 2026 amid Iran-strike fallout, the Phase B expansion fully operational with the world’s largest indoor airport garden (The Orchard, 10,000 m², 300+ trees), the Lamp Bear central rendezvous, the Hayya A1 e-visa transformation (visa-free nationals don’t need it), Doha Metro Red Line direct from terminal at QAR 2, Al Safwa First Lounge + Al Mourjan Garden Lounge map, and the EASA-bulletin airspace context.

Complete 2026 guide to Dubai International Airport (DXB) covering the locked 2032 closure date and migration to Al Maktoum (DWC, Dhs128B Phase 1, 260M-pax capacity, Emirates 3-day fleet cutover), the world’s largest single-airline terminal (T3 Emirates with Concourse A First Class Lounge — Concourse C First closed 3 March 2026), 80+ nationality visa-on-arrival via biometric Smart Gate, Metro Red Line direct to T1 (R14) + T3 (R13), AED currency pegged to USD, the Sharjah-alcohol trap, and Ramadan 2026 service realities.

Complete 2026 guide to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) covering Spirit Airlines collapse 2 May 2026 (10 AUS routes lost, fares up 10-15%), the $5B+ Journey With AUS expansion (Concourse B groundbreaks late 2026 with 2030 completion — NOT 2026), SXSW 2026 12-18 March surge with 36,000 daily departures, F1 USGP at COTA October 2026, the I-35 Capital Express construction adding delay through Summer 2027, the lounge bench (Sky Club + Admirals + United, NO Centurion ever), Tesla Giga Texas adjacent + March 2026 Terafab announcement, and ERCOT grid 2026 reliability.

Complete 2026 guide to Auckland Airport (AKL) covering Air New Zealand’s Economy Skynest (world’s first economy lie-flat sleep pods, on sale 18 May 2026 for travel from November on AKL↔JFK 787-9 V5), the IVL tripled to NZ$100 + NZeTA combined cost NZ$117-123, the NZ$5.7B Te Manawa Ora redevelopment with new domestic terminal target late 2029, SkyDrive replacing SkyBus to CBD, the Strata Lounge Priority Pass option, the notoriously strict biosecurity reality with NZ$400 instant fines, and Waiheke Island wine + volcanic-cone Auckland sightseeing.

Complete 2026 guide to Krabi International Airport (KBV) covering the mandatory Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) submission at tdac.immigration.go.th, 60-day visa-free entry for 93 nationalities (status 2026), Maya Bay’s 375-visitor/hour cap and 1 Aug-30 Sep monsoon closure, the radically seasonal Andaman tourism cycle (dry Nov-Apr peak vs monsoon May-Oct), Pichet shuttle bus 150 THB to Ao Nang, Klong Jilad Pier ferries to Phi Phi and Koh Lanta, and the uncertain Priority Pass lounge status post-April 2025 AOT policy change.

Complete 2026 guide to Rabat-Salé Airport (RBA) covering the new 69,000 m² terminal targeting June 2026 opening (capacity jumps to 5M pax/year, the World Cup 2030 model facility), Royal Air Maroc’s oneworld accession in April 2024, the Bus AE / petit taxi transport options (the tram does NOT serve RBA), Morocco’s visa-free 90-day policy + AEVM rollout, the Algeria-Morocco border closed since 1994, Al Boraq Africa-first HSR connecting Rabat to Casablanca, and Ramadan 2026 service impact (~18 Feb to 19 Mar).

Complete 2026 guide to Bucharest’s Henri Coandă International Airport (OTP) covering Romania’s full Schengen accession on 1 January 2025 (after 31 March 2024 air/sea), EES live since 10 April 2026, the 24/7 Henri Coandă Express train at €2.55 / 20 min, the rebranded Bus 100 Express, the M6 metro that’s NOT yet open (target 2028), the notorious black-cab scam at arrivals and how to defend with the yellow touchscreen taxi machines, the Tarom Business Lounge map, and Bran Castle / Carpathian day-trip logistics.

Complete 2026 guide to Kraków’s John Paul II International Airport (KRK) covering EES live across all Schengen since 10 April 2026 (biometric registration on first non-EU entry), ETIAS launch Q4 2026 (€20, 3 years), the direct rail to Kraków Główny in 18 minutes for €4, the single Business Lounge that accepts every Priority Pass family card, the KRK 2036 master plan after the 2016 terminal hit capacity, Polish złoty (NOT euro) economics, and the real Auschwitz-Birkenau tour booking process.

Complete 2026 guide to Tampa International Airport (TPA) covering the wagon-wheel 1971 layout that keeps gates ≤7 min from curbside check-in (JD Power #2 large US airport, ACI ASQ #1 three years running), Spirit Airlines collapse 2 May 2026 dropping 43 weekly outbound flights to 6 destinations (Southwest absorbed most), Airside D’s $1.528B expansion that opens 2029 not 2026, the SkyConnect APM Rental Car Center flow, the cruise-port $30 flat-rate run, and why TPA’s lounge bench is genuinely thin for a top-2 ranked airport.

Complete 2026 guide to Las Vegas’s Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) covering the Spirit Airlines collapse on 2 May 2026 (16 LAS routes lost their original carrier), the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix surge week 19–21 November 2026, the Strip flat-rate taxi zones ($21.25 / $25.25 / $29.25), Uber/Lyft pickup at Level 2M of the T1 parking garage, the ~1,300 slot machines at gates and baggage claim, Real ID enforcement, the Centurion / Capital One / The Club lounge map, and why Brightline West will NOT actually serve LAS even when it opens.

Complete 2026 guide to Algiers’ Houari Boumediene Airport (ALG) covering the Algiers Metro extension to the airport that opens H2 2026 (9.5 km, 9 stations from El Harrach), the four-terminal layout with the Chinese-built T1 as the main international hub, the Square Port Saïd parallel exchange market reality (DZD black-market rate ~65% over official), advance-visa requirements for almost every Western traveller, Ramadan 2026 service effects, and the Morocco border that has been closed since August 2021.

Complete 2026 guide to Medellín’s José María Córdova International Airport (MDE) covering the post-Spirit-Airlines reality (Avianca’s Orlando route converted to permanent daily after the 2 May 2026 collapse), the Rionegro 35 km ridge drive that takes 60 minutes not the advertised 25, Combuses 15,000 COP airport bus, the Priority Pass options at the Avianca Sala VIP, and why Medellín’s altitude is a non-issue compared to Bogotá’s soroche.