8 most entertaining airports in the world

Imagine you reach an airport and you are informed that the plane is delayed. Instead of curses for the airlines, the announcement brings a smile to your face.

Why? That’s because some airports are working towards cheering you up in such an event by adding entertainment options ranging from casinos to even golf courses. And those travelling with kids have abundant choices too.

Here are some airports and the entertainment facilities they offer.

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Changi Airport

Country: Singapore

Changi Airport is among the airports that offer the widest variety of entertainment options to passengers.

Changi Aviation Gallery: The gallery has interactive displays about 'on-the-ground' activities that take place at the airport and aviation in general.

Children's Playgrounds: The airport has this facility at three terminals. It is suitable for children aged from 1 to 12.

Entertainment Deck: This is a one-stop integrated, multimedia entertainment centre with something to thrill everyone. It has music area, MTV Booth, movie theatre, and gaming consoles.

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Changi Airport

ZONE X: This place has arcade games.

Interactive Art: Passengers can try their hands at woodblock rubbing, a popular Singapore art form in the 50s and 60s.

Movie Theatre: Die-hard movie fans will find the movie theatres in Terminals 2 & 3.

The Slide @ T3: Take a ride at the tallest indoor slide in Singapore.

Canopy: It is the first forest-themed indoor playground. Children aged 18 months to 12 years old can choose to bounce on the trampoline or slide down one of the tunnel slides.

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Nashville International Airport

Country: US

Nashville International Airport ranks as the 34th-busiest airport in the United States that caters to over 10 million passengers annually. It is among the few airports that entertain passengers with live music and arts.

Arts At The Airport: This is a non-profit organisation that manages the work of artists at the airport.

The terminal and surrounding facilities at Nashville International Airport incorporate rotating public art exhibits.

This program selects and presents works by local, regional, and national artists for the enjoyment and enrichment of Nashville International Airport's passengers and visitors.

Created in 1988 by the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, Arts at the Airport showcases cultural diversity and talent in Tennessee.

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Nashville International Airport

Live Music: In addition to visual arts, Nashville International Airport hosts some of the best local talent that Music City has to offer. Live music at the airport began in 1988 and expanded in 2001.

Live bands perform all types of genres. Around 80 to 100 brands play year-round at the airport.

Massage Bar

The airport also has a massage place where licensed therapists offer seated chair massages.

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San Francisco Airport

Country: US

San Francisco International Airport is one of the largest airports in the world and tenth busiest in the US. It is one of the few airports in the world that has a museum and a library.

Aviation Museum & Library: The museum provides information on the development of commercial aviation and the role it plays in our daily lives.

The collection focuses on air transport with an emphasis on the West Coast and the Pacific region. Exhibitions, research services, and educational programs are offered to the public free of charge.

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San Francisco Airport

Berman Reflection Room: This is a yoga and meditation room for harried travellers seeking a moment of peace.

Kids' Spot: This is an interactive children’s exploration area featuring weather related exhibits from the Exploratorium of San Francisco, as well as a crawling apparatus.

Self-Guided Tours: These are meant for children of all ages and each itinerary concludes at an Information Desk where children receive a small prize.

You Are Hear: Even San Francisco International Airport plays live music like Nashville Airport.

Day Trips: Passengers with a layover of four hours or more can explore the city via public transit.

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Incheon International Airport

Country: South Korea

Incheon International Airport is the largest airport in South Korea. It has regularly won the best airport title by the Airports Council International. And it deserves the title for the services it offers.

Incheon golf club: The airport boasts of a golf club which is located in the International Business Center. It features a 330-yard driving range, 18-hole putting course, restaurant, and other facilities.

According to the airport, the Golf Club is a becoming a local landmark and a favourite golfing destination for tourists, transit passengers and airport personnel.

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Incheon International Airport

Casino: The airport also features a casino called Paradise Golden Gate Casino, a foreigners-only gaming establishment.

It boasts of a stylishly modern interior and climate-controlled internal atmosphere, as well 50 slot machines.

Skating ring and theatre: If you are going on a family your children, there’s Ice Forest. Ice Forest has a capacity of 150 people.

Cultural Museum of Korea: In cooperation with the National Museum of Korea, Incheon International Airport operates the Cultural Museum of Korea as a means of introducing the Korean culture and art to foreign travellers.

The museum showcases a splendid collection of relics covering a 5,000-year timeline, offering visitors an opportunity to experience Korean culture and history at a single location.

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Incheon International Airport

Oseongsan Observatory: This observation deck at Incheon Airport is located at an elevation of 51.5m. Passenger can view the whole airport from the Observatory.

Spa on Air: Incheon International Airport’s “Spa on Air” sauna combines deluxe hotel-quality facilities, outstanding service, and the country’s first “tub-in-tub” (one bathtub inside another) concept.

The spa also has sleeping rooms, meeting rooms, and a snack bar.

Babycare Lounges: Incheon Airport has 10 nursery rooms where infants (3 years or below), guardians, and pregnant women can take a comfortable rest.

Gardens: There are many gardens at the airport including Pine Tree Garden, The Flowering Tree, Rock Garden, Flower Gardens, Cactus Garden, and Water Gardens.

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Munich Airport

Country: Germany

Munich Airport is the second busiest airport in Germany in terms of passenger traffic behind Frankfurt Airport, and the seventh busiest airport in Europe. 

Casino Royal: Just like Incheon, even Munich airport features a casino.

Minigolf: Munich Airport is now the only airport in Germany where you can swing a putter on a minigolf course. It has a modern 18-hole at the VisitorsPark.

Merkur Spielothek: This place offers diverse entertainment games.

Finance services: Very unique to Germany, you can also consult lawyers and auditors at the airport.

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Munich Airport

Airport tours: Have you always wanted a behind-the-scenes look at an airport? You can do it by taking the airport tour.

Visitors’ terrace: This is an observational deck and you can have an incomparable view of the airport apron and the airport handling activities.

Kinderterminals: The airport has special “children’s terminals”. These touchscreens are designed for use by children and enable them to find out how an airport works.

For example it explains how aircraft are prepared for departure, the various jobs, and professions at the airport, or the work of the airport fire department.

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Hong Kong International Airport

HKIA is an important contributor to Hong Kong's economy, with approximately 60,000 employees. About 90 airlines operate flights from the airport to over 150 cities across the globe.

Aviation Discovery Centre: This is targeted to provide a channel for visitors to discover the fascinating aviation related topics with focus on the aviation development of Hong Kong through fun and exciting settings.

The ADC is decorated throughout with aviation themed exhibits and graphics with attractions including SkyDeck, and Cockpit Simulator.

Dream Come True Education Park: This is a new and unique liberal studies platform. All facilities are designed for children to experience real life working by role-playing in related uniforms. Through each job simulation, children can broaden their horizons, develop independence, teamwork and social skills.

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Hong Kong International Airport

UA IMAX Theatre:  It has the largest IMAX giant screen in Hong Kong and accommodates 350 audiences. The theatre is designed and positioned to maximise each audience's field of view and its projection technology possess various proprietary features including crystal-clear images, laser-aligned digital sound system as well as immersive theatre design.

Sky City Nine Eagles Golf Course: This is the Hong Kong's first nine-hole golf created to United States Golf Association standards and offers a relaxing amenity to passengers and users of HKIA.

Exhibitions: The airport holds various exhibitions that highlight Hong Kong’s culture.

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Christchurch International Airport

It is the second busiest airport in New Zealand after Auckland by both annual passengers and aircraft movements.

Antarctic Attraction: Located across from Christchurch International Airport, the International Antarctic Centre offers a fun, exciting and interactive experience of Antarctica.

Time Zone: This place offer fun and games to people of all ages.

Children's play area: In the International Terminal Departure Lounge there is a children's play area that also has a glow worm cave.

Narita International Airport

Narita handles the majority of international passenger traffic to and from Japan, and is also a major connecting point for air traffic between Asia and the Americas.

This Japanese airport offers whole host of entertainment facilities. It has meeting points at various terminals where people can sit and relax with friends. There’s a pet hotel inside the airport that takes care of pets while passengers are on overseas trips.

The airport also has an Oxygen Bar, Reflexology & Body Care centre, Massage Chairs, Children's Playrooms and Nurseries.