We all have our opinions of Airports. I think that I am partial to airports in good second tier cities. Many have new terminals with shopping and decent dining and many offer free wireless which is very important when you need to do business and the weather has you sitting in Providence, RI or Tampa, FL.

Some that come to mind for me, Bradley International in Hartford or Albuquerque, NM. Both are great airports...... no muss, no fuss. Arrive, check in and get to the gate.

These airports also offer groups unique advantages at arrival time because it is easy to make sure that all attendees are taken from baggage claim to bus in the shortest time possible (with little risk of a walk off....) and when it is time to depart it is just as easy.

These great airports do have one drawback. For attendees going from smaller city to smaller city, the option of a direct flight is just not there. Multiple hops become the norm, not the exception. This can make for a long day of travel, which in turn leads to grumpy attendees.

If you are planning an event and need to get the attendees in and out in one hop, the big boys are the way to go.

The worlds busiest airports are busy because they offer direct flights to everywhere. This means that attendees can fly direct on the way in and direct on the way out. This can be crucial in the case of a Pharmaceutical Investigators Meeting or last minute Sales Meeting that will be held over a short period when time is mission critical. There is nothing worse than spending 12 or 15 hours traveling each way to be in a destination for 36 hours.

For event planners that need to get folks moving, here is the current list of top 11 busiest airports in the World (by total number of passengers--- Memphis would be in the top 11, but it is all cargo):

1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Atlanta, Georgia
2. O'Hare International Airport Chicago, Illinois
3. London Heathrow Airport Hayes, Hillingdon, Greater London
4. Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) Ōta, Tokyo, Japan
5. Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles, California
6. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
7. Charles de Gaulle International Airport Paris France
8. Frankfurt International Airport Frankfurt, Germany
9. Beijing Capital International Airport Chaoyang, Beijing, People's Republic of China
10. Denver International Airport Denver, Colorado
11. McCarran International Airport Las Vegas, Nevada

Just a thought...........