London Heathrow and Warsaw Chopin: Europe's most plugged-in airports
With 3,050 power outlets available in its international departure terminals, London's Heathrow airport is the champion when it comes to connectivity on the continent, according to a study by flight comparison website Kayak. Warsaw Chopin is only slightly behind with its 3,000 outlets, which are available in all of its boarding zones.
Between smartphones, tablets and laptops, today's travelers rarely fly without at least one or two gadgets in their carry-on, whether to stay on top of office e-mails or simply to pass the time spent waiting to board.
A recent survey conducted by Liligo/Next indicated that 43% of passengers surf the web after going through security, while 40% play games on their devices. As a result, travelers expect to be able to plug in and charge their devices before boarding, and some airports have adapted to these new demands more quickly than others.
London: the connected airport capital
At the top of Kayak's ranking thanks to its 3,050 outlets, London Heathrow is also among the busiest hubs in Europe, processing around 73,405,330 passengers per year. But the British capital is also home to another shining example: the Luton Airport, located around 28 miles northwest of downtown London. The small airport's Terminal 1 is equipped with 400 British outlets and 400 international ones.
Some of the French, German, Italian and Spanish airports that process millions of passengers on a daily basis are surprisingly far behind Heathrow. Warsaw Chopin, however, with 3,000 outlets in its boarding areas, is a welcome change for European travelers. In comparison, the Munich airport has only 1,464 outlets and 1,196 USB charging stations and sees 40 million passengers annually, compared to just 10.5 million at the Polish hub.
Though they still clearly have a long way to go, many European airports, including those in Hamburg and Frankfurt, are actively working to install more power outlets and USB ports.
