The UK’s worst airports, according to Which?
Long queues, rude staff and overcrowding let down frequent flyers from these aviation hubs
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Your support makes all the difference.Manchester Airport has been named the worst airport in the UK for the third consecutive year in a row, according to the latest research from Which?.
The consumer group’s annual survey asked almost 5,000 people about their airport experiences in the period between April 2023 and April 2024.
Ratings were given across 11 categories – including seating, staff, toilets and queues at check-in, bag drop, passport control and security – to calculate a customer score based on overall satisfaction and how likely travellers were to recommend the airport.
Terminal 3 at the northern aviation hub took the bottom spot with a score of just 37 per cent.
The Manchester terminal received just one star for seating, staff, queues at security, range of shops and prices in shops, and scored no higher than two stars in any of the remaining categories.
Customers complained about long queues, rude staff and overcrowding when departing Manchester Airport.
One said: “It’s just awful - the worst advert for anyone flying to the UK. It’s the worst airport I have ever used (and by quite a long way) compared to other UK and especially overseas airports.”
Manchester Airport’s Terminal 1, Belfast International and London Luton also fared poorly with ratings of 40 per cent, 44 per cent and 47 per cent respectively.
On the other end of the scale, neighbouring Liverpool John Lennon Airport topped the chart with a satisfaction score of 81 per cent, closely followed by London City (80 per cent), Norwich (78 per cent), Exeter (77 per cent) and Southampton (75 per cent) to round off the top five.
Customers praised the airport for its friendly staff, efficient security queues, toilets and seating.
A traveller called the Liverpool airport a “smaller, friendlier, efficient airport, generally not too busy with smallish queues… it is a far more pleasurable experience than its nearest rival, Manchester.”
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel said: “Our survey found many of the biggest airports fall at the basics - with passengers often unhappy about the availability of toilets and seats, and reporting long queues at times. Flogging fast passes and filling terminals with retail spaces and airport lounges is a money spinner - but judging by our survey results, it’s not what passengers need.
“Smaller airports in contrast may have few shops to speak of and the likes of City have no private lounges - but our survey shows what they can do is get passengers off on their holiday quickly and smoothly.”
A spokesperson for Manchester Airport strongly disputed the ranking and said that the Which? data was “outdated and unrepresentative” of passenger’s airport experiences.
“We know our nearly 30 million passengers value the fact we make it possible for them to fly directly to places they otherwise wouldn’t be able to, whether that is for business or leisure, to study or visit friends and family.”
They added: “We understand not every experience is perfect and want all passengers to feel able to raise their concerns directly with us. That is why we speak to them on a daily basis, surveying hundreds of people a month to get in-the-moment feedback from a full range of perspectives.”
The UK’s worst-rated airports and terminals
- Manchester T3
- Manchester T1
- Belfast International
- London Luton
- London Stansted
- Manchester T2
- London Heathrow T4
- Bristol
- London Heathrow T3
- London Gatwick South
For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast
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