The UK’s 29 finest and worst airports for 2024 named by Which?
In just the last few months, it’s faced protests, power cuts, queues, delays and cancellations.
And now Manchester has been named the worst airport in the UK.
The airport’s Terminal 3 finished bottom of the annual Which? airport survey for the third consecutive year.
The terminal received only a one-star rating for seating, staff, queues at security, range of shops and prices in shops, and managed no higher than two stars in any of the remaining categories, including for toilets.
Meanwhile, Manchester Terminal 1 came second to last in the survey, which asked 5,000 British travellers to rate their experiences at airports, while its Terminal 2 came sixth from the bottom.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport (above) was voted the UK’s best airport, with travellers rating it five stars for its ‘friendly’, ‘good-natured’ staff, as well as for queues at bag drop and security
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’
Manchester Terminal 3 finished bottom of the annual Which? airport survey for the third consecutive year
In June, all flights out of Terminals 1 and 2 at Manchester Airport were cancelled after a ‘significant power cut’ left hundreds of holidaymakers stranded.
Meanwhile, in July, a man was filmed being kicked in the head by a police officer at Terminal 2, which led to two nights of protests in Rochdale and Manchester.
One traveller surveyed as part of the study described their time at Terminal 3 as ‘queuing, queuing, queuing… not enough staff, poorly trained, surly bordering on rude’, while another said: ‘Manchester T3 sums up everything that is bad about UK airports. Too many flights mean too many people crowded into a space not designed to take that many.’ Others complained about the lack of seating.
At the other end of the table, Liverpool John Lennon Airport was voted the UK’s best airport, with travellers rating it five stars for its ‘friendly’, ‘good-natured’ staff, as well as for queues at bag drop and security.
On the whole, smaller airports performed better than their larger rivals – with respondents reporting shorter queues, and a generally less stressful experience.
London City Airport came in second place, followed by Norwich, Exeter and Southampton. Luton was the worst-rated London airport, closely followed by Stansted.
London City Airport (above) came in second place, pulling in five stars for queues and staff
Norwich Airport came third, scoring four stars for Wi-Fi and five stars for staff
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. Next time you’re booking a flight, it’s well worth considering not just your choice of airline but also your airport – it could make all the difference to the start of your getaway.’
A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said: ‘Manchester Airport is proud to give people in all parts of the North easy and affordable access to nearly 200 different destinations across the world.
‘We understand not every experience is perfect and want all passengers to feel able to raise their concerns directly with us.’
