UK’s Best And Worst Airports Named

The UK Consumers' Association has named the best and worst airports in Britain after it surveyed over 11,000 of its members.

CA, which publishes the Which? monthly consumer report, named Doncaster Sheffield airport as the best in the survey, with a score of 87 percent. Another smaller regional airport, London Southend, came in second overall on 84 percent.

Doncaster Sheffield scored well in areas such as queue times, passport control and passenger facilities. The customer score is based on a combination of overall satisfaction and how likely respondents were to recommend the airport.

Birmingham was the top scoring of the nation’s larger airports with 61 percent.

The travel experience through London Heathrow depended on which terminal was used. British Airways’ Terminal 5 topped the airport’s list with a 63 percent rating, but the older Terminal 3 scored only 55 percent, with delays at passport control and the limited range of shops and restaurants cited as factors.

At the other end of the scale, London Luton was rated the worst airport in the UK, with “disastrous customer service, queues at passport control and poor facilities” the worst aspects.

Which? travel editor Rory Boland said “Travellers want to start their trips in the smoothest way, but long queues through airports and a lack of facilities can cast a rain cloud over any getaway.

“With new routes launching all the time, passengers have an increasing choice over not just who they fly with but where they fly from. If you can pick a smaller airport, choose Southend over Luton, and Doncaster Sheffield or Liverpool instead of Manchester to get your holiday off to a better start.”

In response, Luton’s chief executive Nick Barton said “In the first six months of 2018 alone, 1.2 million passengers responded to our customer service tracking, 70 percent of whom told us they were happy with their experience.

“As we near the end of our the (sic) biggest transformation we’re proud to have recently opened 30 new shops and restaurants, We’ve added close to a thousand new seats throughout the terminal and doubled the size of our security search area.

“Our advice is people should come and experience LLA (London Luton) for themselves,” he added.

The Which? survey, carried out between April and May this year, was based on 11,265 passenger visits to UK airports.