Press release

Which? reveals the best and worst UK airports

Manchester Airport Terminal 3 has finished at the bottom of the table for the fourth year in a row while Exeter, Liverpool John Lennon and London City have come top in Which?’s annual airport survey.
8 min read
Press Team

Earlier this year, Which? surveyed almost 6,000 passengers - Which? members and members of the public - about their airport experiences over the previous 12 months. Passengers were asked to rate the airports across 10 categories including customer service, wait for baggage, security queues and availability of seating as well as range of shops and food outlets. 

Manchester Airport Terminal 3 finished last for the fourth year running, with a customer score of 43 per cent. The terminal received just one star for security queues, seating, prices of goods in shops and food outlets as well as the range and quality of shops and food outlets. One disgruntled passenger said: “Now Ryanair puts most of its flights through there and it is absolutely not set up for that number of passengers. It’s impossible to get a drink or something to eat, but much worse than that - there is nowhere to sit.”

Manchester Terminal 1 (47%), which is scheduled for closure this year, was the second lowest scoring. While this terminal also only managed a one star rating for security queues and price in its shops and food outlets, it managed two out of a possible five in the other categories. One passenger said: "The cleanliness in Terminal 1 is appalling. Toilets are often overflowing, and there's rubbish everywhere."

Manchester Terminal 2 managed a customer score of 53 per cent but feedback from passengers overall was less negative. Reflecting a three star rating in multiple categories covering queues and wait times, one passenger praised the terminal for “little queuing” and another praised the “good facilities prior to long haul flight and helpful staff at baggage check-in”. Similar to Terminals 1 and 3, Terminal 2 was given only one star for the prices in its shops and eateries.

London’s lowest scoring airport was London Luton with a score of 51 per cent. The airport received one star for seating and prices of goods in shops and food outlets and while most other categories only managed two stars, Luton did achieve three stars for baggage queues. One passenger said the airport had a "disorganized and confusing layout” and “overpriced food and drink options." Passengers will hopefully see improvement in the coming years as the government has now given its approval for a massive £2.4 billion expansion.

Other London airports including Heathrow T2 (57%), T3 (54%), T4 (55%), T5 (59%), Stansted (53%) and London Gatwick North (57%) and London Gatwick South (55%) all had common themes including poor customer service and lack of seating. All London airports, except London City, scored just one star for prices in shops and food outlets. 

At the top end of the table, Exeter Airport, which serves around 500,000 passengers a year - compared to 29 million at Manchester or 84 million at Heathrow - received an impressive customer score of 80 per cent, and was one of six airports this year to secure the prestigious Which? Recommended Provider (WRP) endorsement.

Travellers awarded the airport five stars for its customer service, check in, toilets, bag drop and security queues. However, the small airport only received a three star rating for its range of shops and eateries. One traveller told Which? "Exeter offers a relaxed and stress-free travel experience, a welcome change from larger airports."

Rapidly expanding Liverpool John Lennon airport, which now serves five million passengers a year, came second and received a score of 78 per cent and a WRP endorsement. Passengers praised a quick, efficient process and friendly staff. Liverpool scored five stars for security, bag-drop and check-in. One traveller praised the security process as “consistently quick and hassle-free”. Another passenger praised the airport as "efficient, clean, easy to navigate, good facilities."

Third from the top and serving 3.5 million customers each year, London City received an impressive score of 76 per cent and a WRP. It was the only airport to get five stars for all of the queue categories but was rated three stars for its toilets and range of shops.

Bournemouth (73%), Norwich (72%) and Newcastle (72%) completed the top six and were also awarded WRP endorsement.

Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel said:

“While some airports show that the few hours before your flight can be an enjoyable start to a holiday, others are an endurance test as passengers feel more like cattle herded from expensive shops to overpriced bars and restaurants, as well as dealing with long queues and dirty toilets.

“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 and maybe even get that holiday feeling started a little sooner.”

Right of Replies:

Manchester Airport Managing Director Chris Woodroofe said:

"I am proud that Manchester Airport is serving more passengers than ever before, connecting 31m people a year to more than 200 destinations - dozens of which you cannot fly to from anywhere else outside London.

"Through our historic £1.3bn transformation programme, we have created a world-class and award-winning Terminal 2. We have also announced plans to invest significantly in Terminal 3 - starting this year.

"I am also proud to say customer satisfaction has increased significantly over the past four years. We know how customers feel about their experience because we asked hundreds of them every week about it. Between January and June this year, 91% of 3,045 people surveyed told us their experience was good, very good or excellent.

"That is how I know this latest outdated and unrepresentative report from Which? bears no resemblance to the experience people receive at Manchester Airport day in, day out.

"The most disappointing thing about Which's continued pursuit of headlines over robust consumer advice is the disservice it does to the hard work and dedication of our thousands of colleagues - and those of our partner organisations."

A London Gatwick spokesperson said:

"With flights departing or arriving every 55 seconds, London Gatwick is proud to be the world’s most efficient single-runway airport.

“In the first half of 2025 passengers received great service, as the airport significantly improved its on-time performance, following excellent collaboration with airline partners and National Air Traffic Services (NATS). London Gatwick also hit 100% of its agreed service metrics, getting passengers through security in five minutes or less 98% of the time, following a £60m investment to become fully compliant with the Department for Transport mandate to install next generation security screening technology.  

“A £7m investment to refurbish the South Terminal and enhance the departure lounge experience for passengers is nearing completion. In 2024 a full refurbishment of the North Terminal departure lounge concluded with new flooring, more seating with different areas to suit varying passenger requirements, better sightlines to shops and restaurants, and other features to improve the passenger experience.”

A London Heathrow spokesperson said:

“Which? has relied on unrepresentatively small sample sizes and recollections to assess an industry that already collects vast amounts of data on a daily basis, all verified and published by an independent regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority.

“We have just delivered our busiest ever summer as Europe’s most punctual hub airport, with 94% of passengers telling us they experienced a good or excellent journey. More than 96% of passengers wait less than five minutes for security, giving ample time to enjoy our award-winning range of retail and dining options across the terminals.”

A London Luton Airport spokesperson said: 

“Whilst we value all feedback, a sample size of just 255 Which? readers is simply not representative of the 16.7 million passengers who travelled with us in 2024. Official industry data shows 4 out of 5 customers at London Luton Airport rate their experience as either very good or excellent, while international aviation review site Skytrax names LLA as the UK’s best airport for low-cost airlines. In addition, our outstanding customer service has been recognised with a number of awards, including ACI’s European Airport of the Year 2024 (10-25 million passengers)”.

 

A spokesperson for London Stansted Airport said:

"London Stansted is proud to have welcomed a record breaking 30m passengers to the airport in the last year, driven by the great value and reliable service on offer, and convenient access to over 200 destinations across Europe and beyond.

“To keep pace with our continued growth, we have kicked off a five-year £1.2bn investment programme to transform the airport, delivering wide-ranging benefits to passengers and helping secure links to even more global destinations.

“The centrepiece of the plans is an extension to the airport’s existing terminal, which will create a bright spacious environment, with more seating areas plus new shops, bars and restaurants. Not only will this give travellers even more choice than they have today it will also maintain the simple, efficient and seamless experience of operating a single terminal.

"While we have significantly increased passenger numbers and added new destinations, we also saw in increase in customer satisfaction levels. We survey hundreds of passengers every week with more than 91% rating their experience as good, very good or excellent so far this year.

“We have also delivered a strong and consistent security performance for our passengers this summer, with at least 95% passing safely through security in less than 15 minutes each month.

“We are very proud of the hard work and dedication of all the teams across the airport that enable millions of passengers to enjoy a smooth and stress-free start to their journeys when choosing to fly from London Stansted.”  

Notes to Editors:

Methodology

Which? surveyed 5,789: 4,648 members of the Which? Connect panel and 1,141 members of the general public. The survey was conducted in April 2025.

The customer score is based on satisfaction and likelihood to recommend. These two questions contribute 50% each to the score. We apply a weighting to each response according to the scales to the right.

About Which?

Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Our research gets to the heart of consumer issues, our advice is impartial, and our rigorous product tests lead to expert recommendations. We’re the independent consumer voice that influences politicians and lawmakers, investigates, holds businesses to account and makes change happen. As an organisation we’re not for profit and all for making consumers more powerful.

The information in this press release is for editorial use by journalists and media outlets only. Any business seeking to reproduce information in this release should contact the Which? Endorsement Scheme team at endorsementscheme@which.co.uk.