Worst airport in UK

[memory man]

Which airport has been ranked the worst in the UK and where does Newcastle come?

London Luton has been named the UK's worst airport after passengers expressed concern about its toilets, staff and bag drop queues.

The Bedfordshire airport was ranked bottom of an annual study by consumer group Which? for the third consecutive year.
It received a customer score of just 35% after being given the lowest rating for half of the 10 categories assessed.
The airport responded to the findings by stating that its own research found that 70% of passengers were "happy with their experience".

Recent Press Association analysis of Civil Aviation Authority data found that London Luton is the worst UK airport for flight punctuality, with departures typically 20 minutes behind schedule last year.
London Stansted and Manchester (Terminal 3) both scored 44% in the Which? study, putting them in joint second-to-last place in customer satisfaction.
Doncaster Sheffield earned the highest score of 87% after passengers were particularly impressed with its security queues, baggage reclaim, prices in shops and food outlets, seating, toilets and staff, which were all given five stars.
London Southend was closely behind in second spot on 84%, followed by Newcastle (74%) and Southampton (73%).
The best score out of Scotland's airports was earned by Inverness (68%), while Aberdeen received the lowest (49%).
Cardiff was given a score of 64%, while Belfast International and Belfast City were given 50% and 62% respectively.
The research was based on a survey of 11,265 passengers which was conducted in April and May. Some 521 were questioned about London Luton.
Scores were based on a combination of overall satisfaction and how likely respondents were to recommend the airport to a friend.
Rory Boland, editor of magazine Which? Travel, 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."
London Luton chief executive Nick Barton said: "Which? polled 521 of its subscribers who had travelled through the airport between May 2017 and May 2018, 0.003% of all passengers in that period.
"During this time we've undergone a period of significant change, investing £160 million redeveloping the airport to increase capacity and transform the passenger experience.
"In the first six months of 2018 alone, 1.2 million passengers responded to our customer service tracking, 70% of whom told us they were happy with their experience."
Here is the full ranking compiled by Which?, which customer scores in brackets:

1. Doncaster Sheffield (87%)
2. London Southend (84%)
3. Newcastle (74%)
4. Southampton (73%)
5. Exeter (72%)
6. Bournemouth (71%)
7=. Liverpool (70%)
7=. London City (70%)
9=. Inverness (68%)
9=. Norwich (68%)
11. Bristol (66%)
12. Cardiff (64%)
13=. Glasgow International (63%)
13=. London Heathrow Terminal 5 (63%)
15. Belfast City (62%)
16. Birmingham (61%)
17=. East Midlands (60%)
17=. London Heathrow Terminal 2 (60%)
19. Edinburgh (59%)
20. London Gatwick North Terminal (57%)
21. London Heathrow Terminal 4 (56%)
22=. London Gatwick South Terminal (55%)
22=. London Heathrow Terminal 3 (55%)
24. Leeds Bradford (54%)
25. Manchester Terminal 2 (51%)
26. Belfast International (50%)
27. Aberdeen (49%)
28. Manchester Terminal 1 (46%)
29=. London Stansted (44%)
29=. Manchester Terminal 3 (44%)
31. London Luton (35%)

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/busine ... stle-come/

[Jimgward]

I find the average passport queue in Stansted, to be terrible. I have waited over 1 1/2 hours sometimes and I'd say average is over 30 minutes....
Also, the refusal to give a boarding gate until 45minutes before the off, means hurried scurries to a faraway gate - all stressful....

[Varky]

I find the average passport queue in Stansted, to be terrible. I have waited over 1 1/2 hours sometimes and I'd say average is over 30 minutes....
Also, the refusal to give a boarding gate until 45minutes before the off, means hurried scurries to a faraway gate - all stressful....

Totally agree. However I can beat 1½ hours. Last time I was there it took 2 hours to get through the serpentine at passport control because they had just introduced the new facial recognition passport control system and no-one knew how to operate it and everyone had to have assistance.

Manchester Terminal 3 is one also to be avoided. After arriving at 02.00hrs with Easyjet and walking miles to baggage claim, no escalators were working so how partially ambulant passengers managed I don't know.

Plus baggage trolleys cost a non-refundable £2 and now they are charging cars who are only dropping off passengers. Let's hope this practice doesn't spread to Paphos.

[PhotoLady]

After always using Liverpool when flying into UK from Larnaca and since flying out and back from Manchester since we returned to live in UK, I wholeheartedly agree with the findings.

Manchester was becoming a pain long ago especially when returning from overseas but it's much worse now.

Our last flight in June to Egypt we spent 45 minutes in something akin to a cattle shed going through the security check. No warning of the delays and no toilet facilities...

[Anarita John]

Just wish it was still terminal 3 that easyjet use. Terminal 1 is horrible. Late flight time getting into Manchester after 1pm and then a long walk to passport control with, as Varky said, no escalators working. And when you go out, being herded onto a set of stairs and waiting there for ages until the plane is ready. We have even been put on the stairs when the plane had not even arrived. Or being put in a room with another couple of hundred people with no ventilation. At least when we flew from Terminal 3 we had airbridges.