Heathrow has been named Europe’s best airport for families. Gatwick was also named in the Top 10 after a survey by travel search site Skyscanner.
Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport carrying more than 70 million passengers a year, saw off tough competition including the major hubs of Frankfurt and Paris Charles De Gaulle.
Skyscanner commissioned the study with the help of 35 family travel experts, who scored Europe’s top 20 airports for their family facilities. Each airport was marked for its baby changing facilities, security process, food offering and entertainment, as well as an overall general family friendly score to take into account accessibility, the check-in process and baggage reclaim.
This success is in stark contrast to the Skyscanner study in 2012<http://www.skyscanner.net/news/family-airport-study-sees-edinburgh-hit-top-spot>, which named London Heathrow the least family friendly airport in the UK. However, over the past 18 months the airport has invested heavily in its facilities for families, including the introduction of play areas in each terminal and a family lounge.
Skyscanner’s Mary Porter said: “This is great news for London Heathrow and, although the sample was small, it is these personal experiences by those in the know that really demonstrate how well an airport is meeting the needs of its youngest customers.”
“Flying with a family can be challenging and it is great to see airports addressing this. Judging by the results of our study, this has certainly paid off for Heathrow and our hope is that other airports will now look to take similar steps, making life as easy as possible for flying families.”
Europe’s Top 10 Family Friendly Airports:
- London Heathrow 24.8
- Zurich and Vienna 24
- Dusseldorf 23
- Madrid 20.3
- Munich 19.7
- Frankfurt 19.7
- Gatwick 19.3
- Moscow SVO 19
- Paris CDG 18.3
- Oslo 17.7
- Copenhagen 17.5
