Manchester Airport has topped a poll to pick the UK’s top airport.
The survey of 1,600 travellers by travel search site Skyscanner saw the north-west’s leading airport pip 15 others to the post for the title of the UK’s best-loved airport.
Manchester is the third busiest airport in the country, welcoming more than 9million passengers a year, and reached the top spot for having the the best customer service, facilities and shopping as well as the best bars and restaurants. Passengers also commended it for being well organised, passenger friendly and for its accessibility.
Gatwick Airport, Britain’s second busiest handling more than 34 million passengers every year, came in second place, with passengers praising its staff and large check-in areas.
Newcastle Airport just pipped Birmingham to the last podium spot and was voted by passengers as the easiest airport to travel though. Passengers of the airport commented on its simple layout and good choice of food and drink options.
At the other end of the scale, Aberdeen Airport, which handles more than 3 million passengers per year took the bottom spot and was given the thumbs down for its facilities including comments from its passengers that its baggage carousel area is in need of updating.
The UK’s two busiest airports performed well with both Gatwick and Heathrow making the top five. However, the three other main airports in the capital did not fare as well, with Luton, City and Stansted all named in the bottom five. Passengers of London City commented on its expensive parking, whilst Stansted was blasted for its extremely long queues at check-in.
The UK’s busiest airport and the fifth best overall, Heathrow was named the best airport in the UK for its transport links, earning 18 per cent of the vote. Although the airport is served by Heathrow Express, which has the dubious honour of being one of the most expensive trains journeys in the world, it is also served by several low cost options such as London Underground, Heathrow Connect and coach services.
Skyscanner’s Victoria Bailie said: “The UK’s leading airports handle millions of passengers every year and the results of our study shows that whilst Manchester is the third busiest in the UK, it still manages to keep passengers happy. Many of the UK’s busiest airports including Gatwick and Heathrow performed very well in our study, particularly Heathrow which topped the transport poll. Whilst the airport serves the busiest city in the UK, Heathrow offers passengers a variety of means to get to and from the airport to suit a range of budgets and if time is tight, passengers can travel to the airport from the central London in just 15 minutes.”
Airports by ranking in the poll
| 1st | Manchester Airport |
| 2nd | London Gatwick Airport |
| 3rd | Newcastle Airport |
| 4th | Birmingham International Airport |
| 5th | London Heathrow Airport |
| 6th | Liverpool John Lennon Airport |
| 7th | Glasgow International Airport |
| 8th | Edinburgh Airport |
| 9th | East Midlands Airport |
| 10th | Bristol Airport |
| 11th | Belfast International Airport |
| 12th | London Stansted Airport |
| 13th | London City Airport |
| 14th | London Luton Airport |
| 15th | Aberdeen Airport |
