Liverpool tops the list as every UK airport ranked by passengers (2024)

Liverpool John Lennon Airport secured the number one rating with a customer score of 81%

A mass survey of air passengers in the UK has revealed the best airports in the country - and Liverpool comes out on top. This year's annual Which? survey quizzed almost 5,000 members about their experiences at airports in the past 12 months, with respondents invited to rate the airports across 11 categories, including seating, staff, toilets and queues at check in, bag drop, passport control and security.

The consumer champion found smaller airports once again performed better than their larger rivals during 2023/24. But it was Liverpool John Lennon Airport that bagged the top position, earning five-star ratings in staff quality and queues at bag drops and security. It earned four-star ratings in check-in and passport control queues, baggage reclaiming, seating, airport wi-fi and toilet cleanliness, and three-star ratings in its range of shops and prices.

This secured the airport's number one rating with a customer score of 81%, ahead of 28 other UK airports including London's Gatwick, Heathrow, and Stansted. Liverpool John Lennon Airport’s CEO John Irving said: “To be named as the UK’s number one airport by travellers is a tremendous accolade once again for the Airport and something all who work here are incredibly proud of, with all the hard work put in by our staff, alongside our dedicated third-party operators, paying dividends.

"Everyone who works here understands the importance of our Faster, Easier, Friendlier ethos, focused on giving our passengers a great airport experience. To hear such positive feedback from our customers and gain this recognition for the second consecutive year, is testament to the commitment from all our colleagues day in day out at the airport.

"As ever, we know we can’t rest on our laurels. We are back to pre-pandemic levels of passenger numbers and set to see further increases in passenger numbers next year, so will need to continue to improve facilities and maintain the friendly, relaxed experience that this airport is renowned for.”

On the other hand, it was Manchester Airport Terminal 3 which proved least popular among customers, with a customer approval rating of just 37%. The terminal received just one star for seating, staff, queues at security, range of shops and prices in shops, and managed no higher than two stars in any of the remaining categories, placing it dead last for the third year running.

With some of its "moving walkways" out of action since 2021, and repair works still ongoing, as well as widespread complaints about queues and lack of seating, many of those surveyed expressed dissatisfaction with their time at Manchester Airport.

One disappointed traveller summed up their experience as: "queuing, queuing, queuing. Not enough staff, poorly trained, surly bordering on rude”, while another said: “'Manchester T3 sums up everything that is bad about UK airports. Too many flights mean too many people crowded into a space not designed to take that many.”Another person said: “It’s just awful - the worst advert for anyone flying to the UK. It’s the worst airport I have ever used (and by quite a long way) compared to other UK and especially overseas airports.”

But a Manchester Airport spokesman said they believed the survey "unfairly characterises the service provided by Manchester Airport, and many others." They said the number of people surveyed represented only 0.0026% of the airport's annual passengers, and that comparing large airports with smaller airports was "inherently misleading" as it was not possible to provide their range of connections in a smaller, less busy setting.

They also complained the survey did not take into account metrics such as the range of destinations, value and choice of flights, the number of airlines operating from an airport, and services for disabled passengers.

A Manchester Airport spokesman said: "Manchester Airport is proud to give people in all parts of the North easy and affordable access to nearly 200 different destinations across the world. We know our nearly 30m passengers value the fact we make it possible for them to fly directly to places they otherwise wouldn't be able to, whether that is for business or leisure, to study or visit friends and family.

"We also know they value an experience that caters for all needs, tastes and budgets, and through our £1.3bn Manchester Airport transformation programme we are creating world-class facilities that give them just that. Due for completion next year, it is already winning awards and receiving high levels of customer satisfaction.

"We understand not every experience is perfect and want all passengers to feel able to raise their concerns directly with us. That is why we speak to them on a daily basis, surveying hundreds of people a month to get in-the-moment feedback from a full range of perspectives. That is in stark contrast to Which?, which conducted a tiny and unrepresentative survey of its members six months ago, asking them to recollect airport experiences that could have been as far back in time as April 2023."

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: "Our survey found many of the biggest airports fall at the basics - with passengers often unhappy about the availability of toilets and seats, and reporting long queues at times. Flogging fast passes and filling terminals with retail spaces and airport lounges is a money spinner - but judging by our survey results, it's not what passengers need.

“Smaller airports in contrast may have few shops to speak of and the likes of [London] City have no private lounges - but our survey shows what they can do is get passengers off on their holiday quickly and smoothly. 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.”