Which are the best and worst UK airports?
Written by Karen Bryan
I was very interested to read the results of a recent opinion poll which listed the UK’s best and worst airports, according to responses by 2372 holidaymakers.
The 5 Best UK Airports
- Birmingham
- Cardiff
- Liverpool
- Manchester
- Glasgow
The 5 Worst UK Airports
- Luton
- Stansted
- East Midlands
- Gatwick
- Heathrow
My Experience
I’ve flown from all these airports at least once. I have to say I didn’t find Birmingham, Cardiff or Liverpool to be significantly better than other UK airports I’ve used. Manchester stuck in mind as it was easy and cheap to reach by rail from the city centre and offered free wifi (in Summer 2009) but the signage was poor and it took me ages to find the check in desk. I was at East Midlands in Spring this year and it did take ages to get through security but apart from that it was OK. I always try to avoid Heathrow, it’s just too big and there’s too much potential for things to go wrong. The last time I flew through Heathrow in April 2009, my flight from Edinburgh was delayed, so I missed my connection to Venice and ended up with a ten hour delay.
Evidently some people are prepared to travel more than 100 miles to an airport which will offer them an more pleasant experience. I wouldn’t bother to do this. Mainly because it’s already 60 miles to my closest airports, Edinburgh and Newcastle, both of which I find perfectly acceptable.
What does make a good airport?
I came up with these six points which I haven’t ranked. Other passengers will have different priorities, e.g. I often travel alone with only hand luggage and check in online at home.
Cleanliness: You really don’t want to sit in stained seats with rubbish scattered around and visit grotty toilets.
Short wait at security: It’s awful if you have to stand queuing for more than half an hour but this partly depends on whether you are travelling during high season and/or peak hours.
Plenty of comfy seats: Allowing plenty of time to get through security can often mean you have an hour or so in the lounge or at the gate before your flight departure. There may also be a delay in your departure, so you really want a comfy seat with a bit of elbow room.
Good, reasonably priced public transport options (preferably available 24 hours a day): I almost always have to drive to the airport, as I can’t get to the airport in time for an early departure and/or get back home if my touchdown is after 6pm. You can’t risk buying a cheap advance rail ticket for a specific train for the journey home in case your flight is delayed.
Good selection of reasonably priced food and drink: In the good old days before the liquid restrictions, I’d take my big bottle of tap water from home and sometimes also my flask for liquid refreshments at the airport and on the plane. I get pretty annoyed paying £1 for a 500 ml bottle of water and £3 for an indifferent, lukewarm coffee. Boots has the cheapest water at most airports and their £3.50 Meal Deals, which include a cold drink, sandwich or salad and a snack (crisps, yoghurt, fruit or cake) are excellent value, as well as tasty. I’d like to see free tap water available at all airports. I did find a water fountain at Gatwick which was great during the 10 hour delay for which BA gave me a £10 voucher.
Electrical sockets and free wifi: It can be really hard to find electrical sockets at most UK airports. My netbook battery only lasts for around two hours. Now that I have a UK mobile internet contract, I’m not so bothered about free wifi at UK airports, unless I have long delays which start to eat into my monthly allowance.
Europe a la Carte Twtpoll results
Best UK airport – Manchester
Worst UK airport - Luton
Photo credits Temjin, Cocrate.com, Krystian Cruz, Nick@, Gene Hunt, Emile Raguso
I’ve flown from a few of these airports and think the London City is easily the best and most civilised. It’s a shame it doesn’t serve more destinations.
As for the other airports I think a lot does depend on which terminal you’re flying from eg Heathrow terminal 1 vs terminal 5. No comparison.
Rainbowsurfer – I’ve heard that London City Airport is good and I think it does offer free wifi. I haven’t flown from there, just had a quick wander around. I wasn’t at all impressed by my Heathrow Terminal 5 experience.
I’d say give London City a try even if the flights are more expensive it’s worth it to avoid the usual mayhem at airports.
As for terminal 5 yes it can be bad but for me terminal 1 was the pits.
The best airport to travel from and to is by far London City.. I hate Heathrow/Gatwick/Manchester and all the other busy ones, it’s not worth the hassle!
Stop being cheap, spend a bit more money and have a relaxing holiday or business trip.
Ricky – The problem with London City is it’s a small airport (one of the reasons it’s good) so doesn’t serve that many destinations.