United Kingdom's busiest airport with the poorest performance unveiled, processing over a million travelers monthly
Manchester Airport Struggles in Annual Survey as Exeter Takes Top Spot
In the latest annual survey by Which?, Manchester Airport has once again found itself at the bottom of the table, marking the fourth consecutive year of poor performance. This comes as Exeter Airport was named Britain's best, receiving an impressive 80% rating.
Manchester Airport's Terminal 3, serving millions of passengers each year, came in last place. The terminal received just one star in several categories, including security queues, seating, prices in shops and food outlets, and range and quality of shops and food outlets. This is a stark contrast to the praise received by Liverpool John Lennon Airport, which came second in the survey with a rating of 78%. Passengers praised Liverpool for being 'consistently quick and hassle-free'.
London's airports also struggled in the survey, with Luton coming third from the bottom. Other low-ranking London airports included London Stansted and Heathrow Terminal 3. London City Airport received five stars for all queue categories but was rated only three stars for its toilets and range of shops.
The news comes as airports across Europe face new challenges in security, operations, staff wellbeing, and environmental goals due to the strong growth in air travel. Rome Fiumicino Airport, however, has managed to overcome these challenges, securing its win as the best airport in Europe for the seventh year in a row in the ACI EUROPE Best Airport Awards. Rome Fiumicino's recent launch of Europe's largest solar farm and its data-driven approach to management played a significant role in its win.
Manchester Airport managing director Chris Woodroofe stated that the airport is serving more passengers than ever before and has increased customer satisfaction significantly over the past four years. Despite this, the average scheduled departure flight from Manchester leaves just over 20.3 minutes late. In July, a man was found guilty of attacking two female police officers during a large violent disturbance at Manchester Airport, adding to the airport's woes.
On a positive note, Exeter Airport, which serves approximately 500,000 passengers a year, was named Britain's best, receiving five stars for customer service, check-in system, toilets, bag drop, and security queues. Passengers praised the airport for its smooth and efficient operations, making it a favourite among travellers.
As airports continue to adapt to the growing demands of air travel, it remains to be seen how Manchester Airport will address the issues highlighted in the survey and improve its performance in future rankings.
