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Manchester Airport has officially been declared the worst airport in the UK

Which? gathered feedback from more than 7,000 people about their experiences of flying from UK airports between July 2020 and July 2022.

Emily Sergeant - 27th October 2022

Manchester Airport has officially been declared the worst airport in the UK, according to a new survey by consumer choice group Which?

The UK’s third largest airport grabbed headlines repeatedly due to its scenes of chaos for travellers this past summer – with long delays, unplanned flight cancellations, and queues so long that many were required to turn up hours in advance and even then still miss their flights in the most unfortunate cases.

And now, the country’s biggest consumer body has named it the worst in the UK.

For its annual survey, Which? gathered feedback from more than 7,000 people about their experiences of flying from UK airports between July 2020 and July 2022 – with Manchester’s Terminal 3 receiving the lowest customer score of 38%.

Angry travellers from our region’s airport over the past two years described their experiences “chaotic”, “heaving”, and “an end-to-end shambles, with people explaining they were mainly frustrated by the queues throughout the place – for everything from getting through security, to buying something to eat and drink.

Terminal 1 (41%) and Terminal 2 (47%) did fare a little better in the survey than Terminal 3, but passengers said they were still pretty irritated by long waits.

According to Which?, it’s not just the recent survey results that have been pretty damning for Manchester Airport, as many of its members have regularly reported over the years that the airport is “grim”, with others saying the layout was “poorly designed”, and that basically, “it’s just not a nice airport.”

Manchester’s neighbouring airport, Liverpool John Lennon Airport, however, has come out with a glowing review from the Which? survey – receiving a ‘Which? Recommended Provider’ status and obtaining a score of 83%.

“It’s much smaller, less manic and so much more civilised than Manchester,” one passenger claimed.

Speaking on taking the title as the UK’s worst airport, and addressing the survey head-on, a spokesperson for Manchester Airport said: “We apologise to any customer who feels their experience was not of the standard we want to deliver over the past two years.

“The pandemic was the biggest crisis faced by our industry in its history.

“At one stage, passenger numbers at Manchester Airport dropped to just 5% of normal levels and airports around the world had to cut costs just to survive.

“Earlier this year, the whole of the travel industry then faced unprecedented challenges as travel restrictions were removed and demand returned rapidly to the market, and Manchester Airport was no different. The hugely competitive employment market and delays in training and vetting meant there were times when we were unable to keep up with passenger demand, which resulted in longer waiting times than we would like.”

Read more:

• Manchester Airport issues statement on ‘challenges’ to travellers stuck in long queues again
• ‘The big issues of earlier this year are behind us’ – New Manchester Airport boss speaks out
• Manchester named ‘must-see’ destination for world tourists in 2023

The spokesperson added that the Airport is “looking forward to delivering a positive experience to all our passengers this winter, and into summer 2023.”

Featured Image – Manchester Airport