Manchester Airport is the UK's Favourite, Reveals Skyscanner

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Skyscanner

30 Apr, 2013, 09:05 GMT

EDINBURGH, Scotland, April 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Manchester Airport has been named by travellers as the best in the UK, according to a survey by leading global travel search site Skyscanner.

Fifteen of the busiest airports in the UK were rated in a study by 1600 British flyers with Manchester Airport, the third busiest in the country welcoming more than 9 million[*] passengers each year, hitting the top spot, voted as having the best customer service, facilities and shopping as well as the best bars and restaurants. Passengers of the airport also commended it for being well organised, passenger friendly and for its accessibility.

London 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.

Heathrow named easiest airport to get to (and from!)

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% 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.

Manchester Airport, which has its own train station and offers services linking the airport with over 100 destinations across the UK, came a close second with 15% finding the airport the easiest to get to in the country.

Gatwick Airport took third place with 12% of the vote, whilst Birmingham (9%) and London Stansted (6%) completed the top five.  

Skyscanner's Victoria Bailie commented:  "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."

How passengers ranked the UK's Airports:

    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

Survey of 1600 travellers conducted by OnePoll

[*] Source = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busiest_airports_in_the_United_Kingdom_by_total_passenger_traffic

[**] http://wikitravel.org/en/Heathrow_Airport

About Skyscanner

  • Skyscanner is a leading global travel search site providing instant online comparisons for millions of flights plus hotels and car hire.
  • Founded in 2003 by three IT professionals, Gareth Williams, Barry Smith and Bonamy Grimes, Skyscanner is the no.1 travel search website in Europe and no.3 worldwide, receiving over 50 million visits per month.
  • Skyscanner's travel search site is available in 40 countries and in 30 languages.
  • Skyscanner's highly-rated free mobile apps are available on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Windows 8 devices and have been downloaded over 20 million times.
  • The company employs 180 staff and has its global headquarters in Edinburgh, with a second Scottish office in Glasgow. Skyscanner also has offices in Singapore and Beijing and plans to open a Miami office in 2013.

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