Liverpool John Lennon Airport named as best in the country while Manchester Airport named as worst

The North West is home to both the best and the worst airport in the country, a survey has found.

Passengers were asked to rate their experiences of flying to and from a UK airport in the past two years by consumer group Which? - with Liverpool John Lennon coming out on top.

Manchester Airport however was found to be the worst, with all three terminals coming bottom - with one scoring just a 38% approval rating.

Almost 8,000 customers were asked to rate their experience at UK airports, with Liverpool John Lennon scored 83%, tying it with Exeter Airport for top spot.

But, it had originally been pipped to first place by Doncaster Sheffield Airport, but shortly after publishing the research, it was forced to close, and Which? removed the airport from the table.

Customers praised Liverpool John Lennon's check-in and security low waiting times, as well as the ability to park easily.

It got the maximum five-star rating for every queue - including the wait at passport control and baggage reclaim.

The final verdict from one passenger said: "It’s much smaller, less manic and so much more civilised than Manchester."

Manchester Airport's three terminals all fell at the bottom of the table - with Terminal 2 scoring 47%, Terminal 1 41% and Terminal 3 just 38%.

The airport, which was described as "grim", and " just not a nice airport" was criticised for long queues for security and baggage reclaim.

It was handed multiple two-star ratings, and was given the lowest score for security queues at every terminal.

Which? said one passenger told them it was "poorly designed", while another said "security queues are horrific," and "waiting areas are overcrowded, you can never get a seat."

In response to the survey Manchester Airport said it was "now in a place where we can provide a good standard of service to passengers".

A spokesperson 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."

On check-in and baggage reclaim, the spokesperson added: “Even though these are not services we deliver directly, we are closely managing the performance of our partners, making clear the standards we expect from them and providing support where necessary.

"We are looking forward to delivering a positive experience to all our passengers this winter, and into summer 2023.”

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