Most UK air passengers rate the country’s airports highly, according to a Department for Transport survey, but regional airports are rated higher than those in London.
Nine out ten respondents who flew in the past year expressed satisfaction with the flight information at airports. A similar proportion were happy with the punctuality of flights (88%) despite a recent Civil Aviation Authority report suggesting punctuality deteriorated in the first months of this year.
There was also general satisfaction with the experience at check-in (85%), although the proportion was down from 92% in 2006 – and the level of satisfaction was the same for check in at the airport as online, although 6% using web check-in were unhappy with it.
Online check in was used by 38% of air passengers, but higher among those flying from the biggest airports – Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted – where it averaged 44%.
Eight out of ten users were satisfied with airport security screening and 85% with airport border controls.
A similar proportion (85%) was also happy with the experience on board their flight.
People expressed least satisfied with information on the goods they could bring into the UK. They were also less happy with the destinations served by their nearest airport (66% satisfaction). This was most marked among people relying on regional airports and least evident in London and the Southeast.
Seven out of 10 expressed satisfaction with baggage collection on arrival in the UK.
There was no significant change in the satisfaction rates compared with previous surveys in 2008 and 2006. But those using the four largest airports were less likely to be satisfied with the price of their flight or their experience at border control than those at regional airports.
The DfT survey of more than 1,000 UK adults was conducted in February and published last week.