Doncaster Sheffield airport has topped a Which? consumer survey for the fourth consecutive time – days before it is due to shut.
The consumer watchdog polled almost 7,500 Which? members about their experiences at UK airports over the past two years.
It found that small airports including Doncaster Sheffield, Exeter and Liverpool John Lennon fared better than many larger hubs which had been hit by delays and cancellations this summer.
Doncaster Sheffield had a customer score of 85%, and five-star ratings for its employees, queues through security, baggage reclaim, and seating and toilet facilities.
Exeter and Liverpool John Lennon airports tied in second place with a customer score of 83%.
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However, Manchester took the three lowest spots in the rankings, with a customer satisfaction score of just 38% for Manchester’s Terminal 3.
Manchester Terminals 1 and 2 received customer satisfaction scores of 41% and 47% respectively.
Among London airports, City achieving joint third place in the tables overall, tied with Southampton, and the only London airport to make it into the national top five.
At the UK’s busiest airport, Heathrow, Terminal 5 that performed best, with an overall customer satisfaction score of 60%.
Terminals 2, 3 and 4 were in the bottom half of the table, with Terminal 4 achieving a customer satisfaction score of 48%.
Guy Hobbs, editor of Which? Travel, said: “This year we’ve witnessed unprecedented chaos at many of the UK’s largest airports. Travellers reported extensive queues and unhelpful staff, with resources pushed to breaking point.
“Just a few years ago, travellers may have paid little attention to their choice of airport – but now it may just make or break your trip.
“Wherever possible, we’d recommend opting for smaller airports, which have generally offered a smoother and less stressful experience for their passengers over the last two years.”
However, a Heathrow spokesperson said: “This is an amateur survey with inaccurate and misleading conclusions.
“What is clear is that Heathrow has faced unprecedented growth this year, as passenger numbers rose faster and higher than any other European hub, with more than 18 million passengers using the airport this summer.
“We have seen thousands of people joining or returning to work across the 400 companies that operate here.
“After the two years of international travel lockdown, this was always going to be a tough year and colleagues across the airport have put in a monumental effort to meet those challenges.”
A Manchester airport spokesperson commented:“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.”
The airport said that, by September, 97% of passengers passed through security in under 30 minutes and more than 14 million people travelled through Manchester this summer.