UK's best airports revealed with passengers preferring stress-free smaller hubs

Experts have crunched passenger data to discover the UK's most popular airports ahead of the big August bank holiday getaway - and the results come as quite a surprise. Travel comparison specialists dealchecker analysed thousands of Google reviews and found smaller airports received the best ratings with larger hubs buckling under the stain of staff shortages.

Historically holidaymakers have used large airports - mainly for the wider variety of cheap flights and better facilities. But in 2022, this is less important, with travellers simply wanting a stress-free experience, and to catch the same flight as their luggage.

Reviews reveal smaller airports have been consistently good at providing a friendly and efficient service for passengers. Benbecula airport in the Outer Hebrides topped the chart for customer satisfaction as it welcomed 24,202 passengers in 2021. Passengers praised the smooth service, open space, friendly staff and choice of quality food options.

One traveller wrote: “I can honestly tell you the food here is incredible you won't find any chips anywhere in Scotland as good as the ones they make here.”

Land’s End Airport in in Cornwall was second with travellers saluting its new terminal with ‘everything you need’ and ‘amazing staff’. City of Derry Airport in Northern Ireland was ranked fourth and praised for its helpful staff and ‘complimentary mince pies at Christmas’.

London City seems to have hit the sweet spot of staying effective while handling higher passenger volumes. London Heathrow was rated best of the airports with more than a million visitors a year because of its smooth connections and relatively good maintenance.

Luton and Stanstead airports both came near the bottom of the list, with complaints such as not enough seating for the crowds and poor maintenance. Manchester Airport was bottom of the list and, despite being praised for reasonably priced parking, passengers claimed it was not coping with the strains of staff shortages.

Rosie Panter, dealchecker travel expert, said: “Avoiding airport stress will get your holiday off to the best start. Now is the perfect time to try a smaller or local airport and avoid the crowds.” Here is the list of the UK's top 40 airports.

Rank	Airport	Location	Google rating	No. Reviews	Total passengers 2021	Rank in size 2021[nb 1]
1	Benbecula	Outer Hebrides, Scotland	4.8	28	24,202	40
2	Land's End	Cornwall	4.7	69	53,211	37
3	St Mary's	Isles of Scilly	4.6	89	72,291	35
4	City of Derry	Northern Ireland	4.4	172	73,024	34
5	Kirkwall	Orkney, Scotland	4.4	93	85,665	31
6	Stornoway	Scotland	4.3	80	62,791	36
7	Doncaster Sheffield	Doncaster	4.2	1,501	309,512	20
8	Jersey	Jersey	4.2	590	678,151	18
9	Isle of Man	Isle of Man	4.2	276	182,371	25
10	London City	London	4.1	3,012	720,580	17
11	Newquay	Cornwall	4.1	308	105,554	29
12	Alderney	Guernsey	4.1	26	41,279	38
13	London Heathrow	London	4.0	32,165	19,393,886	1
14	Glasgow	Scotland	4.0	3,295	2,072,546	10
15	Belfast City	Northern Ireland	4.0	1,285	812,424	15
16	Inverness	Scotland	4.0	512	357,584	19
17	Liverpool	Liverpool	3.9	3,197	1,165,508	11
18	Newcastle	Newcastle	3.9	2,241	1,024,930	13
19	Cardiff	Wales	3.9	809	123,825	28
20	Exeter	Devon	3.9	404	126,854	26
21	Teesside	Teesside	3.9	347	78,520	32
22	Glasgow Prestwick	Scotland	3.9	347	78,069	33
23	Humberside	Lincolnshire	3.9	179	31,534	39
24	Sumburgh	Scotland	3.9	146	183,902	24
25	London Gatwick	London	3.8	13,404	6,261,814	3
26	Guernsey	Guernsey	3.8	253	250,526	22
27	Edinburgh	Scotland	3.7	6,983	3,024,960	6
28	Southampton	Hampshire	3.7	687	263,131	21
29	Birmingham	Birmingham	3.6	6,822	2,482,430	7
30	Aberdeen	Scotland	3.6	1,094	1,075,639	12
31	Bristol	Somerset	3.5	5,444	2,087,772	9
32	London Southend	Essex	3.5	1,024	94,367	30
33	Bournemouth	Bournemouth	3.5	804	200,630	23
34	Belfast International	Northern Ireland	3.4	2,625	2,328,276	8
35	East Midlands	Midlands	3.4	1,980	832,529	14
36	London Stansted	London	3.3	21,344	7,148,200	2
37	Leeds Bradford	Leeds	3.2	2,738	739,131	16
38	London Luton	Bedfordshire	3.1	11,182	4,674,800	5
39	Norwich	East Anglia	3.1	444	126,043	27
40	Manchester	Manchester	3.0	16,268	6,085,103	4