Regional airports come top in best and worst UK airport rankings

The best – and worst – UK airports based on customer scores have been named in a new Which? ranking. 

The consumer champions asked passengers to rate London and regional airports based on categories including queue times, cleanliness and customer service.

And while some were awarded five stars for check-in queues and food and drink, others achieved just one out of five stars for baggage reclaim wait times and seating

The top-rated airport for customer satisfaction, a clear winner with a score of 83%, was Exeter Airport.

The South West airport is a small hub, only flying to 28 destinations. But it came out top, with Which? reporting one passenger as saying, “It may seem a strange thing to say, but I enjoyed my time at Exeter airport.”

Why Exeter Airport scored so well

Exeter serves 28 destinations across 10 countries and welcomed more than 582,000 passengers in the year to March 2026. This was a 32% year-on-year increase.

Its relatively small size may also be an advantage. According to Which?, not a single customer who took part in the survey reported being dissatisfied with Exeter. Instead, they praised the short queues, comfy seating and how easy it is to navigate.

Other regional airports scoring highly include Liverpool John Lennon, Norwich and Cardiff.

Which London airport had the best customer score?

The top scoring London airport was London City with a customer score of 78%. Which? found it achieved five-star ratings for cleanliness, check-in queues and airport security queues.

London City Airport is considerably smaller than Heathrow and Gatwick, serving around 30 European destinations and used by airlines including British Airways, KLM and SWISS.

Heathrow vs Gatwick: Who came out on top?

London City Airport was ranked above both Heathrow and Gatwick.

Based on the Which? Customer scores, London’s Heathrow Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 both scored 66%. Terminal 2 came in at 64% while Terminal 3 came in at 62%

Gatwick’s North and South Terminals both scored 63%, each being awarded just two out of five stars for seating and food and drink within the terminals.

Heathrow remains the UK’s biggest airport

While Heathrow scored lower than City for customer satisfaction, it remains by far the UK’s busiest airport. Heathrow handled more than 84 million passengers in 2025 and offers direct flights to more than 200 destinations worldwide.

Meanwhile Gatwick is Europe’s busiest single-runway airport. It handled more than 43 million passengers in 2024 and connects travellers to more than 220 destinations worldwide.

Manchester Terminal 3 marked down by passengers

Manchester Terminal 3 had an overall customer score of 52%, and was awarded two stars in all categories. Which? Respondents criticised Terminal 3’s layout, seating provision and queues.

The airport is served by more than 50 airlines and offers direct flights to more than 200 destinations across Europe, North America and the Middle East.

The Which? findings were based on an online survey conducted in April-May 2026 with 6,067 Which? members and members of the public.