Manchester Airport’s Terminal 3 finished bottom of the annual airport survey by consumer group Which? for the third consecutive year, as neighbouring Liverpool John Lennon Airport was crowned best airport in the UK.
With a customer score of just 37%, Manchester’s Terminal 3 received just one star for seating, staff, queues at security, range of shops and prices in shops, and managed no higher than two stars in any of the remaining categories, including for toilets.
With some of its moving walkways out of action since 2021, and repair works still ongoing, as well as widespread complaints about queues and lack of seating, many people who were reliant on Manchester Airport for its range of international connections reported unhappy experiences.
One disappointed traveller summed up their time at the terminal as: “Queuing, queuing, queuing. Not enough staff, poorly trained, surly bordering on rude.” Another said: “Manchester T3 sums up everything that is bad about UK airports. Too many flights mean too many people crowded into a space not designed to take that many.”
Another said: “It’s just awful — the worst advert for anyone flying to the UK. It’s the worst airport I have ever used (and by quite a long way) compared to other UK and especially overseas airports.”
Which? surveyed almost 5,000 Brits about their experiences at UK airports in the last 12 months. Respondents were invited to rate the airports across 11 categories, including seating, staff, toilets and queues at check in, bag drop, passport control and security. A customer score was calculated based on a combination of overall satisfaction and likeliness to recommend.