Getting through security and waiting in line to board a plane is rarely a peaceful process, but to make matters worse, it turns out the UK is home to four of the most stressful airports in Europe.

While Heathrow airport was named the third most stressful European airport back in April, a more recent study saw it climb the rankings to take the number one spot.

The West London hub is predicted to play host to a record-breaking 83.8 million passengers in 2024 – an average of 230,000 per day.

Landings and take-offs rose by 5.5% to an average of 1,302 per day during the first nine months of the year, while August saw its busiest month ever at almost 8 million people passing through its terminals.

But busier is rarely better when it comes to customer experience.

Preply’s study analysed 25 of Europe’s biggest airports to determine which caused the most stress to its passengers, taking into account Google review scores, the volume of lost luggage queries, punctuality and daily foot traffic.

These factors resulted in a final overall stress score; for Heathrow, it was 6.4 out of 10.

While it scored points for a decent Google review average of 4/5, there were 34,700 searches for lost luggage involving the airport in one year alone.

Then there’s the fact that an estimated 65.74% of its flights leave on time, which combined with everything else, sees the London airport earning its ‘most stressful’ crown.

In another blow for the UK, the second on the list is Manchester Airport, with an average stress score of 5.44 out of 10.

If you’re worried about your luggage, there were only 9,180 searches for lost luggage here, and 66.11% of its flights left on time.However, its average Google review score was a middling three out of five, and 138 reviews that specifically mentioned it was a stressful experience.

Manchester’s T3 terminal also ranked as the worst airport terminal in the UK, receiving a painful customer satisfaction score of just 38% and ones across the board when it came to queuing time.

The terminal’s passport control queues scored slightly better (2/5) although the lack of seating and expensive shops were also sticking points, earning the terminal an overall score of 0/10.

Despite this, its Escape Lounge T3 has earned a solid score of 4.5/5 across 3,000 reviews on Google. Here, you can enjoy up to three hours of peace and quiet and avoid the airport madness.

It doesn’t get much better for British travellers, as Europe’s third most stressful airport was revealed to be Gatwick.

Despite a 3.8 average for Google reviews reportedly just 62.17% of the flights leave on time. This, coupled with the 112,048 people who use its terminals on the daily, landed Gatwick with an overall score of 5.4/10.

In a nice break from the apparent theme, in fourth place was a French airport; Charles de Gaulle in Paris, which came out with a total stress score of 5.16/10.

However, rounding out the top five, we’re back in the UK at London Stansted, which scored 5.14/10 when it came to stress levels.

The airport was actually ranked one of the best for punctuality with 67.49% of its flights leaving on time, and its average Google review score of 4.4/5 isn’t too shabby either.

What seems to have let it down is the distance to the city centre, which is 65.7km – not ideal if you’re thinking you’re flying into a London airport.

In brighter news, if you’re flying from Liverpool John Lennon anytime soon, you’re in luck.

It was named the best airport terminal in the UK in a study from luggage storage company, Bounce, using data from Which? on queues at the check-in desk, bag drop, security and passport control.

It also analysed the efficiency of baggage reclaim, available seating, number of staff, the range of shops and their prices, and how many toilets there were.

All of these factors were given a score out of five, which were then totted up to an overall score out of 10. Lastly, a customer satisfaction score was given for each terminal.

With an overall score of 7.71/10, the Scouse airport took the crown, along with an 82% customer satisfaction score.

This article was first published on May 23, 2024.

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