Good to see that British airports do so well. If I never have to go to Gatwick again it’ll be too soon.
Three French airports in the top ten but don’t let that stop you having a pop at the UK.
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I would guess that the criteria they are using aren’t ones that apply to the likes of me…maybe more about first class lounges and car valet services? I travel from Lyon quite often as it’s our nearest airport, and sometimes to Stansted so numbers 3 and 2 on the list and I don’t think they are that bad. At least the toilets are generally clean which is mora than I can say for some other airports I’ve been to.
To say I don’t consider myself that well travelled I have actually been to six of them! Three in the last nine months .I am surprised at Keflavik being included and it had the nicest toilets I’ve seen on an airport. Lyon is fine and will be even better when it stops being a building site
The survey is compiled by a travel compensation app company that rates airports/airlines on the ease of obtaining compensation etc after cancellations and delays. Ryanair is the second biggest airline in Europe by passengers carried (soon to be number one) and their cancellations etc (along with Easyjet’s) drag down Stansted’s rating which seems unfair to me. Stansted is pumping 000’s of millions into improving facilities and I’ve always found it to be an easy but very busy airport to use, the same goes for Gatwick. I can think of far worse airports than those two, we flew in and out of Heraklion (Crete) last year and the facilities etc were non-existent.
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Two years ago we were departing from Gatwick to St Lucia ( special anniversary). We were travelling BA and their lounge was being refurbished so we were given access to another lounge. Long story short they too were refurbishing toilets. As I stood waiting for a cubicle I could hear loud knocking noises. It was obviously builders so I made a joke to the woman waiting next to me that I wondered what some people did in toilets. A woman came out of a cubicle and not knowing which one of us had spoken berated us for being so rude. I got the feeling she didn’t think I should be allowed in an ‘exclusive’ area. As everyone is waiting to travel in the same metal tube I am happy with a plentiful supply of things to do whilst waiting.
Recently at Manchester our boarding cards didn’t work and a lovely guy at security fetched my mum a chair to sit and wait whilst I walked to the Ryan air desk to get new ones.
The guy checking our passports at Heathrow to ensure we had visas for the USA was wonderful. When he found out I had a bad back he put me to the front of the queue and I was definitely his good deed for the day.
My last flight was from LBA 3 weeks ago. They were so kind and helpful although I managed to get on the flight with nobody checking my passport. My husband was horrified.
Worst airport in the world was, for us, the Quatro de Fevreiro International Airport in Luanda, Angola, Africa. We had a fuelling stop there on a Soviet Aeroflot plane, and had to disembark for two hours. The terminal was unimaginably filthy, deserted except for slovenly and heavily armed militia. There were no usable passenger amenities, the terminal toilet floors were under half an inch of urine, the stench choking, and we had to swelter on the tarmac where a solitary hawker sold warm Coke at 5 US dollars a bottle.
I think things may have changed now, but I would be loth to check it out. I understand that real estate in Luanda, the coastal capital of Angola, is amongst the most highly-priced on the African content.
I hate all airports. People treated like cattle and the main intention is to sell you stuff.
Lyon is our airport and parking is horrifyingly expensive.
You can see cars waiting on the road outside for a telephone call to avoid these charges.
It has got much worse as the time to get through passport control to more than an hour.
Now I love airports especially the larger ones, the security issues have made them less appealing but they’re great places to people watch.
Compared to Heathrow the parking charges at Lyon aren’t that expensive? Especially if you pre-book online. The people waiting outside the airport are those who want to use the free depose minute, rather than parking in a car park and paying a few euros. And as yet (fingers crossed) I’ve not had much of a wait to get through passport control.
Like you I generally dislike airports now - which is funny as when I was a kid I used to go to Heathrow at weekends to sit on the observation deck and watch the planes come and go.
When our daughter flew in from Munich there was a delay there because there was ice on the wings and she had to wait for ages to get through passport control.
There was not enough seating for those waiting and delays cost more in parking fees for those picking up passengers.