Europe’s top five best and worst airports for 2024 revealed – with UK hub third from bottom
A study analyzing average ratings on Google Reviews found that the top five best and worst airports in Europe are the best and worst.
A Turkish airport took the crowning glory Holidu Surveywith airports in Portugal and Greece also appearing in the top five.
At the other end of the scale, a UK airport came third from bottom, while an airport in Crete was named as the worst place in Europe to catch a flight. Read on for the full rankings, presented in reverse order…
The five best airports in Europe
NO. 5 – ZURICH AIRPORT, SWITZERLAND
A new study based on Google reviews has ranked the best and worst airports in Europe. Zurich Airport was the fifth best airport in Europe and has more than 80 shops, according to the study
According to the research, Zurich Airport ranks fifth in Europe, with a Google rating of 4.3 out of five based on more than 26,000 reviews.
The study found that the airport has more than 80 shops and ‘the largest selection of Swiss chocolate of any airport in the world’.
NO. 4 – VACLAV HAVEL AIRPORT, CZECH REPUBLIC
One traveler described Prague Airport (ranked fourth) as a place where you can have a “stress-free travel experience”
The research shows that Prague Airport is the fourth best in the world.
It has a 4.3 rating on Google, based on over 26,000 reviews. One traveler, ‘Alex Fomin’, said it provided a ‘stress-free travel experience’.
NO. 3 – ATHENS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
According to one reviewer, Athens International Airport (3) offers a ‘smooth and efficient security process’
Athens International Airport was rated the third best airport in Europe on Google, with a score of 4.3 based on over 49,000 reviews.
Reviewer ‘Juan Flores’ called the security process ‘smooth and efficient’, while ‘Ivan Filipov’ said it was ‘very well organised, clean and logical’.
NO.2 – FRANCISCO DE SA CARNIERO AIRPORT, PORTO, PORTUGAL
Francisco de Sa Carniero Airport (second) has a rating of 4.4 on Google
Porto Airport narrowly missed out on the top spot, coming in second in the ranking. The study notes that it has a 4.4 rating on Google, based on more than 26,000 reviews.
Reviewer ‘Waner Tavares’ said: ‘Porto Airport impresses with fast security, friendly staff and a clean environment.’
NO. 1 – ISTANBUL AIRPORT, TURKEY
Istanbul Airport (First) is ‘huge’ and ‘exceptionally clean and well maintained’
According to the research results, Istanbul Airport ranked first with a rating of 4.4 based on more than 100,000 Google reviews.
Google reviewer ‘Highway Video’ said: ‘The airport is huge, exceptionally clean and well maintained.’
The 5 worst airports in Europe
NO. 5 – BRUSSELS SOUTH AIRPORT CHARLEROI, BELGIUM
Brussels South Charleroi Airport (fifth worst) has a Google rating of only 3.2 based on more than 19,000 reviews
According to the study, Brussels South Charleroi Airport is the fifth worst rated airport in Europe.
The Google rating is only 3.2 based on over 19,000 reviews on the platform. ‘Odin Van Helvoort’ said: ‘The worst airport I have ever been to, asking for money to go to the toilet. Even then the toilets are broken and filthy.’
NO. 4 – BERLIN WILLY-BRANDT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, GERMANY
Berlin Willy-Brandt Airport (fourth worst) has a ‘cramped departure hall’ according to one reviewer
The research shows that Berlin’s Willy-Brandt Airport ranks fourth among the worst airports in Europe, with a rating of 3.1 on Google, based on more than 34,000 reviews.
Reviewer ‘Francisco Parisio’ said: ‘The luggage delivery took over an hour, the elevators to the gate were tiny and the departure lounge at the gate was cramped.’
NO. 3 – MANCHESTER AIRPORT, UK
Manchester Airport (third worst) has a 3.1 out of five rating on Google
According to the research, Manchester Airport is the third worst place to fly in Europe. The airport has a rating of 3.1 on Google, based on more than 27,000 reviews.
The airport’s Terminal 3 was recently named the worst airport in the UK by a survey by Which? Travel.
Javier Ruiz, a reviewer on Google, said, “Security is slow and chaotic when you leave and slow when you arrive.”
And ‘Kathryn Barrow’ said: ‘Terminal 3 is really terrible. Not enough seats, hardly any shops, no seats at the gates.’
However, Manchester Airport disputes that any firm conclusions can be drawn from the 27,000 Google reviews.
A Manchester Airport spokesperson said: ‘Review websites often use unverified and unreliable data – something Google itself acknowledges – and paint a confusing picture for consumers and airports themselves in terms of understanding what they are doing well and what they can do better. That’s why we are part of the Airports Council International independent benchmarking programme – which collects data from airports around the world based on actual passenger surveys.
‘This shows that between January and July this year, more than 80 percent of our passengers rated their airport experience as good, very good or excellent.
‘YouGov also produces reliable data based on a representative sample which shows that Manchester is the fourth best airport in the UK.’
NO.2 – BORDEAUX-MERIGNAC AIRPORT, FRANCE
One reviewer described his experience at Bordeaux-Merignac airport (second worst) as ‘terrible and unsatisfactory’
Bordeaux airport ranked second in the study, based on a score of 2.8 on Google based on more than 12,000 reviews.
‘Alice Fimpel’ wrote on Google Reviews: ‘My experience at this airport was terrible and unsatisfactory. The wait to check in luggage took more than an hour and there was another hour of waiting time after security.’
NO. 1 – HERAKLION AIRPORT, CRETE, GREECE
Heraklion Airport (worst overall) in Crete was ‘not clean’ according to one visitor
According to the research, Heraklion Airport in Crete has been named the worst airport in Europe, with a Google rating of 2.6 based on more than 21,000 reviews.
Google reviewer ‘Corentin Boquelet’ wrote: ‘Heraklion airport is quite small and does not seem well maintained. Cleanliness leaves much to be desired, especially in the limited toilet facilities available.’
The ranking, Holidu says, was created by extracting the average Google Maps score and number of reviews for the 100 busiest airports in Europe based on passenger numbers. Using this Google Maps data, each airport was ranked from highest to lowest, with priority given to those with the most reviews. All airports in Russia, Ukraine, and non-operational airports were removed from this ranking.
For the full ranking visit www.holidu.co.uk/magazine/the-european-airport-index.
