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The five best and worst airports in Europe have been revealed by a study that analysed average Google Review ratings.
A Turkish airport took the crown in the Holidu Surveywith airports in Portugal and Greece also 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 the worst place in Europe to catch a flight. Read on for the full ranking, 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.
Zurich Airport is the fifth best in Europe, according to the study, with a Google rating of 4.3 out of five based on more than 26,000 reviews.
The study notes 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 (4th best) as a stress-free travel experience
Prague Airport is the fourth best-rated airport in the world, according to the results of the study.
It has a 4.3 rating on Google based on over 26,000 reviews, and one traveler, “Alex Fomin,” said it offered a “stress-free travel experience.”
No. 3 – ATHENS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Athens International Airport (third best) offers a “smooth and efficient security process,” according to one reviewer
Athens International Airport has been rated the third best airport in Europe, with a score of 4.3 on Google based on over 49,000 reviews.
Critic ‘Juan Flores’ said the security process was ‘smooth and efficient’, while ‘Ivan Filipov’ said it was ‘very well organized, clean and logical’.
NO.2 – FRANCISCO DE SA CARNIERO AIRPORT, PORTO, PORTUGAL
Francisco de Sa Carniero Airport (second best) has a rating of 4.4 on Google
Porto Airport was just a stone’s throw away from the top spot, taking second place in the ranking. The study indicates that it has a score of 4.4 on Google, based on more than 26,000 reviews.
Reviewer ‘Waner Tavares’ said: ‘Porto Airport impresses with fast security checks, friendly staff and clean surroundings.’
No. 1 – ISTANBUL AIRPORT, Türkiye
Istanbul Airport (1st overall) is “huge” and “exceptionally clean and well maintained”
Istanbul Airport ranked first with a rating of 4.4 based on more than 100,000 Google reviews, according to the study results.
Google reviewer ‘Highway Video’ said: ‘The airport is huge, exceptionally clean and well maintained.’
The five worst airports in Europe
No. 5 – BRUSSELS-SOUTH CHARLEROI AIRPORT, BELGIUM
Brussels South Charleroi Airport (the fifth worst) has a Google rating of just 3.2 based on over 19,000 reviews.
Brussels-South Charleroi Airport is the fifth worst rated airport in Europe, according to the study.
Its rating on Google is just 3.2, based on more than 19,000 reviews on the platform. ‘Odin Van Helvoort’ said: ‘Worst airport I’ve ever been to, they charge you to go to the bathroom. Even then, the toilets are broken and disgusting.’
No. 4 – WILLY-BRANDT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN BERLIN, GERMANY
Berlin’s Willy-Brandt International Airport (fourth worst) has a “reduced departure space” according to one critic
Berlin’s Willy Brandt International Airport is ranked fourth worst in Europe with a Google rating of 3.1 based on more than 34,000 reviews, the study said.
Reviewer ‘Francisco Parisio’ said: ‘Baggage delivery took over an hour, the elevators to exit the gate are small and the exit gate space is narrow.’
No. 3 – MANCHESTER AIRPORT, UNITED KINGDOM
Manchester Airport (third worst) has a rating of 3.1 out of five on Google
Manchester Airport is the third worst place in Europe to fly, according to the study, which notes that it has a rating of 3.1 on Google based on more than 27,000 reviews.
Terminal 3 at the airport was recently ranked the worst airport in the UK by a Which? Travel survey.
‘Javier Ruiz’, a Google reviewer, said: ‘Security is slow and chaotic when you leave and slow when you arrive.’
And ‘Kathryn Barrow’ said: ‘Terminal 3 is pretty awful. There’s not enough seating, there’s hardly any shops, there’s no seating at the boarding gates.’
However, Manchester Airport denies 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 do well and what they can do better. That’s why we’re part of Airports Council International’s independent benchmarking programme, which collects data from airports around the world based on in-the-moment passenger surveys.”
‘This indicates that between January and July of this year, more than 80 percent of our passengers rated their experience at the airport as good, very good or excellent.
‘YouGov also produces well-founded data based on a representative sample that rates Manchester as the fourth best airport in the UK.’
NO.2 – BORDEAUX-MERIGNAC AIRPORT, FRANCE
One reviewer described his experience at Bordeaux-Merignac Airport (the second worst) as “appalling and unsatisfactory.”
Bordeaux Airport came second from bottom in the study, based on a score of 2.8 on Google from more than 12,000 reviews.
‘Alice Fimpel’ wrote on Google Reviews: ‘My experience at this airport was terrible and unsatisfactory. The waiting time to check in luggage was over an hour and there was another queue of an hour after security.’
No. 1 – HERAKLION AIRPORT, CRETE, GREECE
Heraklion Airport (worst overall) in Crete “lacked cleanliness,” according to a visitor
Heraklion Airport in Crete has been named the worst airport in Europe, with a rating of 2.6 on Google based on more than 21,000 reviews, according to the study.
Google user Corentin Boquelet wrote: “Heraklion airport is quite small and does not seem to be well maintained. Cleanliness is poor, especially in the limited sanitary facilities available.”
According to Holidu, the ranking was created by extracting the average Google Maps score and the number of reviews of the 100 busiest airports in Europe based on the number of passengers. Using this Google Maps data, each airport was ranked from highest to lowest, prioritising those with the most reviews. All airports in Russia, Ukraine and non-operational airports have been removed from this ranking.
To see the complete ranking visit www.holidu.co.uk/magazine/the-european-airport-index.