As part of research by Airport Parking and Hotels, they set out to identify the friendliest airports in the UK by taking a look at traveller reviews at some of the busiest airports.
To identify the friendliest airports, they analysed Google reviews from 23 of the busiest airports in the UK and then searched for 52 positive staff-related keywords, such as friendly, patient, polite, and professional while filtering out false positives and negatives.
The reviews were dated from May 20, 2025 onwards and only compared reviews written in the English language. They also removed the duplicated and off-topic reviews and excluded airports with fewer than 50 relevant mentions of staff.
Natural language processing (NLP) was also used to analyse the meaning and tone of each review, giving a more accurate measure of sentiment than just counting positive or negative keywords.
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Southampton Airport was ranked the best for friendliness from staff in the UK. There, you can fly domestically to UK destinations or further afield to stunning holiday spots such as Alicante or Palma Majorca.
Edinburgh Airport didn’t make it in the top 15 airports, though it managed to rank 16th, while Manchester Airport, the UK’s second busiest airport, ranked as the 17th friendliest.
Here are the top 15 airports, ranked from the best, for customer experience:
1. Cornwall Airport Newquay - 73.3%
In first place is Cornwall Airport Newquay with 73.3 per cent of its reviews relating to staff reporting a positive experience. | Getty Images
2. Southampton Airport - 70.9%
At 70.9 per cent, Southampton Airport has earned the position of second on the list. It is an international airport located in both Eastleigh and Southampton, Hampshire. | Getty Images
3. London City Airport - 66.6%
London City Airport had 66.6 per cent of positive reviews for their customer service. It is an international airport in the Royal Docks area of east London located close to the financial districts of the City of London and Canary Wharf. | Getty Images
4. Exeter Airport - 66.1%
Meanwhile, Exeter Airport had 66.1 per cent of positive reviews. Formerly Exeter International Airport, the international airport is located at Clyst Honiton in East Devon. | Bloomberg via Getty Images