THE BEST airports in the UK for short queues and holiday flights have been revealed.
Brits are gearing up for another busy summer season and are already jetting off on various trips around the globe.
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A new report has revealed exactly which airports are the quietest, and which are the busiest, so you can plan your trip thoroughly from the very start.
The Online Marketing Survey has revealed five options for the UK’s quietest airports.
Coming in at the top is Humberside airport in Kirmington, Lincolnshire with only 136,976 passengers last year.
A close second is Southend in Essex, with Southend-on-Sea airport only seeing 146,072 pass through in 2023.
Teesside International Airport is a comfortable third with 226,557 passengers last year.
The fourth and fifth slots go to Norwich with 357,852 and Newquay with 408,870.
Naturally airports with fewer travellers will see shorter queues and quicker movement for you as you make your way from the car park to the tarmac.
Savvy travellers will also want to know which airports are the busiest so they can avoid booking their summer holiday flights there.
The busiest is, unsurprisingly, Heathrow airport with an incredible almost 80 million terminal passengers in 2023.
Gatwick sit at almost 41 million and Manchester is third with almost 30 million.
Stansted, Luton, Edinburgh, and Birmingham follow suit.
Starting your summer hols from one of the quieter airports might help you avoid the kind of chaos that struck two major UK airports in recent weeks.
Manchester cancelled all flights from Terminals 1 and 2, meaning hundreds of people were stuck waiting for hours in the airport.
Flyers told The Sun those terminals were like a “minefield” earlier as thousands of people were stuck inside with nowhere to go.
Countless suitcases were also dumped at abandoned check-in areas as conveyor belts and computers had stopped working.
Ian Ellison, 42, told The Sun arriving at the airport was “absolute chaos” after their flight was stuck on the tarmac for two hours.
Passengers at Heathrow airport were also left fuming after an “IT outage” sparked huge delays and massive queues.
Stranded passengers said they were stuck on planes and left travelling home without luggage.
The UK’s top 5 quietest airports
- Humberside – 136,976
Humberside stands out as the quietest UK airport with 136,976 terminal departures in 2023
- Southend – 146,072
Second on the list goes to Southend, as Southend-on-Sea airport had 146,072 departures
- Teesside – 226,557
With 226,557 terminal passengers last year, Teesside International Airport will be one of the quietest for UK travellers
- Norwich – 357,852
Norwich is also one of the quietest airports in the UK with 357,852
- Newquay – 408,870
To round out the list, Cornwall airport in Newquay ranks inside the top 5 with 408,870 passengers
