Summer is well truly with us now, after a long wait for some sun in the UK with many of us either thinking of booking or have booked a summer holiday.
One particular UK airport has been voted the best for entertainment with the most shops and restaurants per 1,000 daily visitors.
It may come as a surprise to some but Cardiff airport topped the chart with the most facilities for their visitors, according to SkyCity Online Casino.
The study ranked airports across the world based on how many shops, restaurants and bars they had available, and also how busy these facilities are likely to be.
Cardiff scored 0.9 for shops and 1.74 for restaurants and bars per 1,000 daily visitors.
High-street names such as Costa, Greggs, and WHSmith can both be found at the airport. There is also the option to tuck into a burger at Y Castell or try one of Tap + Brew’s breakfast Hot Dogs if you have an early morning flight.
If you enjoy a stylish departure then the 51° Executive Lounge at Cardiff Airport is open for Business Class passengers travelling on KLM flights and KLM Flying Blue Platinum / Gold Members.
However, statistics reveal Cardiff to be the only UK airport within the top 30 that witnessed a decline in passengers between 2022 and 2023.
Nearly 859,805 passengers used the airport in 2022, but the number fell by roughly 21,000 to 838,574 in 2023.
Coming in second place was East Midlands Airport with 1.4 shops, restaurants, and bars per daily 1,000 visitors. The airport saw annual passenger numbers soar above the 4m mark for the first time since the pandemic in March 2024.
Newcastle followed quickly after with an overall score of 1.3.
London Heathrow scored the lowest compared to other UK regions, with only 0.4 shops, restaurants, and bars per 1,000 daily visitors. The airport is the largest in the UK and handles over 79 million international passengers annually.
This was closely followed by Gatwick, with a score of 0.5.
Compared to the rest of the world, the UK and Ireland struggle when it comes to amenities in their airports. The average number of restaurants and bars in airports worldwide in this study is 70, and the average in the UK and Ireland is just 18.
