Manchester Airport responds to Which? magazine survey performance

Manchester Airport has responded to a report into UK airports by the consumer magazine, Which?, which rated Terminal 3 at the hub as the UK’s worst.

Responding to the Which? report, which is based on submitted survey responses by its members, the airport criticised the methodologies used in compiling the publication, and ignoring factors that set apart larger airports such as the range of destinations and choice of flights available.

Manchester Airport described the Which?’s methods as “a tiny and unrepresentative survey of its members six months ago” and allowed respondents to base their answers on experiences dating as far back as April 2023. The airport also argued that while the publication recognises its readership is not representative of airport users at large, this is not factored into how its findings are reported.

The airport also highlighted its own metrics such as security wait times, which are collected based on Bluetooth technology, and found 98.4% of passengers waited for 15 minutes or less to get to security, a much higher percentage than self-reported by Which? readers. Similarly, the airport noted its service for disabled passengers has been rated ‘good’ by the Civil Aviation Authority, higher than all of the top five airports in Which?’s report.

A Manchester Airport spokesperson said:

“As in previous years, Which? is letting consumers down with over-simplified judgements based on the outdated and unrepresentative testimony of a narrow group of travellers, as well as publishing misleading statements and factual inaccuracies.

“Manchester Airport is proud to give people in all parts of the North easy and affordable access to nearly 200 different destinations across the world. We know our nearly 30m passengers value the fact we make it possible for them to fly directly to places they otherwise wouldn’t be able to, whether that is for business or leisure, to study or visit friends and family.

“We also know they value an experience that caters for all needs, tastes and budgets, and through our £1.3bn Manchester Airport Transformation Programme we are creating world-class facilities that give them just that. Due for completion next year, it is already winning awards and receiving high levels of customer satisfaction.

“We understand not every experience is perfect and want all passengers to feel able to raise their concerns directly with us. That is why we speak to them on a daily basis, surveying hundreds of people a month to get in-the-moment feedback from a full range of perspectives.