Your favourite UK airports and terminals revealed
Plane Talk: Spoiler alert – no one loves Heathrow Terminal 4
JaneWalter
Places in which you don’t want to spend a moment longer than necessary: hospitals, prisons and airports.
I cannot comment on the first two, beyond offering sympathy to anyone who has to spend time in either, in any capacity. But airports are different. While they may be inherently stressful hubs – in a way that railway stations are generally not – at least airports hold out the prospect of a better existence in just a few hours’ time.
Survive this, we passengers think, and before sunset I will be dipping a toe in the Med and sipping a glass of something even more exotic than the airport Wetherspoons offers.
Yet a formidable number of airport staff spend their time trying to make your time in their hands more enjoyable. They deserve to be recognised, which is why I handed out awards for a range of virtues from parking and passport control to architecture and arrivals.
Not everyone agreed with my selection – including the home team at The Independent.
I am a fan of Heathrow Terminal 5. But senior travel writer Natalie Wilson says: “It hurt to see operations at my former favourite, T5, fall apart when bag drop broke down, and I waved goodbye to my suitcase of summer shopping at departures.”
Inbound, Natalie enjoyed more fortune at Gatwick: “Although delayed departing Alicante, breezing through eGates and baggage claim made up the time difference by cutting my factored-in ‘arrivals formalities’ time in half.”
Sophie Dickinson surprised me by choosing the oldest surviving facility at Heathrow: Terminal 3, dating from 1961.
“A simple, easy terminal,” she says. “There are a few places to get coffee, a pub and a Yo! Sushi. There’s enough seating. Gates are straightforward to find. There’s nothing hugely remarkable about it (although it was the first place in the UK to install a moving walkway). It just does the job, which is all I need before a trip away.”
No one voted for Heathrow Terminal 4, the second oldest, which suffered a “hazardous materials” incident on Monday.
My awards featured only the, er, magnificent seven: those airports that handle more than 12 million passengers per year:
Bristol is in eighth place, but travel writer Amelia Neath offered a review based on her experience this summer: “Ryanair had a self-service baggage at this airport, but unlike Heathrow, it was cramped in a small corner, making it a little stressful to manoeuvre heavy bags from the scale and then dragging it over to the conveyor belt along with the rest of the morning flight crowd.
“The airport, however, does own the new security search technology, allowing you to fly through security and into the terminal, which had a good selection of bars, restaurants and shops for a relatively small airport.
“Arriving back in Bristol was fuss-free, flying through the eGates with no queues.”
Time to get some reader reviews – and thanks to everyone who contributed.
Beryle Shatliff “would do almost anything to fly via Heathrow, wherever I’m heading”. The fact that she lives in Hampton – just six miles from the airport, but off the flight path – may affect her opinion.
“Leeds Bradford – but only because it is the nearest to where I live.” So says Brian Thompson, who adds: “It is scruffy and overcrowded with no rail connection.”
John Shortt’s preference was, well, brief: “East Midlands – small and friendly.” Scale is a key variable among airports. The bigger they are, the more facilities and flights they can offer.
Small is beautiful for Jess Mortimer, too: “My friend and I are both mobility impaired and use assistance. We live between Blackburn and Preston. We travel to Spain each March for a writing holiday in Andalusia. We choose Liverpool airport. Manchester airport is too big, too busy, less friendly.”
Final word to Kerry Larbalestier. Her criteria are interesting:
Those boxes are all ticked at Sumburgh, the main exit point from Shetland. And the arrival experience is even better. “Coming home, you walk straight out to the luggage belt – thus grabbing baggage and those greeting you in one fell swoop.”
May all your airport experiences be as smooth, and possibly even enjoyable.
