Monday 09 September 2019 12:02 pm | Updated: Monday 09 September 2019 3:50 pm

‘Tatty and antiquated’: Luton ranked worst large UK airport for fourth year running

Luton airport has been ranked the worst large airport in the UK for the fourth year running by consumer watchdog Which.

Luton managed a 43 per cent customer satisfaction score in a Which survey of 4,499 of its members, who were surveyed about 6,237 airport experiences at UK airports, including passport control and the price of food and drink.

Passengers cited long security queues, airside crowds and limited seating as their reasons for ranking the airport poorly.

According to Which, Luton has found itself at the bottom of every ranking since it launched its survey in 2013.

“The results suggest that the airport is just too small to handle its 16.8m passengers a year, despite multi-million pound terminal improvement works being completed in December,” Which said.

“While passengers told us they appreciated the newly refurbished restaurants and shops such as Oliver Bonas, Wasabi and Crêpe Affaire, the less sales focused areas of the airport were described as ‘tatty’ and ‘antiquated’.”

Luton scored just one percentage point higher than Belfast International, “bucking the small hub trend”, according to Which. The airport was criticised for its slow-moving queues, crowded terminals and parking charges.

On the other side of the spectrum, regional airport London Southend achieved a customer satisfaction score of 79 per cent, thanks to its small size. London’s smallest commercial airport was praised for being “uncrowded” and “comfortable”.

A spokesperson for Luton airport said: “We’re disappointed by our ranking but pleased to see this year’s customer score has improved by 23 per cent compared to last year.

“This highlights passengers are now beginning to see the benefits of our £160m redevelopment. This physical transformation, which was only completed in December 2018, is just the first step in our longer term plan to transform the passenger experience and constantly improve customer service at the airport.”

Luton said that of the 4,499 people surveyed by Which, only 273 had used the airport, which carried 16.6m passengers last year.