Netflights Airport Review ranks Heathrow as the UK’s most family-friendly airport
As October half term looms, weary families will be jetting off for a well-deserved break. To take some of the stress out of travelling with kids and help travelling families prepare for their holiday, Netflights’ new Airport Review report has assessed major UK airports to identify which is the most – and the least – family-friendly.
Heathrow Airport is where families should head to for the best pre-flight experience, according to the findings of a new report. At 88%, the airport scored highest as both the best large airport and best airport overall for families on the move.
Alongside the obvious choice of airlines and destinations available, Heathrow also boasts a short average delay time, free Wi-Fi and multiple recreation and soft play areas for children of all ages.
But that’s not all. Numerous family-friendly dining choices across all of the terminals, free travel for kids aboard the Heathrow Express, free drop off airport parking for two hours and multiple mother and baby rooms suitable for breastfeeding and changing are just a few of the factors that add up to a top experience for families.
At the bottom of the overall top 10 was the Isle of Man Airport. Although scoring highly for its free Wi-Fi and changing facilities, a poor track-record for flight punctuality and a lack of a play area to keep kids entertained in the time between security and boarding – as well as no free parking and drop-off to ease the stress and expense of arriving at the airport – brought down its overall percentage to 63%.
Glasgow Prestwick ranked the highest of the small airports included in Netflights’ UK Airport Review, where play areas, a high number of baby changing facilities and quiet spaces all helped to push up its percentage to an impressive 83% – higher than its neighbour Glasgow Airport and large airports like Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham International.
Overall, as may be expected, larger airports fared better than smaller airports in this category. After all, there tends to be the space and resource available to add in what might be considered to be more ‘non-essential’ facilities like children’s play areas.
For smaller airports, getting the basics right seems to be the priority – here, the focus is on helping families by reducing queue times at key pinch points in the airport experience, providing good free Wi-Fi or a more flexible airport drop off provision.
Here are the major airports in the UK, ranked by family-friendliness:
London Heathrow Airport (LHR) – 88%
Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK) – 83%
Newcastle Airport (NCL) –81%
London Gatwick Airport (LGW) – 80%
Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) – 75%
Glasgow Airport (GLA) – 73%
Exeter Airport (EXT) – 71%
= Jersey Airport (JER) – 71%
George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD) – 69%
= Edinburgh Airport (EDI) – 69%
Belfast International Airport (BFS) – 64%
= Birmingham Airport (BHX) – 64%
Isle of Man Airport (IOM) – 63%
Andrew Shelton, Netflights’ Managing Director, comments: “Travelling doesn’t have to be stressful, even when kids are added to the mix. Airports have invested heavily in making themselves as appealing as possible to families, and it makes sense. Mums and dads will come back to the place that made it easy for them – even if it isn’t their ‘local’ airport.
“But planning is key. Parents can prepare if they know what to expect before they arrive at their departure airport. We want our Airport Review to help them quickly get a sense of what they can expect, allowing them to plan accordingly.”
Find the full report of all 30 airports here.
