The Scottish airport rated highest by passengers according to consumer champions Which?
Scotland’s three busiest airports improve their ratings
Inverness has been voted Scotland’s most loved main airport while the other three improved their ratings in the latest annual passenger survey by consumer champions Which?
The Highland capital’s terminal equalled last year’s score of 70 per cent satisfaction in the poll, followed by Glasgow which was up 1 percentage point to 63 per cent.
Edinburgh, by far Scotland’s busiest airport, scored 58 per cent, also up one point, while Aberdeen moved up one point to 57 per cent.
It was also the second year of improvement for both Edinburgh and Aberdeen, which both scored 55 per cent in 2023.
However, Aberdeen received just one out for five stars for baggage waiting time and two for the range of shops and their prices. It was given four stars for security and passport queues.
Which? said passenger comments included: “The airport is small and efficient, rarely crowded,” but also: "Poor choice of food outlets and they are expensive. Coming through passport control is cramped and can take a long time."
Edinburgh scored one star for shop prices and two for customer service, passport queues, seating and baggage waits, with other categories received three stars.
Passenger comments included: “It’s badly run, crowded and there are always delays at baggage reclaim and passport control”, but also: “Plenty of shops and bars/restaurants”.
Glasgow was given only two stars for passport queues and its shops’ range and prices, but four stars for check-in and bag drop queues.
Comments ranged from “It is an embarrassment. It is too small and cramped and there are not enough facilities for the number of people going through” to “It is exactly what a modern airport should be”.
By contrast, Inverness received four stars for every category it was judged on apart range of shops (two) and their prices (three).
Comments included: “Security lines were short, staff were friendly and the whole experience felt smooth” and “Inverness is guaranteed simplicity”.
Exeter was ranked top overall among the 29 airports assessed, with 80 per cent satisfaction, followed by Liverpool and London City. Manchester’s terminal three was bottom of the table for the fourth year with 43 per cent.
Which? travel expert Jo Rhodes said: “Inverness stood out among its peers, performing strongly in areas such as customer service, check-in, and security, earning an impressive score.
“Glasgow International also achieved solid results, particularly for its efficient bag drop and check-in process. However, passengers noted room for improvement when it came to customer service and long passport queues.
“As Scotland’s biggest and busiest airport, Edinburgh followed the fate of many of the larger airports in the survey and it was rated poorly for customer service although it did manage three out of five stars for toilets, queues and range of shops and eateries.
“Aberdeen landed mid-table scoring four stars for passport and security queues but only managed one star for the wait for baggage on arrival.”
Edinburgh Airport said baggage was the responsibility of airline handling agents, and Border Force was responsible for passport checks.
Its spokesperson said: "We value feedback and engaged directly with more than 55,000 of our 15.8 million passengers in 2024, achieving an overall satisfaction rate of almost 90 per cent.
"This annual Which? survey continues to rely on small, unrepresentative sample sizes - just 325 subscribers in this case - and is based on subjective recollections rather than objective data. It simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny.”
A spokesperson for AGS Airports, which operates Aberdeen, and Glasgow, said: "We’re committed to making every journey as smooth as possible and delivering high standards of service for the millions of passengers who travel through our doors every year.
“We routinely seek feedback from passengers which allows us to make improvements and earlier this year we unveiled details of our £350 million investment programme which will see us deliver best in class operational and terminal facilities over the coming five years.
"In regard to the Which? survey, it is important to point out that its scores are based on an extremely small sample size. In the case of Aberdeen it spoke to 83 people and in Glasgow 191 people in April, and while all feedback is helpful, it is in no way representative of the feedback we receive on a weekly basis throughout the year."
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