Liverpool John Lennon Airport loses top spot as Which? releases 2025 Best Airports guide
“If you can, switch. Fly from Liverpool instead of Manchester.”
Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) has lost its number one spot in the Which? annual airport guide, with Exeter being crowned the best of the best.
The Which? rankings are based on customer ratings and Which? asked members to complete an online survey about their experiences of flying from and to 29 UK airports in the last year. The results are based on almost 8,000 customer opinions, with categories such as seating, queues, passport control and toilets.
Despite losing its top spot to Exeter, LJLA still impressed travellers with Which? going as far as to say: “If you can, switch. Fly from Liverpool instead of Manchester.”
The consumer champions added: “Exeter Airport, while excellent, is likely useful only to those who live in the area – and the choice of destinations is very limited. The same is true of Bournemouth and Norwich airports.
“However, our other Which? Recommended Providers (WRPs) – Liverpool John Lennon, London City and Newcastle International – are well connected by public transport and serve millions of passengers each year.”
Liverpool earned an overall customer score of 78%, a small drop from 81% in 2024 - but enough to drop to second place. Passengers praised the quick, efficient process and the friendliness of the staff at the airport in Speke, and it earned five stars for staff, queues at the check-in desk, queues for bag drop, and queues at airport security.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport’s CEO John Irving said: “After a period involving a host of developments and improvements, it’s a tremendous achievement to once again be acknowledged by the travelling public as one of the best airports in the UK and to be a Which? Recommended Provider for the fourth consecutive year.
“We’ve just had our busiest summer ever with passengers enjoying our renowned passenger experience and today’s news is something that everyone who works here is really proud of and is a reflection of all the hard work put in by our staff alongside our dedicated third-party operators.”
Liverpool John Lennon Airport 2025 Which? rating
- Queues at bag drop: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Queues at security: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Staff: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Queues at check-in: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐
- Queues at passport control: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Baggage reclaim: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Seating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Toilets: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Price in shops: ⭐⭐⭐
- Range of shops: ⭐⭐⭐
London City, Bournemouth and Newcastle also made the top five, while Manchester remained at the bottom of the rankings- with Terminal 3 taking last place and Terminal 1 one place higher - with scores of 43% and 47% respectively. Terminal 2 fared marginally better, with an overall score of 53%.