Where Heathrow and London Gatwick rank among the UK’s best airports for 2025, according to Which?
The list of the best airports in the UK has been released by Which? – here is where Heathrow and London Gatwick rank among them.
In the annual survey published by Which?, the list is compiled after talking to passengers who have taken, between them, nearly 8,000 trips.
The lowest-ranked airports included more than 15 million passengers, while the highest-ranked airports carried less than six million.
In April 2025, Which? surveyed 5,789 of its members and members of the public about 7,975 airport visits in the past 12 months with star ratings out of five.
Customer score is based on a combination of overall satisfaction and how likely they are to recommend the airport.
Late cancellations of flights within 24 hours of departure from May 2024 to April 2025, according to Civil Aviation Authority data.
Seating number available, comfort, location throughout the airport – excluding in lounges, bars or restaurants – and staff overall customer experience received from the airport staff.
Terminals 5, 2, 4, and 3 at Heathrow received customer scores of 59 per cent, 57 per cent, 55 per cent, and 54 per cent respectively.
Terminal 5 received the 13th highest customer score out of 29 UK airports, while Terminal 2 was ranked 20th.
Terminals 4 and 3 received the sixth and fifth-lowest customer scores, coming in at 23rd and 24th respectively.
A spokesperson from Which? said: “T5 at Heathrow has the highest score of any airport that handles more than 10 million travellers.
“Despite this, it still gets just two stars for security queues – and one star for the prices in shops and restaurants.
“T3 and T4 were rated much worse in our survey. That included just two stars for seating and the wait for baggage.
“Damningly, a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) report on special assistance for older or disabled people said ‘it is not clear that waiting time standards were met at T3’.
“Heathrow claimed it was an admin issue that’s been addressed, and its overall special assistance is ‘high quality’.
“However, over a quarter of people in our survey who used special assistance at Heathrow T3 (27%) and T5 (28%) said it was poor – much higher than anywhere else.
“Verdict: You may have to fly from here on long-haul trips, but for short-haul our results suggest you’ll have a better start to your holiday at London City Airport.”
Meanwhile, London Gatwick’s North and South Terminals received respective customer scores of 57 per cent and 55 per cent.
Gatwick North Terminal received the 19th highest customer score, with the South Terminal ranked three places behind in 22nd.
A Which? spokesperson added: “There’s not a whole lot to choose between Gatwick’s two terminals and those at Heathrow.
“Gatwick South does a bit better for passport queues (four stars) and – unlike Heathrow – the CAA rates it as ‘very good’ for special assistance.
“Customer service, baggage waiting times and seating are among the biggest bugbears you told us about – all with two stars.
“But, as at most big airports, it’s how much everything costs that really annoys you.
“Being unable to get a seat would be less of a pain if drinks and snacks weren't so expensive.
“Verdict: Gatwick could be a better airport to fly into, but there are minimal differences at departures.”