Why are UK airports so chaotic?

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SickRanchezC139@reddit

Stanstead at 7am in July. Stags, hens, children - all screaming. I make a beeline for the spoons. Helps me momentarily forget where I am.

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JamesTiberious@reddit

Ugh I’ll never set foot in a ‘spoons, but each to their own. I find the best method to cope with Stansted is to wear good noise cancelling headphones and just ignore everything inconsequential.

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PipBin@reddit

You are both wrong. Book a lounge.

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JamesTiberious@reddit

I have done this sometimes as well.

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Glittering_Moist@reddit

Flew out of Liverpool on Friday it was bliss would recommend

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VapourMetro111@reddit

You recommend the airport, or just getting out of Liverpool? 😉

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Glittering_Moist@reddit

Touche, but seriously, compared to Manny Liverpool airport was like a dream. Fuck Manchester terminal 3. Easy miss is generally pleasant too

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Bulbasaurus__Rex@reddit

Manchester T3 is the most cursed place on earth

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Glittering_Moist@reddit

Absolutely, plus Liverpool long stay parking is opposite the entrance

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EasyJet and RyanAir are the biggest providers of flights from Liverpool, and both are known for their very tight turnaround times. They can't leave the planes stationary for too long or the wheels get nicked.

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Leather-Profit-4427@reddit

Reading this thread makes me never want to fly again.

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Vireosolitarius@reddit

OP has clearly never flown to Miami, or Delhi …

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SoggyMiddle@reddit

We got lost in Miami airport. The signs, or lack of them, were useless.

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crgoodw@reddit

Oh the people watching though... As a quick run down of experiences far worse than the UK airports: - Dubai - pretty but I decided to chance one of those weird smoking booths inside the terminal, was stared at in an affronted fashion for being a woman smoking, and then spent the rest of the flight home smelling like an ashtray - Lanzarote - single terminal, very overheated, watched a couple practically divorce in front of me. She threw her Burger King Whopper and I ended up with ketchup down my white skirt as collateral damage (he was a prick though) - Singapore, Changi airport - had heatstroke so the entire place felt like a warped fantasy and I started to have a slight panic attack - LAX - had to queue for 2 hours to get through security while my US partner sailed through in about 20 minutes. Nearly cried. Surrounded by entitled Americans. Virgin lost our luggage. - Knock, Ireland - was nearly blown off the RyanAir plane steps by high winds, passport control was all of 2 seconds but given how small the airport is, watched a staff member standing outside literally Frisbee my suitcase into the airport entrance, over the silent, non-moving conveyor. Swings and roundabouts, I'll take Gatwick any day.

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Brief_Ideal2584@reddit

To many jobsworths

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likesrabbitstbf@reddit

Airports have "jobsworths" because shockingly there's a lot of fully grown adults who simply cease to function as an independent adult the second they step foot into an airport. They just turn into whinging babies sometimes, and that's before they have a drink. Source: aunt worked at Gatwick for 40 years.

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Brief_Ideal2584@reddit

Your aunt maybe one of the many jobsworths lol

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likesrabbitstbf@reddit

Nah, it's just that some people weren't brought up right. Watch the 9/11 episode of Airport, it's free on YouTube. People even on 12th September were furious and whinging when the biggest aviation terrorist attack had happened the day before and tens of thousands were stranded around the world.

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Brief_Ideal2584@reddit

I don’t think it has anything to do with upbringing but I do believe a lot of people get extremely stressed at an airport. Iv seen the most well mannered people at breaking point in airports

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BriefAmphibian7925@reddit

To me they seem about the same as most other similar busy international airports. There are nicer ones but mostly where a country is showing off (Singapore, Dubai) or they're real holiday airports (Koh Samui).

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4BennyBlanco4@reddit

Not even showing off but for Singapore and Dubai it's really the no. 1 attraction of the country/city. While London is a hub SIN and DXB are literally designed around connecting flights.

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MrCreepyUncle@reddit

This is the correct answer. I'm gonna assume that OP is talking about major UK airports, as when I've flown out of Southend it's been probably the calmest airport I've ever seen.

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Fellowes321@reddit

I once found a cheap flight using Teesside Airport. After landing there was no-one in passport control. No-one to declare all the extra booze to. The place was just empty. We all loitered wondering what to do until we got fed up and just left.

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cyclingisthecure@reddit

I dont know about that, greek airports In peak summer are something to behold lol half the people are outside in 40 degree sun with no water and sunscreen the other half are in a 2 mile line waiting for the wrong flight eating a €200 pizza slice

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BanditKing99@reddit

Italian airports are the same, maybe worse

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cyclingisthecure@reddit

I paid £14 for two 500ml little warm waters in crete I'm still pissed off 3 years later

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GrumpyOik@reddit

Conversly, I sat in Prague airport drinking Urquell at the equivalent of £2.50 a pint, and thought it the most civilized airport I'd ever been in.

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10b0b@reddit

I went though Dublin not long back and they had those new scanners that you just walk through and stick your bag on the conveyor and don’t have to dump your entire life on the floor. It was bliss. Sadly I flew into Birmingham.

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TheCannyLad@reddit

Our local airport (Newcastle) has these, a few teething problems, but excellent once working properly... then the UK went and banned them all again. Back to square one, total waste of everyones time and money.

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TheCannyLad@reddit

Don't agree, but my sample size is quite small. My local airport at Newcastle - very chill. Every spanish airport I've been to - absolute carnage.

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vegan_voorhees@reddit

Gatwick with that S-bend path through Duty Free just to get to the gates. Because a bunch of agitated people pulling cases on wheels around bendy walkways while inhaling 903 different perfumes is the relaxing way to start your trip.

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salladfingers@reddit

They've made it curved so the spoons pissheads don't fall into anything - it's a drunk person's natural path

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TechnologyNational71@reddit

Well it’s not all airports, because the one by me is about as relaxed as they come. But if you’re talking Heathrow for example, it had 83.9m million passengers in 2024. 1300 take offs and landings per day. It’s one of the global hubs. You also have airlines trying to carefully navigate efficiency and affordability to keep the business profitable. That means getting people in and out quickly

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Herne_KZN@reddit

You’ve never flown through Addis Ababa, clearly.

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NewCrashingRobot@reddit

From my experience - for UK airports - which is "London" airports: - Heathrow is the 4th busiest airport in the world. Everything is designed around efficiency, which feels a bit chaotic. - Gatwick's "modern" terminals were built in the 60s and last refurbed 20 years ago. So it just feels a little crowded, but I generally find it not that chaotic. - Luton and Stansted mostly cater for budget airlines, and they seem to lean into the mentality. Always busy, obvious cost-cutting measures like few security lanes open, massive winding walk through duty free to encourage people to buy stuff, not enough seating presumably so people walk about and buy stuff. - City Airport is generally pretty chill in my experience.

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Big_Lavishness_6823@reddit

They're designed as hostile environments to encourage consumption.

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CooroSnowFox@reddit

Upsell to the lounges, "hey, heres an escape... but only if you are a member or you paid extra for your ticket"

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therealhairykrishna@reddit

I find them basically on par with most international airports around the world of which I have, unfortunately, sampled many. The only exception was the recent shit show at Birmingham while security was being remodelled.

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10b0b@reddit

Aww man that dump is like running the gauntlet.

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smushs88@reddit

Male says hi! A pre bag screening security check, before baggage drop off, before passport control, before another security check. Got there 3 hours before our flight home and had to run to the gate (along with several others)

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Snoo-56844@reddit

Bristol has always been fine for me. Straight in and straight out.

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SoggyMiddle@reddit

Depends which one. Smaller ones such as East Midlands are fine but Heathrow and Manchester can be awful. JFK in New York is every bit as bad as London and don't even mention Corfu!

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Ill_Refrigerator_593@reddit

Yup, i've had far better experiences at the smaller ones.

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FizzbuzzAvabanana@reddit

Flew in & out of Manchester twice recently & it was a doddle. Leeds/Bradford on the other hand 👎

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