Family-friendly airports

by Taryn Davies | 15 February 2012

Ensure that you have a easy flight with the children

Taking the family on holiday can sometimes be a little more hardwork than we could possibly think of.

It's the excitement that builds up in the months leading to the trip and it seems to culminate and boil over when you reach the airport.

Which is often not helped by the fact that there is little for your children to do in the airport.

According to new research, Edingburgh Airport is the UK's number one family-friendly airport.

The study asked 1,000 families to score the UK's 10 major airports on several family-friendly factors including children's play areas and facilities, food options for children and security process.

Travel expert, James Ellis shares his tips with you on how to keep the little ones quiet when travelling, in the following podcast.

The busiest airports in Scotland took the top two spots with Glasgow International Airport coming second in the poll, just behind Edinburgh Airport.

At the other end of the scale, the study by Skyscanner, Europe’s leading travel search site, saw Heathrow come bottom of the list of the UK’s top 10 airports. The UK’s busiest airport, carrying more than 69m passengers each year, was criticised for its lack of children’s play areas, its overcrowding and small seating areas.

Airports in the North West fared better with Liverpool and Manchester hitting third and fourth spot respectively.

Gatwick, which rolled out a number of family friendly initiatives last year and is the UK’s second busiest airport carrying more than 33m passengers each year, came fifth in the poll. The airport, which is the highest ranked serving the capital, was noted for its accessibility and healthy eating options

Top 10 Family Friendly Airports

Ranking	Airport	Overall score (out of 10)
1	Edinburgh	7.26
2	Glasgow International	7.18
3	Liverpool	7.13
4	Manchester	6.95
5	Gatwick	6.91
6	Luton	6.76
7	Birmingham	6.76
8	Stansted	6.69
9	Bristol	6.56
10	Heathrow	6.53