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WHILST air travel is exciting for most, going through the airport can be stressful. Obscure rules about what can be taken on board, queues at security, and so much more contribute to the overall feeling of angst passengers feel at airports.

In a 2019 study of 1,700 British air passengers, 57% were stressed about missing boarding the aircraft through hold-ups within the airports.

1 thing airports can do to alleviate stress for travellers is they should have clearly marked out key areas, such as:- boarding gates, security, bathrooms, and more. Signage for navigation can help the flow of passengers, as well as reduce anxiety levels for those flying.

With this in mind, TrouDigital Digital Signage wanted to establish which UK airport passengers found the easiest to navigate through. To do this, they analysed Google Reviews for all UK commercial airports, seeking phrases such as:- "easy to get around" and "good signage." Conversely, they also analysed the Google Reviews containing negative language regarding airport navigation, with phrases such as:- "bad signage" and "hard to navigate" scraped.

Saying all that it does puzzle us how London City Airport came in 1st... But strange things do happen. Anyway, according to TrouDigital Digital Signage, who commissioned this study say that coming in at 2nd place was George Best Belfast City Airport, in 3rd place was Newcastle Airport, Liverpool John Lennon Airport (L JLA) in 4th place, with London Gatwick Airport took 5th place.

The findings also found that out of the 26 airports, the worst where:-in 22nd place, Birmingham International Airport, then 23rd place Newquay Cornwall Airport, followed by 24th place London Stansted Airport,in25th place was Manchester Airport, and in last place was Leeds Bradford Airport.

TrouDigital Digital Signage, told us:- "London City Airport took the top spot in the list of easiest UK airports to navigate. 3.46% of all reviews were positive about the layout and signage of London City, with just 0.38% feeling negatively about their experience getting around the airport. Combined, the navigation reviews were overwhelmingly positive at 3.08%. 2nd in the ranking was Northern Ireland’s George Best Belfast City Airport, which has a final score of 3.04%. The Google Reviews for Belfast City Airport saw a higher quantity of positives, at 3.53%. However, 0.49% felt the airport was hard to navigate, and so the airport ranks in 2nd, beating out the likes of Newcastle Airport (2.50% average positive rating) and Liverpool John Lennon Airport (2.16% average positive rating). South London Airport Gatwick sees the most yearly travellers out of the top 5, with a remarkable 32.9 million fliers alone in 2022. This came fifth in the overall ranking, beating London's other larger airports. Of the 26 UK commercial airports analysed, 20 yielded positive results, with more reviewers complimenting an airport's navigation and signage over criticism. However, the bottom 5 all had negative reviews outweighing the positive. In last place, and ranked Britain's most challenging airport to get around, is Leeds Bradford. Just 1.06% of all reviewers believed the airport was easy to navigate, with good signage, whilst 3.94% took to Google to criticise the airport’s perceived difficulty in getting around. Overall, this means a final score of -2.88% when data was combined."

Alistair Cousins, Marketing Manager at TrouDigital said:- "Navigating airports can often be a challenge for passengers, especially in unfamiliar or busy environments. Effective signage plays a crucial role in reducing stress, guiding travellers smoothly, and ensuring timely connections. Integrating digital signage solutions can complement traditional methods, offering dynamic, real time updates and enhancing overall passenger experience in today’s fast paced travel settings."

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